Zack Exley is a political and technology consultant and the co-founder and former president of the New Organizing Institute, a progressive political technology training organization. In July 2015, Exley joined the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign as a senior advisor responsible for distributed organizing. In 2004, he was the Director of Online Communications and Organizing on John Kerry’s presidential campaign and directed Internet operations for the UK Labour party’s re-election campaign in 2005. In both cases, the campaigns’ opponents attacked Exley as a controversial figure, hoping to make his hiring a campaign issue. Exley was Organizing Director at MoveOn.org during the group’s campaign to prevent the Iraq War, and during its controversial involvement with the Dean campaign. He was criticized then too, for “rigging” the “MoveOn Primary” in favor of Dean—a charge the group rejected. Exley began his political career working as a union organizer, and has also worked as a computer programmer.