Young Democrats of America

Infobox Political Youth Organization
name_english = Young Democrats of America
colorcode = #2f5b79

president = David Hardt
founded = 1932
headquarters = Washington, D.C.
mother_party = Democratic Party
international = International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)
website = [http://www.yda.org/ www.yda.org]

The Young Democrats of America (YDA), founded in 1932, is the unofficial youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee following passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and became an independent 527 group. The group's membership consists of those Democrats under the age of 36 (although two chapters allow members under the age of 40), and its political activities tend to concentrate on increasing the voter turnout of young Democrats and affecting the issues impacting that demographic group. It tends to be somewhat more focused on political activism than the party at large.

2007-2009 YDA Leadership

YDA membership elects nine national officers biannually at the organization's National Conventions. These officers, as well as six "stakeholders" who are leaders in other related organizations form the national board, which deals with day-to-day management of the organization. The officers were elected at the 2007 YDA National Convention in Dallas, Texas.

Along with the national officers, YDA's national executive committee includes chairs of the nine constituency caucuses, eight regional directors, and a variety of appointed officers.

The current YDA President, David Hardt, serves as Democratic Superdelegate as well. [ [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/051008dnpolsuperdels.3c6b293.html Clinton continues to fight as superdelegates flock to Obama] ]

National Elected Officers

*President: David Hardt of Texas
*Executive Vice President: Chris Anderson of Tennessee
*Democratic National Committeeman: Francisco Domenech of Puerto Rico
*Democratic National Committeewoman: Crystal Strait of California
*Vice President: Josh Blevins of Arkansas
*Vice President: Ashanti Fayshel Gholar of Nevada
*Vice President: Omar Khan of Florida
*Secretary: Stephanie Hausner of New York
*Treasurer: Amy Lewis of Virginia

Caucus Chairs

*LGBT Caucus Chair: Rachel Kau-Taylor of California
*Women's Caucus Chair: Atima Omara-Alwala of Virginia
*Minority Caucus Chair: Erica Contreras of Texas
*Disability Issues Caucus Chair: Ben Spangenberg of Virginia
*Labor Caucus Chair: Isaac Robinson of Michigan
*Jewish Caucus Chair: Josh Pasek of Pennsylvania
* High School Caucus Chair: Alicia Froio of Pennsylvania
*College Caucus Chair: Thione Niang of Ohio
*Rural Caucus Chair: Amanda Nelson of Washington
*Veterans and Military Affairs Caucus Chair: Cole Hickman of Arizona

Regional Directors

*Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont): Michael Gilberg of New York
*Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Young Democrats Abroad): Rod Snyder of West Virginia
*Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands): Alan Brock of Florida
*Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio): Kristopher J. Anderson of Illinois
*Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin): Jamie Epstein of Kansas
*Southcentral (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas): Jamie Oliver of Arkansas
*Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming): Kevin Bondelli of Arizona
*Pacific (Alaska, America Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington): Rob Dolin of Washington

Other Elected Leaders

*State Presidents Association: Omarr Williams of Illinois

Committee Appointments

*Resolutions Committee: Jessica Utovich of Ohio
*Chapter-Building Committee: Jamie Oliver of Arkansas
*Campaign Committee: Rocky Fernandez of California
*Budget Committee: Mark Bracken of Massachusetts
*Credentials Committee: Lindsay Barrett of Tennessee
*Finance Committee: Mark Newman of North Carolina
*Communications & Outreach Committee: Tara Martin of New York
*Site Selection Committee: Shaunica Pridgen of Indiana
*Rules & Charter Committee: Kirk Miller of Georgia
*Affirmative Action & Outreach Committee: Tashea Brodgins of Maryland
*Judicial Council: Adam Weiss of Washington, D.C.
*Community Service Committee: Jonathan Padilla of California
*International Affairs Committee: Juan Ayala of Texas

Other Appointments

*Chief of Staff: Rachel Morse of Oklahoma
*Administrative Director: Billy Joyner of Georgia
*Organizing Director: Joe Henriquez McNearney of New York
*Parliamentarian: Daniel Davis of Washington

Staff

National:

*Executive Director: Alexandra Acker
*Political Director: Tony Cani
*Director of Operations: Stephen Zigmund
*Senior State Executive Director: Stacy Berger
*Development Director: Brandi Mercurio

State:

*Young Democrats of Arkansas Executive Director: Gary Moody
*California Young Democrats Executive Director: Claire Conlon
*Young Democrats of Florida Executive Director: Lori Poole
*Young Democrats of Georgia Executive Director: Tim Cairl
*Young Democrats of Utah Executive Director: Justin Daniels
*Young Democrats of Virginia Executive Director: Christie Bieber

See also

*College Democrats
*Young Democrats of America High School Caucus
*Young Republican National Federation

External links

* [http://www.yda.org Young Democrats of America] - national website
* [http://youtube.com/youngdems YDA YouTube channel]
* [http://myspace.com/youngdems YDA MySpace page]
* [http://www.whYDA whYDA.org] - Why I've Voting Democrat - A YDA Project

References