Candidate Profiles

• Thomas Coyner
  Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea

  • Recently retired high tech sales & marketing (30+ years) professional with a first 9-year career in international HR. Worked primarily in Japan and Korea plus California. Worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Korea. MBA from USC and Japanese Language from U of Colorado, Boulder/Waseda U. Experienced in leadership roles in Rotary Korea and Irish Association of Korea.  Frequent contributor to Korea Times, Korea JoongAng Daily, and Irish Times.  Quoted in New York Times, Forbes, interviewed by Bloomberg TV, etc. Married 44 years with a Korean partner with a son in Bangkok. Strong believer in delegation with attentive follow-up/ encouragement as well as setting the example whenever possible. I consider myself a Biden moderate Democrat, willing to work with Republicans whenever possible. Sympathetic to more progressive Democrats but focused primarily on constructive results.

• Dhaninder Garg
  Democrats Abroad India
  
  
  • linkedin.com/in/dhaninder-garg-10221353
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• Nicholas Gordon
  Democrats Abroad Hong Kong
  
  
  • My name is Nicholas Gordon, and I am excited to stand as a candidate for the position of Regional Vice-Chair for Asia-Pacific. I live in Hong Kong and vote in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  • I currently serve as the Chair of Democrats Abroad Hong Kong (DAHK). But Democrats Abroad has been a key part of my life over the past four years, and I hope I can continue to help the organisation in the election cycles to come. 
  • I joined Democrats Abroad in 2016, after seeing a Facebook post about the Global Presidential Primary. After casting my primary ballot at the Tipping Point Bar on Hong Kong’s Wyndham Street, I was asked to serve as DAHK’s Media Relations Officer. I was elected to be Vice-Chair in 2018, and to be Chair in 2019. 
  • 2019 was also the first time I met the rest of Democrats Abroad, by attending my first Global Meeting in Washington DC. Then, in 2020, I was invited to serve as a Deputy Regional Vice Chair, and as a member of the Steering Committee for both the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus and the Global Youth Caucus.
  • I have lived outside of the United States for most of my life, being born and raised in Hong Kong. My father’s family is American, hailing from Massachusetts: I travelled there every summer to see my grandparents in Amherst. I attended college in the United States, where I voted for President Barack Obama in 2012, then went to graduate school in the United Kingdom before returning to Hong Kong in 2015.
  • Outside of Democrats Abroad, my hobbies are reading, writing, catching up on music (old and new), and playing video games. I am a regular writer and commentator, and guest host on local Hong Kong radio. I also run a regular interview series with those writing about the Asia-Pacific region.
  • I look forward to sharing more about what I’d hope to do as RVC! Feel free to email me at [email protected], where I can answer any questions you may have!

• Ablo Jalloh
  Democrats Abroad Australia
  
  
  • I am an American Citizen living in Australia for the last 10 years from Chicago, IL. My professional background is Banking and Finance but currently I own and operate a small business in Melbourne Australia. I have always been a Democrat but have never actively participated in the political process. I would like to take this opportunity to start and see if I can make a positive difference.

• Cory Lemke/Ha Woon Do
  Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea
  
  
  • Cory Lemke / Ha Woon Do is a Korean-American adoptee and organizer from Tucson, Arizona currently residing in Seoul, South Korea. Lemke/Ha witnessed Arizona’s political shift from red to purple in the early 2010s, when local organizers began to turn out the growing Hispanic and born-out-of-state vote. For this reason, Lemke/Ha believes in the potential of an inclusive, grassroots strategy of growth, motivating their candidacy for the Asia Pacific Regional Vice Chair position. 
  • Lemke/Ha has served in several leadership positions within Democrats Abroad, and these experiences have reaffirmed the belief in growth at the grassroots. As Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea, Lemke/Ha organized a school supply drive for families in need and saw how effective a community service approach can be in attracting new members to the organization. As Co-Chair and founding member of the Global Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus, Lemke/Ha learned how to leverage a diversity of experience for a common vision. Both experiences showed Lemke/Ha the importance of pragmaticism and eclecticism in leading across groups.  
  • After completing their undergraduate studies, Cory received master’s degrees in international relations and applied linguistics at the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts Boston, respectively. During this period, Lemke/Ha worked for the South Korean government teaching Korean language and promoting literacy to underprivileged students in the countryside. This role provided Cory a firsthand view of the ways in which access to language education and learning resources impact socio-economic outcome in South Korea, and this has deepened their commitment to the progressive ideals of justice and equity. Lemke/Ha continues their professional work of literacy promotion in Seoul and believes in the power of education to challenge oppressive power structures, foster leadership, and transform society. 
  • As Asia Pacific Regional Vice Chair, Lemke/Ha will work with country committee leaders to foster a culture of transparency and inclusion to promote membership growth. They will adopt an agile approach in developing new leadership and knowhow across the region. They will work to ensure that the Asia Pacific region is included in all areas of the organization.

Call for Nominations:
Democrats Abroad Regional Vice Chair Asia Pacific

We are now accepting nominations for the bi-annual election of Regional Vice Chair (RVC) for the Asia Pacific (AP) region! This election will take place during the AP Regional Meeting on the 16th of May as part of the Democrats Abroad Global Meeting. One vote is allocated to each AP country committee and will be cast solely by country committee chairs and vice chairs. The chair and vice chair each carry ½ vote. If either is not present, the other will carry the full vote.

Democrats Abroad has three RVCs, one for each region, who:

• Are elected to a two year term that begins and ends with the regional election.
• Cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.
• Serve as one of 8 voting members of the International Executive Committee. Meetings are currently held weekly and typically last from two to three hours, but this is subject to change with the new leadership. 
• Organize and lead monthly regional calls of about one to two hours to encourage, inform, and create a sense of community among regional country committees. 
• Organize and lead a one to three day annual regional meeting to encourage, inform, and create a sense of community among regional country committees. When practical, these annual meetings are held as in-person events with remote participation available. 
• Act as a liaison between the International Executive Committee and one or more of the Democrats Abroad committees, lending a hand to the committee chair and assuming chair responsibilities should that position not be filled.
• Assist in organizing and attend the annual Democrats Abroad Global Meeting, preferably in person when conditions allow. Note that travel costs are the responsibility of the RVC.
• Work with existing country committees to mediate and resolve issues within their committees including election issues, membership queries, etc. 
• Track compliance status of country committees with Charter requirements and work with emerging and out-of-compliance countries to help bring them into compliance.
• Communicate International Executive Committee decisions, policies, and Democrats Abroad best practices to the country committee leaders.
• Bring regional issues to the International Executive Committee for discussion and resolution.

The eligibility requirements for AP RVC are as follows: 

• Be a citizen of the United States. 
• Be a member of Democrats Abroad residing within a country in the Asia Pacific region.
• Adhere to the principles of the Democratic Party of the United States.
• Due to the extenuating circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of the AP region who are temporarily residing outside of their country of residence due to the pandemic may still run for AP RVC (example: resident of Singapore who is temporarily residing in France due to quarantines and travel restrictions). There must be an intent to return to the AP region following the lift of travel restrictions.

Self-nominations and nominations of others are both welcomed and encouraged! Please submit any nominations via the nomination form at this link no later than 23 March 11:59 PM EDT (UTC-4). Each nominee is required to accept their nomination no later than 31 March 11:59 PM EDT (UTC-4). Nominations from the floor of the election meeting will be accepted as well, and all official candidates will be given time to make a short speech.

A list of candidates will be released on 1 April following the nomination acceptance deadline. 

Please direct any questions to [email protected].

On behalf of the 2021 AP Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC),

Anthony Nitz (Vietnam, Chair)
Christine Valverde (New Zealand)
Michael Ramos (Australia)
Phong Quan (Singapore)