[1][2] Bird attended Wabash College, graduating with a major in religion in 2000,[3] before earning a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School in 2002.
[4] When Barack Obama announced his candidacy in 2007, Bird joined the campaign as the field director for South Carolina.
[1] Obama's victory in the South Carolina primary proved to be an important step in him winning the Democratic nomination.
[5] A month after the election took place, Bird and a team of field experts and data analysts conducted a study of the 2008 campaign.
During this study, Bird concluded that contact with enthusiastic volunteers and workers was more effective at mobilizing voters than TV ads or mail.