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Name: Jeffrey Cheng Gender: Male External links: facebook Candidate: International Secretary Member since: 2016 Country/Countries: Sweden Biography: I was born and raised in New York City, and attended the Bronx High School of Science before moving to Philadelphia to attend university. My background in business and engineering has helped me succeed in many roles including teaching, managing real estate, working in marketing, web design, finance, and IT. Currently I am working as an IT consultant at a Finance research institute. In 2014, my husband and I jumped at the offer of a lifetime and moved to Stockholm, Sweden for his job. When the Stockholm chapter of Democrats Abroad Sweden was re-started in 2015, I saw a great opportunity to get involved and help grow the chapter and country committee with my database knowledge, IT background, and interpersonal skills.»
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Describe your volunteer work with DA and cite your greatest DA accomplishment.
Since becoming involved in Democrats Abroad, I have had the opportunity to work with some really great people including the IT team, Communications team, Fundraising team, door knock groups, and all of the caucus groups.
I've also had the opportunity to host/moderate/produce numerous webinars with our leadership and different guests over the last few years, and have been elected to serve as Sweden Secretary as well as International Secretary.
Why are you running for this office?
In the last two years, I have learned even more about our organization, and if re-elected, I would like to work on furthering some of the projects and tasks we established in the current executive committee. Part of my role as International Secretary is connecting our leadership and membership with the executive committee, and I would like to keep developing this organization and our outreach. This second term is also a great opportunity to work on training a deputy secretary and making sure that future leadership has the tools to succeed.
How will your skill sets and experience contribute to DA's success?
How will your skill sets and experience contribute to DA’s success?
Since getting involved in DA, I’ve been able to put some of my skills and abilities to good use with many teams. On the technical side, I work on the website (including coding donation/fundraisers pages), help to draft global communications, edit videos, create graphics and content. On the interpersonal side, I also have had the pleasure of hosting events online and in person, organize door knocks, and help plan and run global meetings.
I have had the support of some amazing leaders and members in Democrats Abroad and would not be where I am today without them. Democrats Abroad is truly a grassroots organization and I could not choose a better place to put my many skills to good use.
Are there any DA organizational or practical issues (not political goals) that you would like to address, should you be elected?
We have the tools and an amazing amount of talented volunteers; it just takes unity, continued leadership, and organization to keep the momentum going. Our amazing DNC members, leaders, and volunteers have brought DA to a new level, and I know we can take it further.
I plan to continue to develop sound protocols to make more information accessible, increase transparency about decision making and how members can get involved, and make sure that members and leaders everywhere have the tools and support they need to succeed in growing membership, fostering volunteers, and developing leaders.
What are the three pressing political issues that you would work to include in the DA Platform and why?
Voting Rights, Campaign Finance Reform, and Americans Abroad Caucus/Special Senate Committee.
There is no doubt in my mind that we will need to fight for voting rights and election integrity in the upcoming elections, especially with state administrations and the GOP’s history of limiting voting rights and making it harder for Americans to vote inside and outside the US. Strict voter ID laws have no place in our democratic republic, and the expired and overturned parts of the Voter Rights Act need to be restored. Every American deserves to have a voice in their representation.
True Campaign Finance Reform goes hand in hand with Voting Rights; we need to make this one of the Democratic Party’s core issues. We can learn so much from some of our host countries when it comes to how elections can be run in a more transparent and fair manner.
The Americans Abroad Caucus and Special Committee on Overseas Americans are imperative to making sure that we as Americans living outside of our country have representation in our government. This is one of the key things needed to further our efforts on fixing the problems with citizenship transmission, Medicare, healthcare, social security, and taxes.
How can Democrats Abroad best raise our profile among American voters abroad and better work to elect Democrats?
Half of the battle is getting Democrats Abroad’s name out there. I think that the current Executive Committee and DNC members have made a big impact in the projects and outreach that we’ve done to increase the recognition of our state party at the DNC level and also with Americans living abroad.
Democrats Abroad is the biggest advocate for voters living abroad, and by communicating in a clear, concise and targeted manner to Americans everywhere, we can truly increase our impact. By utilizing social media in new and creative ways, we can increase our membership and voter base with even more accuracy and continue to work on increasing education about our voting rights and encouraging more Americans to get involved.
Endorsement from Alex Montgomery, DA Vice-Chair
I am writing in support of Jeffrey Cheng for the position of International Secretary. Jeffrey and I have worked closely together on the Executive Committee over the last 2 years. During that time Jeffrey has demonstrated his exceptional ability to manage numerous projects while being a critical member of the Executive Committee.
As Secretary, Jeffrey worked to simplify many of the administrative tasks country committees have to perform, allowing our CC leaders to focus on their committees instead of paperwork. As we move into 2020 it will be even more important to have a Secretary like Jeffrey.
Jeffrey has also contributed to many global DA projects. He has been an essential part of our door knock team, has produced webinars, and travelled to numerous Country Committees to help share best practices.
Looking forward, Jeffrey has pledged to establish more trainings to support new leaders over the next term.
I strongly urge you to vote for Jeffrey Cheng for International Secretary.
Alex Montgomery
Vice Chair
Democrats Abroad
Endorsement from Alex Lange, Chair - DA Sweden
It’s a real pleasure for me to endorse Jeffrey for International Secretary, because Jeffrey makes the trains run on time, and then some.
In my role as Sweden Chair, where Jeffrey also serves as country-level Secretary, I have worked more closely with Jeffrey than anyone else over the past two years. So, I have seen first hand how he tackles all tasks thrown at him with dedication, diligence, and ease.
Jeffrey’s skill set and way of thinking make him ideally suited for the role of International Secretary. He understands and draws strength from the fact that it is more than just sober admin. It’s about making everything we do possible.
Of particular note to me is that Jeffrey is always on the lookout for better solutions. Beyond making the systems that we already have work, he makes constant improvements or comes up with better tools and ways of doing things.
Almost every day, I am reminded that we are extraordinarily fortunate to have Jeffrey on our team. And so with this endorsement, I want to remind all of our DPCA voting members of that as well. I ask you to vote for him so he can serve as International Secretary for two more years.
Yours,
Alex Lange
Chair, Democrats Abroad Sweden
Endorsement from Kat Allikian, RVC - Asia Pacific
I am honored to endorse Jeffrey Cheng for International Secretary.
Jeffrey epitomizes so much of what we as an organization strive to practice: energy, creativity, dedication, and progress. Democrats Abroad has been fortunate to have some phenomenal International Secretaries in recent years, and during this past term, Jeffrey has filled those shoes with stellar competency and effect. The role of International Secretary is in many ways an under-acknowledged position. Without the vigilance, constant but gentle reminders, and superior record-keeping and technical skill that Jeffrey possesses, the International Secretary cannot be as successful as Jeffrey has been during his tenure.
With Jeffrey as Secretary, the 2017-2019 International Executive Committee has made tremendous strides toward ensuring transparency, openness, and inclusivity. Jeffrey has been an integral part of these efforts, as he is well-versed in IT platforms to facilitate and assist with webinars and website management; detail-oriented to track and follow up with Country Committees to ensure compliance; and innovative to help support creative ways of approaching our myriad challenges.
With one term under his belt, Jeffrey is not facing a steep learning curve in the upcoming term. As we head into the most critical presidential election of many of our lifetimes, Jeffrey can continue his pace to keep Democrats Abroad focused on our goals, not least of which is electing Democrats across the ballot by strong outreach to our members and all Americans abroad.
Please join me with your support of Jeffrey Cheng for International Secretary.
Kat Allikian
Regional Vice Chair Asia Pacific
Democrats Abroad New Zealand