Mark Ayoub

The Change Research team is heartbroken about the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, Mark Ayoub, who passed away on July 9, 2019. We have been privileged to know and collaborate with Mark since March 2018, and we sorely miss his dedication to our forward-thinking clients, his tremendous contributions to our work, his enormous, ever-present smile and kind and generous personality, and his inspiring passion for a full life of politics, travel, puns, and volunteering.

Mark joined Change Research when we were less than a year old as one of our first full-time employees. We hired Mark before we even had an office - he showed up for his first day at our co-founder Mike’s house. Mark brought an impressive resume of polling experience in Democratic politics and the private sector, and he immediately made outsized contributions to our fundamental polling approach.

Mark came to the office every day because he wanted to make a difference doing work for candidates and causes that inspired him, including the Green Advocacy Project, West Virginia teachers unions, and candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Sri Kulkarni. We continue to feel his impact in so many areas of our work: he was the colleague that would drop everything to assist a teammate with any issue, patiently and warmly train new team members, and take on projects beyond his role to help us grow and improve. Mark’s work and spirit is truly woven through the DNA of Change Research.

As a true Renaissance man, one of Mark’s most notable characteristics was the incredibly full life he lived. Mark was our resident travel expert and globetrotter; his last trip with his fiancée, Angela, was to Madagascar, where he joyfully sent back photos of himself with lemurs on his head. It wasn’t uncommon for Mark to let us know that he’d be shifting his hours to attend a trapeze class, participate in a bake-off, or travel to compete in an international pun competition. Mark inspires us all to participate more fully in the journey of life, and while we are heartbroken that he was taken from us too soon, we take some solace in knowing that his short years were fuller than most lifetimes.

The loss of Mark was enormous for our small, tight-knit team, and we grieve with his loving family. We also unanimously agree that Mark’s wish would have been for us to drive forward in our vital work of supporting forward-thinking candidates and causes in the years ahead. Mark was intensely passionate about the world he wanted to see and help create, and we will work tirelessly to achieve his vision for a better American democracy.

Mark remains in our hearts to this day as we work to fulfill our mission.