Conal Feehely

In one of the most fiercely contested electorates in the country, the 2025 Monique Ryan Campaign Team successfully worked to see Monique re-elected as the Member for Kooyong.

As Lead Campaigner and Organiser, I:

• Developed and executed a targeted campaign strategy informed by comprehensive data analysis and reporting in the face of a tough redistribution of electoral boundaries.
• Recruited and managed a volunteer base of over 800 new volunteers, while re-engaging 1,500+ from previous campaigns, for a total of 2,300 volunteers.
• Directed a high-impact digital advertising campaign delivering over 30 million impressions, driving strong voter engagement and raising $100,000+ in online donations.
• Designed and led a large-scale field campaign that knocked on more than 56,000 doors across the electorate, including specialist bilingual teams to engage diverse communities.
• Led the grassroots fundraising program, which raised over $500,000, supporting campaign operations and outreach.
• Led the campaign email program, managing the delivery of more than 1 million emails to supporters and voters.
• Led the planning and coordination of pre-polling and election day volunteer activities, deploying 2,000+ volunteers across 50 polling stations to deliver effective voter outreach.
• Created bespoke, purpose-built campaigning software and web applications tailored specifically for field operations and volunteer coordination.
• Led a comprehensive outdoor advertising campaign, including the successful deployment of over 2,300 corflutes across the electorate.

In 2023, I served as Campaign Manager for Kooyong Votes Yes, the local community campaign for the Voice to Parliament referendum. Kooyong recorded the 10th highest Yes vote in the country, with 59.5% of voters supporting the proposal — one of only 30 electorates to return a majority Yes result.

As Campaign Manager, I:

· Designed and executed the campaign strategy across Kooyong, overseeing all aspects of operations, field, visibility, and communications.

· Recruited, trained, and led a volunteer base of over 800 community members.

· Coordinated a large-scale field campaign that knocked on over 21,500 doors across the electorate.

· Led a letterboxing program that distributed more than 150,000 pieces of campaign material.

· Managed the distribution of 2,100 corflutes across the electorate to maximise visibility.

· Oversaw volunteer mobilisation and logistics for pre-poll and election day activities.

- Managed the campaign of Dr Lardner, which was the most successful independent campaign in the 2022 Victorian state election and the largest ever on the Mornington Peninsula. We secured a 22.4% swing towards the candidate, with 49.3% of the 2CP result.

- Provided overall leadership to more than 200 volunteers.

- Across a short campaign that ran for less than 12 weeks, I oversaw our visibility strategy which saw more than 1.5 million digital impressions, 200+ corflutes, dozens of printed ads in the local newspaper, and the distribution of more than 150,000 leaflets.

- Knocked on more than 3,000 doors in 7 weeks –the most of any campaign ever on the Mornington Peninsula.

- Provided fundraising leadership and advice, raising more than $180,000 in twelve weeks. I was also the lead budget manager for the campaign.

- Managed five staff members to work across visibility and direct voter contact efforts.

- Led on overall campaign messaging and communications strategy, including website copy development, social media design and copy, print advertising, and utilising traditional media through curated relationships with journalists and institutions.

As Campaign Manager for Despi O’Connor, I oversaw the development and implementation of the campaign’s electoral strategy, provided overall leadership to a base of 140+ volunteers and led fundraising, media and outreach strategies.
In less than four months, our grassroots campaign:

• Developed and executed multi-channel marketing campaigns to enhance brand visibility.
• Analysed campaign performance metrics to optimize strategies for improved engagement.
• Onboarded and trained hundreds of volunteers.
• Raised more than $85,000 from grassroots donors.
• Led a significant direct voter contact program across the electorate.
• Saw an 8% swing towards O’Connor in a long-held, strongly Liberal seat.

• Facilitated community engagement initiatives to strengthen relationships among diverse groups.
• Aided in designing, developing, and facilitating more than 15 deliberative engagement processes for community groups, project stakeholders and local governments, often engaging with hard-to-reach voices in vulnerable communities.
• Led, researched and co-authored a report on the impact of deliberative engagement on participants’ attitudes towards democracy. This report was presented to 11 Victorian Councils, international democracy researchers and United Nations Pacific stakeholders.

• Worked closely with representatives from the Department of Defense, National Security Agency and the U.S. Congress to facilitate policy-making and security intelligence efforts.
• Undertook focused research on the intersection of climate change, climate geopolitics, nuclear non-proliferation, decarbonisation and nuclear energy.
• Analyzed data trends and presented findings to inform strategic decision-making processes.
• Conducted comprehensive literature reviews to support global security research initiatives.