JohnLittle

About John

John Little is a political consultant at Leo Operations, where he helps candidates and causes build campaigns rooted in real conversations with voters. He brings years of experience in education advocacy, grassroots organizing and campaign strategy, along with a perspective few consultants have: he has run for office and served in it himself.

Before stepping in front of voters, John spent much of his career behind the scenes. He ran Strategy Redefined, a Nashville education consulting firm, and co-founded the Public Advocate Fellowship, which trains parents to speak up for fairness in their children's schools. That work helped launch two parent advocacy groups, Memphis Lift and Nashville Propel, and he traveled across the state to train the parents who lead them.

In 2020, John put his own name on the ballot for the first time, running in a special election for the District 4 seat on the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education, which covers Donelson, Hermitage and Old Hickory. He won a four-way race with 9,660 votes on a simple message: every student should be college-ready, career-ready and community-ready. He pushed for more vocational training so students could step into careers as electricians, plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians.

John served on the board from late 2020 through August 2022, guiding families and schools through the hardest stretch of pandemic-era learning. That experience gave him an inside view of how public institutions make decisions and what parents, teachers and students need from their leaders.

At Leo Operations, John uses that background to help candidates, school board races, advocacy groups and public agencies shape messages that resonate with families, organize at the grassroots level and run campaigns that put communities first.

Career highlights

• 2019Nashville Propel, the parent advocacy group his fellowship helped build, officially launches
• 2020Nominated for the open District 4 seat on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board
• 2020Wins the District 4 special election with 9,660 votes in a four-way race
• 2020Leo Operations works on his winning school board campaign
• 2020 to 2022Serves on the Metro Nashville Board of Education through the pandemic