Meet the Team

Jeff Link works as an Iowa-based entrepreneur, lawyer and communications consultant with a deep background in government and politics at the state and federal levels in the U.S. and abroad.  Link’s experience in government, paid media strategy, data analytics, public opinion-research and crisis communications and offers a strong background for clients.  Link’s work in campaigns has dovetailed with his experience in government.  Link was the first staff member of Gov. Bill Clinton’s campaign in Pennsylvania in October of 1991 while working for Pennsylvania’s Speaker of the House, Robert W. O’Donnell.  Clinton secured the nomination in 1992 with his win in Pennsylvania and went on to win the White House in November carrying Pennsylvania in the general election.

After successfully managing Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) 1996 reelection campaign, Link served in Washington, D.C. as Sen. Harkin’s Chief of Staff from 1997 until 1999.  In 1999 Link returned to Iowa to obtain his law degree from Drake University. He graduated in 2002 with honors and won the National Moot Court Championship in New York City in 2001.

During law school, Link founded Link Strategies, served as the Gore-Lieberman 2000 state director in Iowa which defeated George Bush by 4,144 votes out of 1.3 million cast.  Link also led Gore’s efforts from 1997-2000 to win the Iowa Caucus and secure the nomination against Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ).  Link managed Senator Harkin’s 2002 reelection campaign while finishing law school in May of 2002.  Senator Harkin was reelected to a fourth term in November 2002.  In 2008 Link served as Deputy Director of Paid Media and Research to the Obama for America Campaign.  In that role, he coordinated all paid media and polling in 25 states including seven battleground states (VA, NC, FL, CO, NM, NV, MT). President Obama won 6 of these 7 battleground states in 2008.

In addition to directing the message development through polling, focus groups, web tests and ad testing in these target states, he directed the advertising strategy and media mix with TV and cable buys, created state-specific ads, direct mail and collateral materials.  Also, Link managed the Spanish language messaging for the campaign through advertising, polling and focus groups.

Link’s political work has also taken him to Aruba, where he managed the opposition party in Aruba’s parliamentary elections.  The election, held in July 1994, saw the opposition party, the Aruba Volks Party (AVP), win a plurality, form a government and elect Henry Eman as Prime Minister. In 2009 Link again advised the AVP during the parliamentary elections and successfully saw Mike Eman elected as Prime Minister in September.  Adding to Link’s international experience, he worked in Ukraine as the advisor to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s campaign for President in Ukraine.  In 2009 Yulia was successful in advancing to the run-off election held in 2010.  Link advised the Hungarian Socialist Party during their parliamentarian elections, conducted public opinion research for President John Mahama’s successful election in Ghana (2012) and for Raila Odinga in Kenya (2013).

Mr. Russell “Doc” Saffell is a native Iowan, U.S. OEF and OIF I-II Combat Veteran. Mr. Saffell Served in the United States Navy as a Maritime Special Purpose Force (MSPF) Corpsman, as part of both a USMC Security and Scout Sniper Platoon and as part of a Joint Task Force. Mr. Saffell has also served in the 11^th and 13^th Marine Expeditionary Units, Special Operations Capable (MEU-SOC). Mr. Saffell served from 1999 to 2004; after being honorably separated from Active Duty, he was recalled to service in the U.S. Naval Reserve where he was medically retired from injuries sustained while on active duty.

Mr. Saffell is a VA 100% Service Connected Disabled Veteran. He is a Gold Legacy Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) of the United States, where he currently serves on the Department of Iowa Council of Administration and as the Past State Commander of Iowa (2019-’20). Mr. Saffell has also served as the 5^th District Commander (Central Iowa), Post Commander for the 2^nd Largest VFW Post (9127 in Des Moines, IA) in the state, and has also served at the national level on the VFW National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Bylaws Committee. He is also Life Member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV); American Veterans (AMVETS), and a member of the American Legion and US Marine Corps League.

Mr. Saffell has 20+ years of experience in the Physical and Cyber Security, Risk Mitigation, Business Resilience, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Counter-terrorism and Emergency Management fields, whereby he has served in multiple leadership and executive positions in the both the private and public sector, at all levels of government (Local, State and Federal), and sits on several Boards and Committees related to the same. Mr. Saffell currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Homeland Security Foundation of America where he is the Energy Security and Resilience Committee Chair and is published as a Regular in the “Journal of Public Safety Studies in America”. Mr. Saffell has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Emergency and Disaster Management at Upper Iowa University; Adjunct Professor of Homeland Security at Des Moines Area Community College; and he is the CEO of Black Chamber Inc. LLC (a Security Consulting and Tactics Firm).

Academically, Mr. Saffell holds a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Security and Safety Leadership (Counter-Terrorism) from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C, a Bachelor of Science (BS) [Summa Cum Laude] in Emergency and Disaster Management from Upper Iowa University; as well as holding several training certificates and certifications in related fields.

Elias Johnson is a nationally recognized media executive. Johnson has spent fifteen years delivering award-winning work throughout the country. He began is career at KDSM FOX 17 Des Moines in 2007 and also spent time at WHO-TV NBC where he was recognized with a national Edward R. Murrow for video excellence. He moved to Phoenix in 2009 to work as a multimedia journalist at KPHO CBS 5. Johnson was recruited to serve as a public information officer for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in 2010 where he handled internal and external communications as the lead media liaison. After two years working with law enforcement, he got back into the news industry as an evening anchor in Reno, Nevada at KRNV News 4 NBC. Johnson won three regional Edward R Murrow awards in 2014 for his stories advocating for veterans. He was recruited to come back to Des Moines as a morning anchor at WOI-TV in 2015. During his time at Local 5 he won the station's first ever Emmy award. He won a total of four Emmy awards during his six-and-a-half years at the station. Johnson has served on numerous boards and committees including the Greenlee School Advisory Council at Iowa State University. He also established a scholarship fund for seniors graduating from the high school he graduated from, Manson NW Webster.

He is a decorated graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University where he was awarded the Hearst National Championship for his portfolio of work in 2007. Johnson was a member of the Sun Devil wrestling team and maintained a 3.75 GPA as a maroon and gold scholar athlete. He also attended Iowa Central Community College where he was inducted into the Triton Hall of Fame in 2016 as a distinguished alumnus.

Johnson is married with three children. His family currently live in Urbandale where he runs his own video production company, Fine Focus Media.

Lisa Russell is the owner of Scuba Creative, a company that provides businesses with an extra set of hands to execute public relations, public affairs and marketing projects.  She has extensive experience working with organizations in both the public and private sectors, particularly those focused on innovation, financial services and economic development.  

Support for Puppy Jake is a family affair. In addition to attending fundraising events and volunteering, Lisa and her husband, Jeff, have encouraged their children to become involved in this great organization.  Their oldest son, Ben, served on the Youth Board for several years after he raised $250 selling hot chocolate – the first dollars raised for Puppy Jake.  The younger two Russell children also have volunteered their time in the office, as well as for special events.

Lisa received both her undergraduate and Master’s degree in journalism from Drake University. She and her family, along with the laziest golden retriever ever, live in Des Moines.

Maggie graduated Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Spanish and Ethics & Moral Philosophy and moved back to her hometown of Des Moines a year later.  Maggie’s fondness for charitable work began when her dad started volunteering with the Salvation Army on a weekly basis and was encouraged by her mom, a retired administrator with the Des Moines Public Schools.  Her love of Labrador retrievers comes from her last dog, a Chocolate Lab mix named Biff.  This all made Puppy Jake Foundation a perfect fit.  Maggie and her husband reside in Des Moines with their bulldog, Boo.