Welcome Pony Knowles to Third Act!

We're excited to bring this veteran campaign strategist to our Organizing team.

Starting this month, Pony Knowles—a veteran campaign strategist and former National Campaigns Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Change.org, and SAGE—will join Third Act’s national organizing team as Organizing & Campaigns Lead.

In this role, Knowles will work directly with Third Act’s Working Groups to develop campaign goals, build strategic plans, and carry out powerful, volunteer-led actions. Operating at the intersection of campaign strategy and grassroots organizing, Knowles will help strengthen organizing skills across the network and expand Third Act’s base of engaged older Americans.

“Pony has led campaigns across some of the country’s most effective national networks, and brings a huge heart and the right spirit to building the power of older Americans. I’m excited to welcome him to the team and for him to help Third Actors turn conviction into meaningful action,” said Vanessa Arcara, President of Third Act. “Thanks to the many new monthly donors who joined our All Hands on Deck matching donation campaign in October, we’re able to bring Pony and his expertise onto our organizing team at a critical moment.”

Knowles brings more than 15 years of experience building movement power and winning campaigns that combine grassroots and grasstops organizing, policy change, and narrative strategy. Among his accomplishments:

• At SAGE, he led an elder-focused, intergenerational initiative to tackle the growing epidemic of isolation that affects us as we get older. Working in partnership with AARP and hundreds of volunteers across the country, he helped create digital tools that supported volunteers building enduring communities.
• At Change.org, he managed the U.S. campaigns team that supported thousands of campaigns led by local, everyday activists looking for ways to make their communities better, including efforts like 95-year-old activist Opal Lee’s historic campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday, culminating in President Biden signing the holiday into law in 2021.
• At the ACLU, he led a policy and campaigns team that fought back against the passage of federal legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill for years, extending crucial protections against growing authoritarianism. 

Across his career, Knowles has led high-impact campaigns by developing comprehensive media and public relations strategies, balancing rapid-response and long-term campaign portfolios, and integrating digital mobilization tools—including call and letter campaigns and custom technology—to expand participation and deepen engagement.

“Pony brings a wealth of experience in the very skills our Working Groups rely on to run successful campaigns,” Arcara added. “In this election year, with new crises emerging weekly, his leadership will help Third Act grow its power to protect democracy, defend fair elections, and advance a just and livable future.”

Third Actors will no doubt be hearing from Pony soon, if you haven’t already. Please welcome him to our small-but-mighty movement!