Candidate for: Basel Chapter Chair
Name: Liz Voss
Gender / Pronouns: Female / she/her
About: Grad student at University of Basel, "trailing spouse," mom to a 12 y/o, dog mom to a Greek rescue
Personal Statement: I have been involved with Democrats Abroad Switzerland since 2017. In the past 7.5 years, I have officially served as national Vice Chair and Secretary, Chapter Chair, DPCA Voting Representative, and Delegate-at-Large to the 2024 DNC. I have unofficially served as national Secretary and Treasurer, while officially serving as Vice Chair (which I do not recommend!) I have attended an International AGM in Tokyo and Regional AGMs in Madrid, Athens, and Alicante.
I got involved with Democrats Abroad Switzerland after the previously unimaginable happened and I told my husband we couldn’t move back to the US for at least four years. I have stayed involved with Democrats Abroad because I believe in the mission and have found a group of people who share my values and help make living abroad feel more like home. I have spent the last few years learning more about voter registration, fundraising, and organizing than I ever thought I would, but I think that the work that DA does is infinitely valuable and I want to continue being a part of it.
Should I be elected for the 2025-27 term, I want to build the Basel chapter further, in terms of raw membership numbers as well as active volunteers. I hope that we can collaborate with other English-speaking organizations in the area to increase voter awareness. I want to build on our current schedule of social and political activities to increase our interactions with members and our community.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term as Basel Chair, and I hope you will allow me to continue to serve.
Candidate for: Basel Chapter Vice-Chair
Name: Olivia Eggenberger
Personal Statement: I am originally from Michigan but have lived in Switzerland since 2016- I came with my research lab when my PhD advisor accepted a position in Fribourg. Since then, I have lived in three different Swiss cities (Basel is my favorite), adopted a cat, gotten married, and had a baby (now 12 months old).
I joined DA two years ago when I attended a meeting purely out of curiosity. This meeting inspired me to get involved and I ended up volunteering to be member-at-large even before officially joining Democrats Abroad. In these two years I have greatly enjoyed getting to know the rest of the members and helping organize events (everything from Thirsty Thursdays to our Harris-Walz fundraiser last year). A highlight of this time was the AMEA convention in Spain in fall of 2023, I learned a lot and enjoyed bonding with the rest of the leadership team in a beautiful setting.
As Vice Chair of the Basel chapter, I would like to continue to support the chair and the chapter however I can be useful. I think the work we do is important on a personal and a political level and I would be honored to continue to be a part of it as a member of the leadership team.
Candidate for: Basel Chapter Secretary
Name: Kristen Jafflin
Personal Statement: It has been great working with the engaged, active team we have here in Basel, and I am hoping to continue that work with another term as Secretary! Over the last 2 years, I’ve enjoyed serving as secretary and assisting the chair by helping organize the Voter Assistance and Get out the Vote teams for the 2024 elections.
Our work is more important than ever in the current challenging political climate. I hope that you will give me a chance to continue that work for the next 2 years. I need not tell any of you how important the next election cycle will be. Here in Basel, we must do our part, helping our fellow US citizens keep engaged with the political process, educating them on how to vote from Abroad and helping them register and request their ballots and making our voices heard on issues that are important to us.