Kristin Oblander papers
Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials pertaining to Oblander’s career in political fundraising. Professional materials make up the bulk of the collection, including memos and other internal documents from various campaigns, financial information and donor records, fundraising event invitations, posters, and campaign mail. Represented in the collection are Oblander Group clients, including presidential, congressional, statewide, legislative, and municipal candidates, as well as party committees and other political organizations. Also included are materials related to inaugurations, Democratic debates, and Democratic national conventions. Personal materials include correspondence, campaign ephemera such as pins and stickers, and newspaper clippings.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1980-2022, undated
Creator
- Oblander, Kristin, 1969- (Person)
- Oblander Group (Atlanta, Ga.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.
Biographical / Historical
Kristin Elise Oblander (1969-) was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Her parents, Lewis "Dale" Oblander (1943-) and Marcia Michael (1946-), were married in 1964. The family later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and Oblander graduated from Henderson High School in DeKalb County, Georgia. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Management in 1991. She began her political career working as an administrative assistant for the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) in 1994 and was promoted to Special Projects Director in 1996, where she supervised three Democratic fundraising clubs and coordinated the annual "Jefferson-Jackson Dinner." While working for the DPG, Oblander served as Georgia’s Arrangements Chair for the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1997, she was hired as Finance Director for the Roy Barnes (1948-) campaign for Georgia Governor, which broke all previous campaign fundraising records in Georgia.
In February 1999, she founded The Oblander Group, a political fundraising consulting firm. Initial clients included Roy Barnes, the DPG, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia State Senate Democratic Caucus, and Senator Charles W. Walker (1947-). The Oblander Group later collaborated on and organized fundraising events for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and various political campaigns, including those of Representative John Lewis (1940-2020), Georgia Public Service Commissioner David Burgess, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Charles W. Walker, Georgia House Majority Leader Larry Walker (1942-), Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (1969-), Representative Nikema Williams (1978-), and others. Oblander joined the 2004 John Kerry for President campaign as Southern Finance Director. From 2006 to 2011, she served as the DNC Southeastern Finance Director, responsible for "Victory '08" fundraising events with Barack Obama (1961-), Joseph Biden (1942-), DNC Chairman Howard Dean (1948-), and other officials. In 2013, Oblander married William "Bill" Sengstacken. As of 2024, she remains President of The Oblander Group.
Extent
1.54 linear ft. (four document cases, two audio cassettes, and one oversize folder)
Language
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by titles supplied by staff.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Audio recordings were made on cassettes and can be made accessible only through conversion to digital surrogates. Patrons who request access to the audio content in this collection are responsible for digital conversion costs.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 2022
Bias in Description
As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information. We choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, and bias is reflected in our descriptions, which may not accurately convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materials. Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment. In working with this collection, we often re-use language used by the former owners of the material. This language provides context but often includes bias and prejudices reflective of the time in which it was created.
The Kenan Research Center’s work is ongoing to implement reparative language where Library of Congress subject terms are inaccurate and obsolete.
Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or descriptions, please let us know by emailing reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.
Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2024.
- African Americans -- Politics and government
- American Association of Political Consultants
- Atlanta (Ga.) -- Politics and government
- Barnes, Roy E. (Roy Eugene), 1948-
- Campaign cards
- Campaign management -- United States
- Campaign paraphernalia
- DeKalb County (Ga.) -- Politics and government
- Democratic National Committee (U.S.)
- Democratic Party (Ga.)
- Elections -- Georgia
- Fulton County (Ga.) -- Politics and government
- Fund raising -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Georgia -- Politics and government
- Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Governors -- Georgia
- Lewis, John, 1940-2020
- Mayors -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- National Black Caucus of State Legislators
- Oblander, Kristin, 1969-
- Political campaigns -- Georgia
- Senate Democratic Caucus (Ga.)
- Voting -- Georgia
- Title
- Kristin Oblander papers
- Subtitle
- ahc.MSS1271
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Kathryn Turnbull
- Date
- March 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository