Team

Travis Smith

Travis has worked at all levels of politics, from the George W. Bush White House to serving as a Congressional Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill. From state legislative races, to coalition building for a Presidential campaign, to managing multiple top-tier, nationally targeted House races, Travis has experience in nearly every facet of a political campaign.

Now a partner at Creative Direct, Travis helps guide both incumbents and first-time candidates to winning elections. Travis also regularly consults corporate clients on political issues.

He graduated from Liberty University in Virginia where he received his degree in Politics and Policy. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Travis now lives in Richmond with his wife Kristin, and their four children.

Ron Butler

Ron Butler is President of Creative Direct, a direct mail firm located in Richmond, Virginia specializing in voter contact direct mail. Since forming Creative Direct in 1997, Ron Butler has grown the business from a small regional player to one of the largest and most successful Republican firms in the nation, with clients from Maine to Hawaii.

Under Ron Butler’s leadership, Creative Direct played a pivotal role in some of the biggest Republican victories across the nation. Winning candidates have included many U.S. Senators, Governors, members of Congress and state elected offices. Prior to forming Creative Direct, Ron managed many successful campaigns for local and statewide office.

He served for five years as political director for the Republican Party of Virginia and worked as field director for the Republican National Committee. Ron has been working full-time on behalf of Republican candidates since 1985.

Ray Allen

Ray Allen is a founding partner of Creative Direct. Mr. Allen has been a political professional for over twenty-eight years. Mr. Allen began his political professional career working as a campaign manager for House of Delegates campaigns moving on to managing field operators, communications and managing congressional and statewide campaigns across the country.

Having worked with the National Republican Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Governors Association, the Republican Attorneys General Association, successful Republican candidates for Senate, Governor, and Congress and more super PACS than can be listed, Mr. Allen brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his clients.

Mr. Allen and Ron Butler founded Creative Direct in January 1997 to provide the highest quality Direct Mail services possible. They have grown the company into one of the premiere Direct Mail companies in America serving clients in over 40 states.

Jay Walker

Jay Walker is a 20-year veteran of Georgia politics and public affairs. Jay most recently served as Senior Political Advisor to Governor Brian Kemp’s successful 2022 re-election campaign, and continues to advise Governor Kemp. Throughout his career, Jay has worked to elect Congressmen Drew Ferguson, Barry Loudermilk, and Rick Allen and served as an advisor to Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Jay was the Chief of Staff to Speaker of the Georgia House Glenn Richardson and Executive Director of the Georgia House Republican Caucus from 2019 to 2020.

A proud graduate of the University of Georgia, Jay currently resides in Perry, GA with his three daughters.

Justin Roth

Justin Roth is a seasoned political and policy professional with expertise in legislative strategies, critical domestic policy matters, and foreign affairs. He has more than two decades of experience in government affairs and lobbying for multiple trade organizations. Most recently, he served as Chief of Staff for three prominent United States Congressmen and a U.S. Senator, including former Senator Martha McSally, and former Congressman Ron DeSantis.

Throughout his tenure, Justin has leveraged his experience in public policy and communications to advise representatives and shepherd major legislative victories. He has overseen virtually every aspect of the legislative and policy process, with expertise in the areas of financial services, foreign affairs, and press and legislative operations. During his time as a Chief of Staff, he also oversaw the political operations of each Member he served.

Justin has also utilized his legislative and policy background to advance the mutual interests of organizational partners such as the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. During this time, he served as a leading government affairs professional, running federal lobbying efforts, providing strategic planning, and representing members on all federal legislative and regulatory issues. 

Justin graduated with his Master of Science in History of International Relations from The London School of Economics. He also holds his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, where he currently serves as a University Trustee, with a double major in Political Science and History.  He splits his time between Northern Virginia and Florida with his wife Jill and their two boys.

Dean Goodson

Dean Goodson has over 12 years of Virginia government and political experience. He has worked on two statewide campaigns, served as senior staff for three members of House leadership, including two Virginia House Speakers, and represented homebuilders and developers before local governments and the General Assembly.

Dean was responsible for overseeing the House Republican Campaign Committee’s operation in 2021 and 2023. His efforts helped Republicans successfully reclaim the House Majority in 2021. In 2022, he joined Speaker C. Todd Gilbert’s office where he served as Chief of Staff. Dean brings extensive legislative experience that allows him to assist those looking to navigate the Legislative and Executive branches.

A Charlottesville native, Dean now lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife Jesica and their two daughters.

Dave Abrams

Jacob Hawkins

Jacob Hawkins is an ultra-competitive digital operative with over a decade of experience strategizing and executing award-winning political and public affairs campaigns. He currently serves as President of Digital at Creative Direct. His experience includes consulting on presidential and statewide campaigns, the highest-spending ballot initiatives in history, and leading the launch of a $300MM+ education foundation as its first Executive Director. He can build a digital program from the ground up: from identifying and acquiring target audiences, to developing software platforms and websites, to designing and placing advertisements.

Jacob is a graduate of Georgia College. He resides in Atlanta with his wife Lenze.

Morgan Brooks

Rob Barlow

Rob brings legislative and campaign experience to the Creative Direct team. While a full-time student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rob managed a field program, a volunteer program, and social media for a candidate in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Rob later served as a Regional Field Director for the RNC’s Trump Victory Program overseeing New York’s 18th and 21st Congressional Districts. 

Utilizing his campaign experience, Rob works closely with clients to write and create effective direct mail. A native of Richmond, Rob graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2021.

CJ Grover

CJ Grover manages some of Creative Direct’s most competitive and high-profile clients, including running direct mail and texting for Donald J. Trump’s 2024 winning presidential campaign.

Prior to joining Creative Direct, CJ worked for more than ten years in various roles in Kansas Republican politics. Most notably, he managed Derek Schmidt’s Kansas gubernatorial campaign in 2022 and Kevin Yoder’s Kansas Third District congressional campaign in 2018. 

CJ also worked as communications director for the Kansas GOP and executive director of a Senate Leadership Fund-affiliated Super PAC. He held senior staff roles in Rep. Yoder’s office on Capitol Hill and AG Schmidt’s office in Topeka. He began his career as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Pat Roberts. 

CJ resides in Overland Park, Kansas with his wife and their three children and are expecting their fourth in May.

Elisabeth Martin

As Senior Project Manager, Elisabeth Martin supports Creative Direct’s senior partners and executes strategic public affairs campaigns with a focus on Creative Direct’s Georgia clients. A graduate from the University of West Georgia, Elisabeth holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. Elisabeth has served in multiple executive board positions within the university’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter, to which she credits her skills of professionalism and leadership. She also was an active member of Bluestone: a student-led public relations firm through which she would lead on creativity and client engagement. 

A proud Georgia native, Elisabeth currently resides in Smyrna with her husband.

Abigail Barden

Abigail Barden graduated in 2024 from James Madison University with an undergraduate degree in political science. While a full-time student, she held roles as a Data Course Developer and Research Assistant at the American Political Reform & Innovation Lab and served as the Legislative Review Data Analyst for the Virginia Department of Health. A Richmond native, Abigail continues to reside in her hometown, where she is a Project Manager at Creative Direct, specializing in creating and executing strategic public affairs plans and campaigns.

Rachel Clawson

As Art Director at Creative Direct, Rachel Clawson manages the design team and oversees the entire creative process. She has several years of professional design experience and serves as our in-house photographer.

Working closely with copywriters, Rachel works through the entire creative process from formulating ideas, design concepts, and copy to produce eye-catching designs that effectively communicate our clients’ message. She has overseen thousands of projects for clients across the country, including direct mail, websites, branding, video production, collateral, and digital media.

Prior to joining Creative Direct, Rachel ran her own full-time graphic design and social media management company. Rachel has years of experience managing social media engagement for accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers, developing websites, and creating graphics for social causes and campaigns.

A native of Pennsylvania, Rachel joined Creative Direct in 2020. She is a graduate of Liberty University and now resides in Virginia with her husband.

Whitney Billings

Whitney Billings has years of freelance and in-house graphic design experience. At Creative Direct, she creates visually persuasive direct mail on behalf of our clients. She graduated from Liberty University in Virginia where she received her degree in Studio and Digital Arts: Graphic Design. Born and raised in Maine, Whitney now resides in Georgia with her husband.

Chris Rubel