posted by
Candice Kerestan | DA International Chair; Immediate Past DA Germany Chair
September 23, 2021
Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus — Emily Lines (Germany)
Hi, Everyone! I’m Emily and I'm an Indiana voter living in Berlin, Germany. I've been here for the past ten years and am working in the field of science communication. I'm really honored to have been named Chair of the Global Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus. In addition to this role, I am currently the Vice Chair of DA Germany. I have been actively involved with Democrats Abroad since the spring of 2016 and have held roles at the country, chapter, and international level. I'm looking forward to continuing to help the AAPI Caucus grow and establish more contacts with groups getting out the vote among the AAPI community in the United States. A major benefit for me as a member of this caucus is the chance to learn more about the culture, history, and importance of this growing sector of the U.S. population. It is also wonderful to meet other AAPI members of Democrats Abroad and recognize how diverse we are as a community. As the Chair, it is an honor to represent one of these many diverse faces, and I look forward to working with other leaders in our organization to get out the vote.
Join Emily and the AAPI Caucus here
Black Caucus — Leedonal (Jazzmin Dian) Moore (Switzerland)
Unity through diverse & inclusive Leadership! As they in German: Angenehm Anders Als Alle Anderen (Pleasantly Different Than Everyone Else). My name is Leedonal Moore, and I also go by the name Jazzmin Dian Moore and although I’m from Mississippi, I'm a Texas voter. I started early on in investing my time and passion in strengthening marginalized communities, especially the African-American and LGBTIQ+ Community. For my engagements, I’ve received various national and international awards such as the Miss Drag Queen Switzerland 2008 title, European TOLERANTIA Award 2016 and an honorary medal for my outstanding work & activism representing Americans living abroad 2016. Democrats Abroad is the community where I feel at home, where I can be who I am and where I can help others register to vote and help execute publishing different deadlines for each state so that people can properly exercise their fundamental voting rights, while empowering the strengths that come with utilizing intersectionality. Dear reader, I'm asking you: How can I help? Love & Light.
Join Leedonal and the Black Caucus here
Hispanic Caucus — Onélica Andrade (Belgium)
I was born in Venezuela and moved to Davis, California when I was a teenager, where I volunteered in a variety of programs to help the Latino community, in particular migrant farm workers. I moved to Belgium in 2016 to work on European Climate policy. That year I watched in despair the results of the presidential election. I felt that the tolerant and progressive country that welcomed me and my family was in danger. I found DA and quickly got involved. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to ensure there would not be a repeat of 2016. In 2020 I was elected as one of the 13 pledged delegates for the 2020 Democratic National Convention and got very involved at the Global level with DA, including with the Hispanic Caucus. As Chair of the Caucus I am looking forward to working to ensure that the voices of US Latinx community are heard. That means this Caucus working together to mobilize the Latinx vote abroad for the Midterm elections. I want to build on the excellent work previous leaders have done in launching and developing the Caucus. In the next couple of years we need to work hard to secure and increase the gains from 2021. We must also be vigilant and fight to protect the right to vote of our community and other minorities.
Join Onélica and the Hispanic Caucus here
LGBTQ Caucus — Bob Vallier (Italy)
I cut my teeth on LGBTQ activism fighting for marriage equality, starting in Chicago when I was a graduate student in Philosophy in the 1990s. I managed to get myself arrested in 1994 at a small but loud protest, at a time when marriage equality was on no one’s radar. Graduate work took me to Paris, where I continued to agitate for marriage equality and LGBTQ rights—I failed to get arrested, but I did get a tooth kicked out by a skin-headed counter-protestor. When I went back to the States at the end of the 1990s, I had a temporary appointment at George Washington University where I helped to establish an LGBTQ studies minor, and then later, returning to Chicago, I did exactly the work with LGBT colleagues at my graduate alma mater, DePaul University, which became the first Catholic university in the United States to have such an academic program. I also made the acquaintance of a young state Senator with a funny name and big ears, and worked on his Senate campaign, and eventually his presidential campaign. In 2010, the stars aligned and I moved back to Paris, where I joined DA France and served as both the Secretary and the LGBTQ Caucus chair (France had a local caucus before there was a global caucus), and annually organized the Pride Picnic—we didn’t march in the parade as it was always too hot, so instead we had a large social gathering with much food and wine. Now I’m in Florence Italy, serving as the DA Italy Vice Chair. My life journey has brought me to many interesting places—Chicago, Washington, Paris, Florence—but in fact I hail from a very small midwestern town just outside of Flint Michigan, where I still vote.
A lot has changed for us in the last decade, but the gains we made are hardly secure, and there is still much work to be done. The preceding four years reminded us just how tenuous our rights are, and underscored that the very lives of our LGBTQ friends and family—both abroad and at home—are still at risk. Perhaps the greatest symbol of this risk at the moment is the stalled Equality Act, which, were it ever to become law, would make it illegal for us to be discriminated against fired because of our sexual identities or to be denied medical services for pre-existing health conditions, among other things. And the also-stalled Uniting American Families bill would reduce or eliminate long—sometimes very long—waiting periods for LGBTQ families to join their American family member in the United States as legal immigrants. And trans people, particularly of color, continue to be victims of violent crime, often without consequence or repercussion.
These are the kinds of issues for which we must continue to advocate with a strong voice as the LGBTQ Caucus of Democrats Abroad. We will do so as we have always done so—through informational webinars with fellow advocates from partner organizations, through contacting our Congresspeople and Senators to voice support for legislative initiatives, through the raising of consciousness so that members and leaders of Democrats Abroad, other state parties, and the DNC understand why these issues are important, through working with other DA Caucuses to highlight that LGBTQ issues are always intersectional, cutting across age, class, race and gender. And perhaps most significantly, we will work tirelessly to elect more LGBTQ leaders and allies to every level of government, from the city council to the state assembly, the U.S House and Senate, and maybe even in the not too distant future, even the White House.
Join Bob and the LGBTQ Caucus here
Progressive Caucus (ProDA) — Bruce Murray (Austria)
Soon after our Global Progressive Caucus formed in 2018, I bicycled from Madison, WI to Pittsburgh, PA on my Midwest Midterm Progressive Bikeathon. The course took me through battleground states where the now former President had won narrow victories two years earlier. My goal was to learn more about why that happened and get out the vote for Democratic candidates. Along the way, I experienced the results of decades-long political neglect, listened to people’s stories, volunteered for progressive candidates, and reveled when we won back the House. In the meantime, we have won back the White House and Senate, too!
As incoming Chair of our Global Progressive Caucus, I wish to thank all who have contributed to its impressive development. We have come a long way, with resolution and charter amendment work, helping to shape our 2020 platform, hosting strong events, encouraging the exchange of information and principled discussion on issues central to our progressive mission, and getting out the vote for the candidates we now urge to pass big and bold, once-in-a-generation legislation on the scale of the crises we confront. I look forward to working with all progressives at home and abroad to ensure we improve our physical and human infrastructure, combat climate change, achieve environmental justice, contribute to heightened inclusivity and transparency in our political work, and tackle the many other challenges we face. Like so many of us, I assert that our work on these goals will lay the best possible foundation for electoral success this year, in the 2022 midterms, and beyond!
Join Bruce and ProDA here
Veteran and Military Families (VMF) Caucus — Mike Nitz (Vietnam)
I am excited to help our dedicated community and our allies advocate on the issues that matter to us most and to build our community on both the local and global level. I strongly believe that community engagement is how we win, and we can achieve that through our advocacy efforts, putting on excellent events, and listening to the feedback we get from our community. It is my goal to facilitate engagement, collaboration, and growth at every level of Democrats Abroad.
Join Mike and the VMF Caucus here
Women's Caucus — Ann Hesse (Germany)
I’m a California born opera singer-turned teacher-turned mom-turned political activist! And I am honored to be reappointed as DA Global Women’s Caucus chair! Having served DA both as a global leader and locally as a Germany chapter chair has helped me to understand how our organization works, what needs improvement, and how we as global leaders can best support our local leaders around the world As the mother of two young women, I am particularly proud to be volunteering with our DA Women’s Caucus. We work hard to make sure that all our daughters continue to enjoy the same rights that our mothers and grandmothers won for us not that long ago, and to expand those rights until we reach true gender equality. My entire team is acutely aware that If we don’t fight with all our strength right now, their future is not secure. Our DA Global Women’s Caucus is a living, growing “work in progress.” There is still a lot of work to do and long way to go, but its potential excites me! In addition to our well-established and extremely effective issue action teams who do research, educate, and inform our members, track legislation, develop activist tool kits and create online events, there are many more projects I just can’t wait to tackle in the coming year. We are currently working to help more of our country committees grow their own local women’s caucus groups and strengthen communication and collaboration between women’s caucus groups worldwide. We’d also like to develop stronger ties with our stateside women’s caucuses and continue to team up with more sister organizations back home. We will continue to collaborate with the other DA caucuses and are also looking forward to working closely the new state teams and finding common projects to work on. I have loved this job, full of purpose and pleasure, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue investing my time, energy, and ideas in this important project.
Join Ann and the Women's Caucus here
Youth Caucus — Miguel Madrigal (Costa Rica)
Born on the Fourth of July in Columbus, Ohio, Miguel spent the first years of his life in the Buckeye State before moving to Costa Rica at the age of six. If there is something that makes Miguel tick, it's politics. He got involved with Democrats Abroad the day he turned 18 years old. Since then, he has registered hundreds of overseas voters, volunteered at voting centers during the 2016 and 2020 Global Presidential Primaries, served as a Delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, and recently worked as a canvasser in Georgia to help Democrats win! As Chair of the Global Youth Caucus, Miguel will host a lot of informative events that motivate caucus members, launch a mentorship program for DA's newest members, and strive for greater partnerships with other groups, including Young Democrats of America, the DNC's official youth arm.
Join Miguel and the Youth Caucus here
Advocacy — Katie Solon (Germany)
I am excited to help our dedicated community and our allies advocate on the issues that matter to us most and to build our community on both the local and global level. I strongly believe that community engagement is how we win, and we can achieve that through our advocacy efforts, putting on excellent events, and listening to the feedback we get from our community. It is my goal to facilitate engagement, collaboration, and growth at every level of Democrats Abroad.
Caucus Coordinator — Karen Frankenstein
It’s been my pleasure to volunteer for DA on the IT Team for the past few years, and I am looking forward to the coming two years volunteering as the Global Caucus Coordinator. I grew up overseas, so being a Democrat Abroad and dealing with the issues and challenges as an American outside of the USA are quite “normal” for me. And our caucuses are wonderful examples of some of the marvelous opportunities that we as Americans abroad can take advantage of. Our global caucuses span the globe and bring people to DA in a way that reaches beyond our State Party lines by inviting people to join a community and giving these communities a political voice. I intend to help our caucuses expand their reach and audience to bring even more people to Democrats Abroad, taking our global organization to the next level.
Communications Director — Caroline Rowland (United Kingdom)
Caroline Rowland is new to Democrats Abroad, moving to the United Kingdom in 2020. She brings years of experience in Political Communications to her new role with DA, including serving as Communications Director to the Florida Democratic Party and Congresswoman Val Demings. In Florida she saw first hand how Democrats Abroad could influence races and is excited to help build on the incredible work being done.
Design — Alyson McLean (Germany)
I vote in PA. Live in Berlin and have happily found HOME SWEET HOME with Democrats Abroad. I joined the organization just after Trump's nomination when I went to the Women's March in January 2017. Someone handed me a brochure for DA that afternoon. I went home, signed up & was immediately hooked. Kismet! I was welcomed by leadership and found my niche providing support & coordination for design services. I am most excited in my role as Design Coordinator to not only provide on target, on strategy, on time, and on-brand designs but also to provide support and appreciation for the team & those we serve. When I started with DA I was immediately impressed with how leadership guided me along & made sure I was having the best experience & making the most of my expertise - that is something I find so important as I continue to collaborate with the DA team. We are a small but mighty group and it is key in our success that our volunteers are appreciated and valued for the work they do and empowered to take on more. My background is in advertising - with 25 years of real-world project management experience working on some of the world's most recognizable brands and managing workflow for in-house as well as freelance print & digital design.
Fundraising — Jeff Nadison (France)
Hi, I’m Jeff Nadison. I live in France and vote in California – in fact, I just did! While working in the US, UK, France, Germany and Singapore over the past thirty years, I have developed a skill-set readily applicable to the mission of the Global Fundraising Coordinator. These skills include team-building, networking, mentoring, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution and of course, fund raising. I very much look forward to applying these skills to the challenge of raising funds for the Democrats. I am highly confident that the money raised will be deployed by the DA community with wisdom and efficiency and that our efforts will bear fruit in the 2022 mid-terms. While it is true that I do not have direct experience raising money for a political campaign or organization, I have raised tens of millions of dollars for commercial and philanthropic organizations, and my skill at getting people to ‘yes’ and to open their wallets is very well established. I will be counting on building a strong team that can complement my skills and I will be reaching out to the DA community to learn from members with either direct fundraising experience or who otherwise have fresh ideas about raising money. I am keen to understand what has worked and failed in the past and to help disseminate best practices across the community. Please get in touch if you’d like to share your thoughts on fundraising!
Get-Out-The-Vote (Asia-Pacific) — Cory Lemke / Ha Woon Do (South Korea)
Cory Lemke / Ha Woon Do is a Korean-American adoptee and organizer from Tucson, Arizona currently residing in Seoul, South Korea. Lemke/Ha currently serves as the Chair of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea and has also served as one of the Co-Chairs for the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus. He/They holds master’s degrees in international relations and applied linguistics from the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts Boston, respectively. Lemke/Ha began his career working for the South Korean government teaching the Korean language and promoting literacy to underprivileged students in the countryside. Lemke/Ha continues to work in literacy promotion in Seoul and believes in the power of education to challenge oppressive power structures, foster leadership, and transform society.
As AP GOTV Coordinator, Lemke / Ha is committed to building organizing capacities in the Asia Pacific region by collaborating with internal stakeholders to expand the electorate in the region, innovating existing trainings to enable more agility of strategy, and building durable GOTV teams within the country committees to ensure organizational continuity.
Get-Out-The-Vote Coordinator (Europe, Middle East, & Africa) — Diego Rivas (Germany)
I have been an active volunteer with Democrats Abroad since 2015 and am now honored to mobilize voters across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa as the EMEA GOTV Coordinator. After being Chair of Democrats Abroad Berlin from 2017-2021, I know first hand that when we organize, Democrats Abroad can be the margin of victory. Next to my experience as a local DA leader in Berlin, I bring institutional knowledge of DA and the Democratic Party: I have been a DPCA Voting Rep. since 2019 and was a Bernie Sanders Delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. During the day I work at the Berlin based think-tank Das Progressive Zentrum managing political projects and conferences focusing on transatlantic relations and progressive governance. After collaborating with so many great volunteers around the world to keep the House and win the Presidency in 2020, I am not ready to sit 2022 out. Progress needs sustainable and consistent action, and I am eager to bring my institutional knowledge as well as my organizing and management skills to the 2022 midterm campaign: together, we can once again be the margin of victory.
Internal Communications — Brooke Burns (France)
I'm thrilled to take on the role of Global Internal Comms Coordinator for DA! After serving at the local and regional level, I've listened to a lot of folks report back on what works, and what still needs improvement. In the coming months, I plan to carefully evaluate existing processes and target areas where we can improve our transparency and accessibility, while boosting engagement with new and existing members. My professional background is in communications. I help people from around the world integrate into a new system, provide the information that lets them maximize their engagement (and enjoyment!) with the organization, and empowers them to have a positive experience in a new community. On an average day, you might find me editing an internal newsletter, updating our website or internal portal, managing an internal database, or preparing a communication on behalf of other leaders in the organization. I'm looking forward to working with everyone!
IT — Shari Temple (Germany)
I'm excited to continue in the role of Global IT Coordinator. As an IT professional, I find this team as a great way to use my skills to help Democrats Abroad get out the vote (GOTV). I enjoy working with the talented and creative people on the team to come up with ideas and ways to make our work easier while achieving our mission to elect more Democrats. We are always looking for ways to improve our technology and make things simpler.
Press — Daniel Strief (United Kingdom)
I’m excited to serve as the Global Press Coordinator for Democrats Abroad. I’m a freelance writer, policy analyst and lecturer in the UK, where I’ve been based for nearly two decades. I began my career in journalism in New York and London before earning a PhD in International History from the London School of Economics, where I also taught as a Fellow. After years spent teaching and writing about politics, I'm looking forward to getting off the sidelines and making a positive contribution to Democratic causes.
Social Media — Edgar Lopez-Vallejo (Mexico)
I am a serial migrant who loves sharing with the Dems Abroad our borderless worldview and commitment to improving civilization, no matter where we are on the planet. I have put my skills as a media content creator (multilingual audiovisual writer, editor, producer) in the service of helping US citizens abroad to vote and remain a vital part of the country’s body politic. This term I will do my best to carry throughout our Global Social Media platforms the Democrats Abroad ideals, goals, and discourse, all around the Earth, so it can echo in the minds of US citizens everywhere, motivate them to vote back home and be, evermore, the margin of victory for the right side of History.
Voter Assistance — Kendra Borgen (The Netherlands)
Born into a Reagan-era hunter-gatherer society in Alaska, Kendra Borgen was shaped by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, inspired to help change and reshape America and its values. Her first election was the infamous 2000 Bush V Gore which saw Gore lose because of fewer than 500 voters in Florida (don't even get me started on the Senate) and talks of third-party spoilers.
This is where her drive to help voters comes from. Knowing that voter turnout is the key to success for Democratic candidates, she has spent her entire adult life helping voters get and return their ballots. Energized by the 230 volunteers who came together to staff the 'Zoom Room' for over 46 hours every week leading to the 2020 elections, she's excited to globalize our voter assistance efforts to not only help ensure every DA member in our represented countries gets access to the most up-to-date info on how to vote and return ballots, but also to help reach American voters in every place we live.
Vote from Abroad — Heidi Burch (Canada)
As a long-time DA volunteer, my focus has always been to help overseas voters "get ballots in boxes." Many overseas voters have little or no understanding of how to vote from abroad, so I'm excited to continue working to ensure that VFA has the most accurate and up-to-date information for overseas voters and is as user-friendly as possible. I also want to ensure that changes to state voting rules and requirements are transmitted quickly and accurately to all voting assistance volunteers so they can feel well-trained and supported. In addition to staying on top of the current voting rules and requirements, I believe DA can do a tremendous amount of good by working to change current laws that are impeding overseas voting.
Equal Rights Amendment Task Force — Shari Temple (Germany)
I am excited to be able to continue in the role as the ERA Task Force Coordinator. The Equal Rights Amendment is so important - for women's rights to be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. As a Texas voter, I'm appalled at what is happening to women's rights there. DA's ERA Task Force helped Virginia to become the 38th and last needed state for ratification when it ratified it in January 2020. However, now things are hung in the courts and Senate. The task force is also working to ensure women have equal rights in all state constitutions. To date, only half have those. I'm looking forward to working with DA to make equal rights for women, really equal rights for all, a reality in the United States and one day across the globe.
Medicare Portability Task Force — Heather Stone (Israel)
Medicare Portability is a clear policy interest of Americans living overseas. A resolution establishing the Medicare Portability Task Force was unanimously approved by Democrats Abroad leaders at their May 2021 Global Meeting. I am excited to lead a team of great volunteers with amazing skills and focus on the topic, hopefully, to help lead us to legislative results in Congress in the near future. I have been a leader in DA since 2016, including re-establishing DA Israel which was out of compliance and served as its first chair after coming into compliance. I am now serving as Deputy International Counsel (Global). I bring all my experience and skills to the Task Force to help make it successful.
Reparations Task Force — Antar Keith (Germany)
Born to a working-class family in the Bronx, New York, I gained firsthand knowledge of political disenfranchisement in America. This consciousness was molded by a family with connections to Black Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movement, one which inspired a keen understanding that those with the greatest proximity to pain should be closest to power. Our leaders require not only knowledge of how voters operate, but how quickly historically disenfranchised Americans can slide into disillusionment. In my time working within DA leadership, I've sought to reverse this disillusionment. I have since held the position of Vice Chair of DA Germany, Saxony chapter and Co-Chair of the Germany Progressive Caucus. I further have the honor and privilege of representing many DA members in Germany at the global-level as a DPCA Voting Representative. Lastly, I am the Chair of the Reparations Task Force.
Taxation Task Force — Rebecca Lammers (United Kingdom)
Having spent the last 5 years as a member of the DA International Taxation Task Force, I am excited about becoming chair next year and to continue our fight to pass Residency Based Taxation, FATCA same country exception, FBAR reform, and to fix the tax discrimination that Americans abroad face in the US tax code. For me, taxes are a voting rights issue. Why? Because people don't vote because they're scared that if they do then it has a link to their tax record. Well, it doesn't. The US tax code is too complicated and too expensive for everyday Americans living abroad, it's unfair, and we need to change that. The more we fix the tax code, the more people we'll get to vote, and the more Democrats we'll get elected in to help improve the country and the world.
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