Nominations and Elections 2021 Candidates 2021

International Chair - Angela Fobbs- Democrats Abroad

Name:                               Angela Fobbs

Gender:                            Female

External links:                Website  

Candidate:                          International Chair

Member since:                      2016

Country/Countries:              Germany

Biography:   

I'm originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I vote in Florida. In 1999, I moved to Germany. I currently teach English at a university, but I have over 20 years of Information Technology and Project Management experience. I worked for the Department of Defense (DoD) for ten years. My last position was Enterprise Networks Branch Chief, responsible for all the Army's voice and data projects in Europe with a budget of over $250M per year. During my tenure with the DoD, I also managed for six years a global project for Department of Defense Education Activity Europe (DoDEA) broadcasting the High School graduations of children of deployed Military in all branches of service, to multiple locations around the world. Before coming to Europe, I owned a web design business. I worked for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida and First Union National Bank as a project manager.
 

 

Describe your volunteer work with DA and cite your greatest DA accomplishment.

Re-elected DPCA Representative in 2021

Elected DPCA Representative 2020

Appointed to the Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee in 2020

Elected Sanders Presidential Preference Group (PPG) chair at the 2020 EMEA Regional Convention in 2020

Elected DA Germany Communications Coordinator in 2017 and 2019

Formed the Global Black Caucus starting in August 2017

Appointed Global Black Caucus (GBC) Chair in October 2017

Member of Global Women's Caucus Steering Committee since October 2017

Member of Global Communications Team 2017-2018

I have done many things in the past four years, many of which don’t have specific titles. My greatest volunteer achievement is sharing my knowledge and experience with members in non-country committees in Poland, Portugal, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco, and Egypt so they could do GOTV and help Americans in those countries vote. Portugal and South Africa are now active country committees and the others are working hard to become country committees.

Why are you running for this office?

I am running for Chair to ensure Democrats Abroad is a decisive component in winning the 2022 mid-terms. In 2017, I stood up for our democracy and joined the fight against autocracy and oppression. Despite all our trials and tribulations, we were triumphant. The threats to our democracy have not ended, and the fight must continue. I will work with all our global teams, regional vice-chairs, and country committees to build on what we have created in the past two election cycles, change what isn't working well, and incorporate new ideas. Working together is how we can do even greater things. I will continue to expand our GOTV outreach and increase our influence in the Democratic Party. I will be a collaborative chair who will unify our vast and diverse resources to improve our ability to help win elections and move forward on progressive policies. We only have two parties in America, and the Republicans are anti-democratic. Our nation's democracy depends on the Democratic Party.

How will your skill sets and experience contribute to DA's success?

Confidence, teamwork, perseverance, motivation, and the ability to work under pressure are skills I bring to the table. With these skills, I will continue to work effectively for the good of DA. I have experience leading global teams from my tenure as GBC Chair and my work with the DoD. I have years of project management experience which I will use to coordinate our election efforts. Motivating and encouraging others is second nature to me. This skill is critical in an all-volunteer workforce. I am an effective oral communicator, a good writer, and a polished presenter. I will use every bit of my knowledge, experience, persuasion abilities, and negotiation skills to ensure we make a valuable contribution to the Democratic Party and our nation.

Are there any DA organizational or practical issues (not political goals) that you would like to address should you be elected?

We are a vast organization, and we need to start acting like it. Here a few things I would like to address:

  • We need an HR Department/Volunteer Coordination team to manage our volunteer intake and deployment better. 
  • We need an Ombudsman or Inspector General (IG) to handle complaints 
  • We need a menu of volunteer activities and tasks that people who have limited time but still want to contribute can do. 
  • We need to provide more support to small cc’s and those in formation. 
  • We need to receive monthly funding from the DNC 
  • We need to ensure the hearing impaired can participate in Global events 
  • Create a more detailed history of DA and perhaps turn it into a book we could use for fundraising
  • We need to recognize long-term volunteers: two years, five years, ten years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, and 30 years

How can Democrats Abroad best raise our profile among American voters abroad and better work to elect Democrats?

  • Continue our diversity training to ensure DA is a more inclusive environment and we turnoff fewer people because of exclusionary behaviors. 
  • Increase our earned media by reaching out to potential voters through making more appearances on podcasts, YouTube shows, and other media. 
  • Increase our paid media e.g., advertising 
  • Work with other leftist organizations to help get out the vote. 
  • Expand our reach to other social media platforms like TikTok, Twitch, Clubhouse and others. We have to go where the people are. 
  • Increase outreach to dual citizens in local languages.
  • Continue to address the challenges Americans abroad face in voting. • Listen to ideas from other people because other people know things I don’t.

Endorsement from Adrianne George, 2016-2024 DNC Member, DA Sweden Black Caucus Chair

 

A VOTE FOR Angela IS A VOTE FOR UNITY, DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

Angela Fobbs, DPCA Voting Member, Germany, Global Black Caucus Chair, is a doer. She is an innovative and determined leader who skillfully and tirelessly works overtime in her multiple roles within Democrats Abroad. I sincerely endorse her candidacy for the position of Democrats Abroad International Chair.

Angela Fobbs is not afraid of hard work. In fact, she welcomes it and consistently commits the largest portion of any week to Democrats Abroad work. She knows how to take responsibility and collaboratively create and drive the strategy for projects, groups and organizations.

As the Global Volunteer Coordinator, I was introduced to Angela Fobbs when she stepped up to form Democrats Abroad Global Black Caucus. Within 6 weeks, she had put together a team, delivered all things necessary, and launched the Black Caucus. Since then, the Global Black Caucus has organized dozens of global events featuring internationally renowned speakers. Country Committees in every region have formed Black Caucuses.

Angela is an enthusiastic fundraiser who successfully launched personal campaigns, includes fundraising asks of Democrats Abroad event attendees and collaborates on merchandise designs for the Coop program. As the Chair of the Global Black Caucus, she has been the spokesperson for the Caucus, to the press, as a panelist, guest speaker or webinar and podcast host.  She communicates with Caucus members, global committee members and within her country committee. Angela has also performed different roles on the Global Communications Team. She’s hosted literally dozens of Global webinars including a Black Lives Matter Vigil, 12 hour Earth Day marathon, 3-hour Global Cafes for discussing hot topics, and more.

She’s worked closely with our own DNC Members to secure DNC surrogates, GOTV videos from other State parties, lead monthly Caucus Steering Committee meetings, events and Democrats Abroad Global Meetings with volunteers around the world. Additionally, she has contributed to our Party platform, and serves on our Global Diversity & Inclusion Task Force.

Angela initiated the ever-growing Global Black Caucus Poet Laureates circle and promotes intersectional events and collaboration among our Caucuses.She hosts the Power to the People Podcast for the Caucus in addition to driving the social media efforts across several channels. She’s been instrumental in helping clusters form in Africa and the Caribbean and continuously encourages volunteer participation in Get Out The Vote efforts.

She has participated in and worked at a local polling station during our Global Presidential Primary, and has been part of the Door Knock Team visiting legislators in Washington, DC to take our issues directly to the decision makers.

In addition to giving freely of her time, she has invested her money in attending national, regional and global Democrats Abroad meetings where she has given moving testimony to support her beliefs.

Angela is a passionate community activist for global human and civil rights, and the environment.  Her years of professional project management experience have given her the skills to organize large projects and see them through to completion. There is nothing that Angela cannot achieve. I believe that any leadership group will be lucky to have Angela onboard.

Enthusiastically,

 

Endorsement from Ada Shen, Chair DA France, Candidate for International Chair

It is my pleasure to endorse Angela Fobbs for International Chair of Democrats Abroad. 

I first met Angela in 2017 at the Madrid EMEA Regional meeting. I had noticed a sudden explosion, a WEALTH of substance — books, essays, films — on the GBC website, and was excited to meet the person responsible. I was impressed from the start.

Like many, Angela had become involved with DA post-Trump. At first, the new content was not widely shared. Some might have become discouraged but Angela never stopped finding new ways to get that conversation out there. Today, we see all the Caucuses take similar approaches, in highly collaborative fashion. Curating substance like this takes time, and careful attention but it is a powerful and necessary service to our collective — to remind us that as Democrats that we must not only win elections, but how and why also matters.

This is how I would summarize what Angela brings: she is a true moral compass always pointing to the powerful, necessary conversations we need to be having as Democrats Abroad. Her support of Global webinars, providing moderation, coordination, and technical support to all, not just the GBC, has helped us contextualize our fierce election cycle battles in the larger struggle for peace, justice, equality for all — which is the America we love and fight for. We are better for having Angela with us, and I believe that as Chair she would continue to hold up a high standard, always reminding that how we win matters.