Derek Jansen is a political and communications strategist with extensive experience working for political, government, and nonprofit clients facing electoral and advocacy challenges throughout California. He leads Mercury’s expansion into the Sacramento political, government relations, and communications market.

As a political advisor and media consultant, Derek has led tough winning campaigns in San Francisco, delivered effective, winning paid media for winning State Senate and Assembly campaigns throughout Northern California, and managed statewide ballot measures, including the successful Prop 68, a $4.1 billion water, parks, and natural resources bond. 

Derek is also an experienced state and local government consultant, currently leading communications strategy for the State of California’s first-ever mandated health data exchange, the Data Exchange Framework. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Derek was tapped to develop grassroots and paid communications programs to build public confidence in vaccines for the State of California and the City of Berkeley, and helped lead communications for the City and County of San Francisco to fully replace an investor-owned electricity grid with a publicly owned electric utility.

In the nonprofit sector, Derek recently worked with Sacramento’s civic leadership organization Valley Vision and California Jobs First to establish the brand and communications strategy for an initiative to spark a more inclusive and resilient economy in the eight-county Capital region. He also recently led the strategy, branding, and messaging of a campaign by the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California to build momentum and support for affordable housing in the Bay Area. 

Derek has also supported government relations for Teach For America, Computer Science for California (CSforCA), and various nonprofit and corporate clients over the years. 

Known for quickly understanding complex challenges, over his career Derek has led and supported campaigns on issues including educational equity, climate action, economic development, public health, tobacco control, criminal justice, and affordable housing. He also has extensive experience leading advertising and creative projects, from branding and web development to digital marketing and video, along with tried-and-true political advertising through direct mail, radio, and TV.

Prior to joining Mercury, Derek worked for a leading California issue advocacy and political communications firm for nearly a decade. Before that, he served in a senior political role for Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate, cut his teeth in crisis communications at Singer Associates Public Relations, and helped lead Ed Lee for San Francisco Mayor in 2011. Derek began his career teaching elementary school in Brooklyn, New York as a Teach For America corps member.

Derek grew up in Davis, California, graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and now lives in Sacramento with his wife, Victoria Hassid, and their daughter, Olivia.