Malea Tennyson

Born and raised in Oregon, Malea brings more than a decade of experience across the political and nonprofit spaces. At Praxis, she brings experience from local, legislative, and statewide campaigns to lead campaign services for our clients. 

After graduating from Willamette University, Malea ran Senator Deb Patterson’s 2020 campaign, flipping a key, long-held conservative district in Salem in what was the state’s most expensive legislative race that year. She has since run three cycles of Salem-Keizer School Board races, moving a 1-6 to a 4-3, holding the lead each time, and electing five candidates of color into a majority-minority school district. 

Malea brings fundraising experience from local, legislative, and statewide campaigns. She has helped bring historic amounts to local races and raise millions for statewide campaigns. At Special Olympics Oregon, she led the planning and execution of eight fundraising events across the state per year, raising over $1.5 million. These experiences have given her a deep understanding of Oregon’s donor landscape and regional markets.

Malea is particularly passionate about working with first-time and underrepresented candidates and staff, working to build a strong pipeline for progressive leadership. She enjoys organizing events of all sizes, from intimate house parties to large-scale galas, and thrives on building coalitions and fostering strong relationships with community partners to create lasting impact.

Malea lives in Aloha with her husband and their rescue dog, Newton. Outside of work, you can find her up to her ears in a new DIY project, making a mess in the kitchen cooking something new or baking something elaborate, or reading a book. She’s also a Special Olympics coach and plays rec softball.