The nomination period for the DA France Diversity Caucus elections is now closed. Members of the Diversity Caucus will receive a ballot by email, and electronic early voting will end on March 11 at 12 pm. Attendees of the online election event, which begins at 1 pm on March 11, may vote during the event.

The Election Board is pleased to announce the candidate!

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Candidates for Co-Chair

Ada Shen, candidate for DAF Diversity Caucus Co-Chair

My name is Ada Shen, and I am running for Diversity Caucus Co-Chair. As Co-Chair, I am committed to building on the work of previous leaders of the DAF Diversity Caucus — one of the oldest caucuses in all of Democrats Abroad globally — in continuing to host meaningful events and discussion of the important issues of these times in which we live. We reach those members of the Black, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American caucuses and constituency groups who reside in France. We must grow the engagement of communities of color and the necessary allyship needed to achieve positive political change in US politics — the Diversity Caucus is our mechanism for doing our part from France, and I will do my best to achieve this engagement as we head into 2024. I have served on the Diversity Caucus Steering Committee since 2019, am past National Chair of DA France (2019-2021), and past National GOTV Coordinator (2018-2019). All politics is local, and we have our own role to play from France — urgently and necessarily. If you have comments, questions or ideas, or if you want to help, please email me at [email protected]. Let's get to work! Merci!

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All members of the DAF Diversity Caucus may vote in the leadership elections. The elections will be decided by a plurality of votes (the candidate who gets the most votes in the election wins). DAF does not accept proxy votes. The ballot includes a space for write-in candidates for all positions.  

New members are welcome to join and vote. To join: www.democratsabroad.org/join. You must be a US citizen 18 years of age or older by Nov. 7, 2023. New members may join up until the day before the election.

Questions? Please contact the DA Diversity Caucus Election Board at:

[email protected]

Thank you for voting!

DAF Diversity Caucus Election Board

Welcome to the DAFrance Diversity Caucus blog. We have created this space to share news, events, and ideas within the community of our members in France.  The Diversity Caucus is a forum to bring together people interested in issues concerning people of color. In France, the Diversity Caucus brings together the Global Black, Hispanic, Asian American Pacific Islander caucuses and Native American and Middle East North African constituency groups.

Our mission is to support, educate and enlighten our community with social, political and cultural events. We hope to engage, empower and motivate our members and the larger community of Americans in France to exercise their right to vote from abroad. 

We encourage you to reach out to us to provide content and ideas for this blog in order to keep it as interactive as possible. You can contact the DA France Diversity Caucus Chair Ada Shen at  [email protected].

We invite you to join the discussion on our Facebook group 

2023 DA FRANCE LGBTQ+ CAUCUS ELECTION CANDIDATES

The nominations and call for candidates period for the 2023 DA France LGBTQ+ Caucus Elections has now closed. Please find below statements for the candidates standing for election for the two officer positions up for election. 

The DA France LGBTQ+ Caucus Election will take place via Zoom on Saturday March 11 at 11AM -RSVP here to get the Zoom link.

All members of the DA France LGBTQ+ Caucus will receive an email containing a link to the ballot, which may be used for early voting. Those who attend the Election and Meeting will have the chance to hear from the candidates before voting.

New members are welcome to join and vote — please do so by March 10. You must be a U.S. citizen living overseas and at least 18 years old at the time of the next federal election to join Democrats Abroad, and be living in France to vote in this election (join here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/join), and also be a LGBTQ+ member of the Global LGBTQ+ Caucus (join here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/LGBTQ). 

Questions? Contact the LGBTQ+ Caucus Election Board at [email protected].

Welcome to the DAFrance LGBTQ+ Caucus blog. We have created this space to share news, events, and ideas within the community of our members in France. The Democrats Abroad LGBTQ+ Caucus is a forum for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex members and any Democrat abroad who supports them. 

Our mission is to support, educate and enlighten our community with social, political and cultural events. We hope to engage, empower and motivate our members and the larger community of Americans in France to exercise their right to vote from abroad. 

We encourage you to reach out to us to provide content and ideas for this blog in order to keep it as interactive as possible. You can contact the DAFrance LGBTQ+ Interim co-Chairs - Fred Hoffman and Juan Cerda at [email protected].

We invite you to visit our Global LGBT+ Caucus webpage in order to learn more about our global initiatives and to join the LGBT Caucus (if you haven't already done so).

2023 DA FRANCE YOUTH CAUCUS ELECTION CANDIDATES

The nominations and call for candidates period for the 2023 DA France Youth Caucus Elections has now closed. Please find below statements for the candidates standing for election for the four officer positions — two Co-Chair, two Communications Officers, two Events Officers, and two Political Engagement Officers. As announced, there will be two officers elected for each officer position.

The DA France Youth Caucus Election will take place in person and via Zoom on Monday March 13 at 7PM -RSVP here.

All members of the DA France Youth Caucus will receive an email containing a link to the ballot, which may be used for early voting. Those who attend the Election and Meeting will have the chance to hear from the candidates before voting. Results will be tabulated and announced during the meeting.

New members are welcome to join and vote — please do so by March 12. You must be a U.S. citizen living overseas and at least 18 years old at the time of the next federal election to join Democrats Abroad, and be living in France to vote in this election (join here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/join), and also be a youth member (35 and younger) of the Global Youth Caucus (join here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/yc). 

Questions? Contact the Youth Caucus Election Board at [email protected].

Welcome to the DA France Youth Caucus blog (aka Young Dems in France). We have created this space to share news, events, and ideas within the community of our members in France. We aim to build political engagement among young Dems living abroad, including voter registration and voting from abroad as well as issue education, advocacy and activism, especially youth-led and youth-related.

Our mission is to support, educate and enlighten our community with social, political and cultural events. We hope to engage, empower, and motivate our members and the larger community of Americans in France to exercise their right to vote from abroad. 

We encourage you to reach out to us to provide content and ideas for this blog in order to keep it as interactive as possible. You can contact the DA France Youth Caucus co-chairs - Chloe Olsen and Ricky Marc at [email protected].

We invite you to visit our Global Youth Caucus webpage in order to learn more about our global initiatives and to join the Youth Caucus (if you haven't already done so). We also have a Young Democrats in France Facebook group. Please visit us!

Greetings to the members of the Women's Caucus of DA France.

Florida’s Board of Education’s latest guidelines for its Black History Curriculum is an offense to the African American community.  Texas A&M’s hiring and subsequent ouster of Dr. Katherine McElroy an African American woman, as professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism is an attack against both her race and gender according to Dr. McElroy. 

We are speaking out against these latest attacks on democracy.  Civil rights, women’s rights, diversity, inclusion, and equity, affirmative action, education – human rights - are being destroyed.

Our voice is our power.  Following are statements from the Women’s Caucus France, on Florida’s Board of Education, and Texas A&M.

2023 DA FRANCE WOMEN'S CAUCUS ELECTION CANDIDATES

The nomination period for the DA France Women’s Caucus elections is now closed. The DAF Women’s Caucus is seeking to elect two Co-Chairs for a term of two years. Members of the Women’s Caucus will receive a ballot by email, and electronic voting will end on March 13 at 6 PM. 

The Election Board is pleased to announce the candidates!

Welcome to the DA France Veteran & Military Families Caucus blog. We have created this space to share news, events, and ideas within the community of our members in France. We advocate on issues important to the veterans and their families within the United States of America and those living abroad. 

Our mission is to support, educate and enlighten our community with social, political and cultural events. In particular, we organize participation in Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies at U.S. landmarks abroad such as military cemeteries, battle sites, and places of historical U.S. military significance. We hope to engage, empower and motivate our members and the larger community of Americans in France to exercise their right to vote from abroad. 

We encourage you to reach out to us to provide content and ideas for this blog in order to keep it as interactive as possible. You can contact the DAFrance Veterans & Military Families Caucus co-Chairs - Anna Marie Mattson and Marie Louise Ferguson at [email protected].

We invite you to visit our Global Veterans & Military Families webpage in order to learn more about our global initiatives and to join the caucus (if you haven't already done so). We also have an active Global Veterans & Military Families Caucus Facebook page as well as a DAFrance group. Please visit us!

Tilly Gaillard, 87 (born in 1937) our dear friend and colleague died peacefully in her home on May 10th, 2024, surrounded by her family and friends in St Cloud France. The cause of death was incurable illness.

Growing up in San Francisco, Tilly said 'I am a true-hearted San Franciscan' 

She started interpreting at age three for her grandparents who only spoke Dutch. She later attended the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, then went on to get a diploma in Social Welfare Policy in Developing Countries at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands, and took language courses at the University of Hawaii and the University of Geneva.

She started working as a professional interpreter and translator in 1963 at a journalism center in Strasbourg.  She traveled extensively and for many years with her husband, Philippe Gaillard, a writer and journalist focused on Africa. They were married for over 60 years, until his death in 2018.

She was an interpreter for over 25 years at the FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), OSS (Sahara and Sahel Observatory), Crisis Action, and CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research).  

Tilly was also a talented writer, penning many articles for the Democrats Abroad Military and Veterans Caucus.  During her time with Democrats Abroad starting in 2007 she was an active member of the Veterans Military Family Caucus France and Global, Seniors Caucus, and phone banker extraordinaire. 

She is survived by two daughters and two grandchildren.

Tilly was a true believer in good causes and helping people and volunteered extensively for causes she believed in. We will miss our dear friend Tilly De Hes Gaillard.