Amy Dutailly - Co-Chair of the Youth Caucus in France
story by Jonathon Holler
Democrats Abroad depends on dedicated volunteers like Amy Dutailly, a seven year resident of Paris, France. She's helping drive our 2016 outreach as a leader in the International Youth Caucus, and is a co-chair of the Youth Caucus in France.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Amy took the leap of moving to her soon-to-be husband’s home country after graduating from college during the economic downturn. She recently got involved with DA and helped to revitalize DA's International Youth Caucus, and is now its co-chair in DA-France. She hopes to attract the involvement of more young Democrats this year through social media outreach, organizing regular events and welcoming exchange students.
Optimistic and well-grounded in her beliefs, Amy wants members of the Youth Caucus to weigh in on policy issues—such as the environment, social justice, financial reform, reproductive health, voter registration and campaign reform—in order to help the Democratic party better understand what matters most to millennials. But she knows that getting young voters involved, and communicating these issues to them, requires framing issues in a manner that is familiar to them. “Young people spend most of their days checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat,” she noted, “so that’s where we need to grab their attention and get them involved.”
Amy makes no secret that she supports Secretary Clinton in this election cycle, and admires her perseverance in the face of adversity. “There aren’t many people who could withstand 11 hours of another endless and fruitless hearing over Benghazi and remain professional and composed,” she adds, “The only other person I can think of who understands the relentless hate she has received is President Obama, and like him she rises above it and keeps going forward.” Ever the social media maven, Amy also admires Hillary’s Snapchat account, which gives a behind-the-scene glimpse into campaign activities. “It really helps young voters identify with the candidate on a personal level,” she says, adding that “especially when you live abroad, it’s difficult to feel connected to the campaign, but social media helps you stay informed and involved.”
Amy and the Youth Caucus are using DA’s social media to help young people stay involved in the election. “We hope that by the summer, we’ll have an international network of young people posting, tweeting, pinning, and sharing information about voting from abroad and getting involved in local chapters of DA.”
So if you are a young American, live abroad and are passionate about politics, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Youth Caucus to learn about new and exciting ways to ensure we keep the White House blue for the next four years!