Media Contact:

Jody Couser, Press Officer

Democrats Abroad

pressofficer@democratsabroad.org

For Immediate Release
April 7, 2011

DEMOCRATS ABROAD ELECTS NEW OFFICERS

Washington, DC— Today, Democrats Abroad announced the new officers elected at the organization’s spring meeting in Asia which took place mid-March.  The officers’ term is two years.  Democrats Abroad is the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living outside of the United States

“First, I’d like to thank the previous officers for their hard work and commitment to the goals of Democrats Abroad.  Under their leadership, this organization accomplished many achievements including tripling our membership and making great contributions to electing democratic members of Congress and President of the United States,” said Democrats Abroad International Chair Kenneth E. Sherman.  “I would also like to thank the membership for granting me the honor of serving as International Chair, and I look forward to working with the new officers as we head into the 2012 U.S. elections.” 

The newly elected officers are International Chair Kenneth E. Sherman, International Vice Chair Vicki Hansen-Thackray, International Secretary Lou Hureston, International Treasurer Bill Barnard, International Counsel John Eastwood, Regional Vice Chair for the Americas John Chudy, Regional Vice Chair for Asia/Pacific Albert Kang and Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East and Africa Susan Haug.

International Chair

Kenneth E. Sherman

Canada (New York)

A member of Democrats Abroad since 2004, Mr. Sherman is former Chair of Democrats Abroad Canada. Since 1967, he has helped establish eight not-for-profit organizations in Western New York, and served as a community organizer on issues related to peace and justice, housing, human service, environment, historic preservation, and waterfront planning. Mr. Sherman was a delegate for candidate Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Mr. Sherman holds a bachelor’s of arts from Valparaiso University in Indiana and a bachelor’s of divinity from Concordia Seminary in Springfield Illinois. A New York voter, Mr. Sherman lives in Burlington, Ontario with his wife, a native of France. They have three children all living in Canada with the exception of one son who lives in London.

International Vice Chair

Vicki Hansen Thackray

Luxembourg (Iowa)

Ms. Hansen Thackray has been a member of Democrats Abroad since 2002 and served as chair of Democrats Abroad Luxembourg. For 15 years she worked as an implementation specialist for large IT programs as well as business continuity for banking. In 2001, she created an event centre in a chateau specializing in change seminars and private events. Currently, Ms. Hansen-Thackray works in film with newly founded companies Bombay Berlin Film Productions and Royal Road Entertainment based in Mumbai and LA. An Obama supporter, Ms. Hansen-Thackray worked in Florida for the 2008 elections. She is also the founder of a micro finance project aiding fishing people at Lake Victoria, Kenya along with schools in the region.

Ms. Hansen Thackray holds an MBA from The Open University with honors in International Enterprise and a bachelors of arts in economics from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

International Secretary

Louis S. Hureston         

South Africa (Maryland)

Mr. Hureston is currently the chair of Democrats Abroad South Africa.  He is an engineer advising executives in the telecommunications and electricity industries and is a past chairperson of the National Society of Black Engineers Alumni Extension.

He holds a BSEE from Illinois Institute of Technology and a MSEE from Georgia Institute of Technology.  Additionally, Mr. Hureston has been selected for Executive Management training programs at Northwestern University, Stanford University and Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain.  He and his wife, Denise, reside in Wilderness, South Africa.

International Treasurer

William D. Barnard

United Kingdom (Alabama)

Mr. Barnard has been a member of Democrats Abroad since 2002. He was founding treasurer of the Oxford chapter and chair of Democrats Abroad UK.  He oversaw the 2008 Global Primary in London, Cambridge, and Oxford and the 2009 inaugural celebration for more than 1,300 attendees. 

He is a retired chair of the Department of History at the University of Alabama and author of Dixiecrats and Democrats. He resides in Oxford with his partner.

International Counsel 

John Eastwood, International Counsel 

Taiwan (Port Washington, New York)

Mr. Eastwood is an attorney with an international law practice in Taiwan and China, where he specializes in intellectual property, employment and investment matters. With a legal career spanning 15 years, he is currently the co-managing partner of Eiger Law. During 2003-2009, John headed up the Democrats Abroad efforts in Taiwan, including everything from voter registration and absentee-ballot matters through the coordination of events. During 2009-2011, John served as the chair of Democrats Abroad Taiwan and as a member of the Democrats Abroad bylaws committee. Active in local American service and community organizations, the International Bar Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and the International Trademark Association, John also chairs the ECCT IPR Committee and works closely with the U.S., E.C., and Taiwan governments on intellectual-property policy matters. 

John was graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, and he was a visiting scholar at Peking University's School of Law's Financial Law Institute (1996-1997). He regularly publishes and speaks on legal issues. 

Regional Vice Chair for the Americas

John Chudy

Guatemala (Virginia)

Mr. Chudy was previously regional Vice Chair for the Americas, appointed to serve a vacancy.  He is a retired international development professional, now residing in La  Antigua, Guatemala. His U.S. voting precinct is Arlington, Virginia. A lifelong Democrat, in 2005 John took on the task of organizing a start-up committee of Democrats Abroad in Guatemala.  

 
In addition to a career in international development, Mr. Chudy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, and with the international relief and development agency, CARE, in a variety of assignments that included Haiti, Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. In recent years, he worked as a private contractor and also served with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a personal services contractor, managing development projects and activities in India, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Ecuador. He holds a Master’s degree in International Administration from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT  and a doctorate in Public Policy from George Mason University. 

Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East and Africa

Susan Haug

United Kingdom (Virginia)

Reelected to a second term, Ms. Haug has lived abroad for more than twenty years, having spent most of that time in Germany before moving to London in 2007. She has been a DA leader for the last 12 years, beginning with reactivating and chairing the Frankfurt Chapter of Democrats Abroad, Germany before serving as Vice Chair of DA-Germany from 2005-2007. Ms. Haug has been extensively involved with overseas voter outreach, local US Consulate relations and various international media and communications initiatives, last serving as Communications Coordinator for the EMEA region.

Ms. Haug is a native of Virginia and holds a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English. She has been practicing architecture in the US and in Germany. Ms. Haug’s volunteer service includes ‘Literacy Volunteers of America’ (Prison Program) in Charlottesville, Virginia and ‘Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation’ (Interviewer) in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany.

Regional Vice Chair for Asia-Pacific

Albert Kang

South Korea (California)

Albert Kang has been involved in Democrats Abroad in Korea since 2006 and helped in the formation of the South Korea Country Committee in 2008. He served as the Treasurer in its initial year and was elected Chair in 2009. He is a native of California who currently finds himself in Korea.

Mr. Kang has degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley and a graduate degree in East Asian Philosophy from Korea University. He has worked in research and most recently in an inter-governmental organization promoting development cooperation between Southeast Asia and Korea, and now finds himself working as a radio host. His interest includes grassroots activism, new democracy, new capitalism, new media, and education.

The previous officers were:

• Christine Schon Marques, International Chair 
• Robert Checkoway, International Vice Chair 
• Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, International Secretary 
• Wayne Weightman, International Treasurer 
• Anthony Sistilli, International Counsel 
• Susan Haug, Regional Vice Chair for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa Region (reelected).
• Carmelan Polce, Regional Vice Chair for the Asia-Pacific Region 
• John Chudy, Vice Chair for the Americas Region (appointed to fill a vacancy).

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