Candidates for the 2023 Executive Committee

Posted by Tré Shawn Griffin-Noordermeer
April 05, 2023

Chair

Here are the candidates for the next Executive Committee, you can vote in person at the Annual General Meeting or online.

At the AGM (held virtually and in-person) we will vote for the committee, by law changes, and hold a borrel afterwards.

Click read more below to see the statements.

Candidate for Chair:

Tre' Shawn Griffin-Noordermeer

Dear Democrats Abroad Membership
I’m Tre’ Shawn Griffin-Noordermeer and for the past two years I’ve served as Chair of Democrats Abroad Netherlands and I am asking you to elect me to a second term to continue to grow DA NL. During my tenure we’ve continued to engage new members and expand our reach to unengaged members. I have a continued vision for an even more active and engaged country committee here in the Netherlands. As we look forward to the Presidential Primary cycle. We can only be successful with empowering our members and continuing to build on our strong base of volunteers.

Overseas votes are more important than ever and are increasingly under attack. It is very important to me that we continue to reach those who are not as active, who are long term dual citizens, newly moved, and outside of the Randstad. Democrats Abroad are growing and can be so much more.
In the past two years I led one of the biggest fundraisers for Democrats Abroad. Working with a fantastic NL volunteer team we had a boat in the Amsterdam Canal Parade and raised lots of money for GOTV. I’ve continued to empower local members to spearhead and lead events that they wish to see in their area, bolstering my wish to see our membership grow. I wish to continue even further and lead the Netherlands through our party’s upcoming Presidential Primary elections, engage more members, and expand our reach. I’ve recently been appointed to serve as the Chair of the Democrats Abroad Affirmative Action Committee for our Delegate Selection Plan. I’ve previously served as a member of the committee, Co-Chair of the Democrats Abroad LGBTQ+ Caucus, and Secretary of Democrats Abroad Netherlands

Candidate for Vice Chair:

Marsha Hagney

Two years ago, I was honored to be elected to serve as Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad Netherlands. It was a unique time as we were still experiencing the effects of Covid and just over a year out from the 2022 midterm elections. With the 2024
presidential election and the world opening up, post-Covid, I am hoping to be reelected so I can continue in this role and continue to build momentum with fellow Executive Committee members and dedicated volunteers of DA Netherlands.
Although I have always actively supported Democratic candidates on the local, state and national levels throughout my life in the U.S., I wasn’t quite sure where that piece of my life fit as I relocated to The Netherlands in 2013, to be with my Dutch then-partner, now husband. I was so grateful to find Democrats Abroad and began volunteering in 2019. The onset of Covid greatly altered my involvement but I was so inspired by witnessing the strength of the collective energy of DA (all volunteers) and the impact they made, that I immediately vowed to always remain part of this organization on some level. The past two years have helped me better understand the mechanics, resources and possibilities for serving in DA, so I hope to be an even more effective leader, moving forward.

I am excited at the chance to finally be completely out among our members, prospective members and other DA leadership in our region and beyond. We have so many issues to address together. We have a voice. We have a common care and concern for our home country and a desire make it better for those we love in the U.S. and for the future, regardless of where we currently reside. There is no doubt that getting out the vote is the ultimate fruit of the labor. That it matters and can, in fact, effect change. Hope. In short, DA is that for me and I know it can be for others. It is finding a place in these tough times where there is always something we can offer, no matter how seemingly “small”, to make a difference.

Candidate for Secretary:

Audrey Tolbert

Hi DA Netherlands,
I am writing to you today to declare my nomination for Secretary within Democrats Abroad Netherlands. A bit more about me and why I am running:
My name is Audrey Tolbert and I’ve been a member of DANL for the last seven years. I live in Amsterdam and vote in the great state of New York. For the last four years I’ve served as a member-at-large and DPCA voting representative on the current Executive Committee (Excom). In that time, I’ve focused on volunteer coordination while also becoming more familiar with our own country committee setup and the global DA organization. While volunteer coordination has been very rewarding, I would like to shift my responsibilities within DANL to a new challenge. Over the last four years, I’ve been able to see first hand how so many of the internal communications systems work within DANL and the global DA structure. I am very familiar with our CRM system, NationBuilder, and would like to spend the next term using it to the best of its abilities so we can more effectively reach even more Americans in NL. Keeping our membership up to date, crafting our messaging through email and social, coordinating with the executive committee, and much more are all challenges that I am not only
very qualified to tackle but also look forward to working on. I would be honored to receive your vote as the next secretary of Democrats Abroad Netherlands and appreciate your consideration.

Candidate for Treasurer:

Cynthia Hernandez

I am Cynthia, a proud San Franciscan born to Mexican parents in a largely Hispanic, immigrant part of the city. I'm currently living in the middle-of-nowhere on a farm in South Holland.

I became involved in Democrats Abroad because I was new-ish to the Netherlands and we were ramping up to the 2019 presidential primaries. My time in The Netherlands has shown me how things can be different, and motivated me to participate in making change from abroad.

Working as a paralegal for over 20 years at an intellectual property firm and most recently at an immigration non-profit, I'm accustomed to the importance of details and confidentiality. I stepped into the interim Treasurer position last summer and am running for Treasurer to ensure future financial stability for DA Netherlands.

Candidate for Legal Counsel:

Bob Bragar

My name is Bob Bragar and I ask for your vote to be (re)elected legal counsel and voting representative at Democrats Abroad Netherlands. I am passionate about the democratic mission of Democrats Abroad Netherlands for a lot of reasons. For me, it is very personal. It really changed my life to engage in the American political process. As a gay man who had no choice but to move to the Netherlands 29 years ago in order to live together with my Dutch partner, I know how much American law can advance or discriminate against us. At Democrats Abroad, we fought for same-sex partner migration and ultimately achieved it! I cannot tell you how big a deal that was for me.
I know a lot about how Democrats Abroad works and want to continue to strengthen our Dutch chapter. Our core function: Helping every American in NL to vote, is a joy for me. Voter registration helps people to connect with their American-ness, and lets me connect to them in a very special way. I am an experienced member of the voter registration team as well as the (former) Legal Team at Democrats Abroad where we fought the tougher cases. I am a member of the bar in both New York and Washington DC.

I have previously been chair, legal counsel (one term), and treasurer at Democrats Abroad Netherlands. I’ve also chaired the platform committee at Democrats Abroad globally. I was honored to serve as a member of the Democratic National Committee for four years, and I have been a voting delegate at Democratic National Conventions for both Hillary Clinton (2016) and Barack Obama (2008 and 2012).

I vote in New York. I was born in Summit, NJ in 1952 and have lived in Amsterdam since 1994.
Thank you for considering my candidacy! Please vote for me.

Candidates for Member-at-Large:

Patrick Guyer

It’s been an honor serving as Member-at-Large and your Get Out the Vote (GOTV) coordinator for the past two years. I’m asking for your vote for another term so we can build on our successes from last year and ensure that the overseas vote is a part of our margin of victory up and down the ballot in 2024!
I’m proud of our strong GOTV efforts last year, with many many thanks to our amazing volunteers and to my ExCom colleagues who stepped up and got involved in so many ways. Together, we registered voters all over the Netherlands at more than 30 in-person voter registration events on campuses, in bookshops and at social gatherings across the country. We sent out over 400 postcards to Democrats across the Netherlands, and our phonebanking team
made more than 800 calls to DA members worldwide. We also piloted the stylish and practical VoteFromAbroad.org bike seat covers to remind our fellow Americans cycling around the Netherlands that they have a right to vote. And the results of last year’s midterms speak for themselves: we kept the supposed “red wave” to barely a trickle and won key races nationwide, all with the help of overseas voters and volunteers just like you. Besides serving in the current DANL ExCom, I’ve also shown leadership within DA by co- coordinating the DA team for voters from my home state of Maine, where we won a trifecta at
the state-level last November.

Coordinating GOTV over the past two years has taught me so much about how to turn out the overseas vote here in the Netherlands. But last year was just the warm-up act for 2024. I’m running for re-election so that I can apply all those lessons to our GOTV efforts to turn out all our Democrats Abroad in the absolutely critical elections coming up next year. Please give me that chance by voting for Patrick from Maine for Member-at-Large for the next DANL ExCom.
Thank you!

Fenna Milbauer

My name is Fenna Milbauer, I’m 23 years old and live in The Hague. I am running to be member-at-large of Democrats Abroad The Netherlands. My DA journey began over four years ago during my first year in University. What first began as a way to meet other like-minded Americans and stay involved in American politics slowly snowballed into a renewed political passion and meaningful community. Throughout my involvement in DA, I have held several roles and participated in numerous activities at various levels within the organization. Most recently I have held the position of secretary for Democrats Abroad The Netherlands. Through this role and over the course of the last four years I have assisted with events, campaigns, and getting out the vote. Globally, I coordinated communications for the LGBTQ+ caucus and interviewed DA delegates to the DNC for the global communications team in the run-up to the 2020 elections.

I am dedicated to expanding our membership in The Netherlands and fostering a sense of pride in the important work we do. If elected, I will continue to work to expand our membership alongside fostering excitement around American politics within the expat community and motivate voters to stay involved. My aim is to build an even stronger and supportive community of Democrats living abroad. Outside of Democrats Abroad, I work as a researcher at The Hague University and as an administrative coordinator for educational study trips for several American Universities to The Netherlands. This experience, alongside my time volunteering within DA, has provided me with a continuous connection to other Americans abroad, and understanding of the role and importance of overseas voters. I am detailed oriented, organized, and dedicated to producing high quality work. I hope that through my role as a member-at-large I can assist the rest of the executive committee in their projects and campaigns to strengthen American democracy abroad, ensuring sustainable engagement.

Democrats Abroad has provided me a way to reengage with politics, something I didn't think was possible after I left home. Over the past four years I have been privileged to be provided with a community, a sense of political purpose, and my first ever “I voted” sticker. I hope to be able to share these experiences with more Democrats living in The Netherlands!

Candidates for Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) Voting Representative:

Andrew Tucker

Hello.
My name is Andrew. I live in Haarlem with my husband. We have lived in The Netherlands since April of 2019. I started volunteering for Democrats Abroad Netherlands in Oct. 2019. Only 6 months later I was honored to be appointed to the Member at Large position on the DANL Executive Committee.
As Member At Large I worked on many projects at the country level including: voter assistance in person, over the phone, e-mail, and in Zoom calls. I also helped organize multiple events such as virtual pub quizzes, and a Seattle mayoral voter’s forum.

This year I am running for DPCA Voting Representative. To me the key word
here is representative. The DPCA Voting Rep. does just that. As DPCA Voting Representative . I will be able to engage at the Global level to work on issues for DA that effect all the country committees world-wide,
including DANL. I will be your voice from The Netherlands when there are global meetings to discuss global initiatives. I would appreciate your vote so I can continue to be a dedicated, hard- working volunteer for you and Democrats Abroad The Netherlands
THANK YOU!

Nick Lee

I am running for one of the five DA-Netherlands “DPCA Voting Representative” seats because I believe that Democrats Abroad, as the largest organization of overseas Americans, has a political duty to highlight the issues that uniquely impact overseas voters.

In my previous term as a voting representative, I’ve spoken in favor of resolutions raised by the Taxation Task Force and have introduced a resolution that would update the DA stance on FATCA, which we now know to be both ineffective in its intended goals and harmful to Americans abroad. Outside of the annual meetings, I have been closely involved with the Taxation Task Force and spent a week last summer door-knocking in Washington to build awareness of our issues and to address common misconceptions about Americans living outside the U.S.

Democrats Abroad’s strength is in its ability to swing close elections. By increasing our commitment to addressing overseas issues, there is a unique opportunity to win over loyal voters who can deliver critical margins of victory. Conversely, if we neglect to focus on the issues, we will struggle to maintain a large & consistently blue turnout—research has shown that fear of U.S. taxes has posed a barrier to voting in the past, and people renouncing citizenship out of desperation will never vote in U.S. elections again.

I encourage you to vote for me if you believe that Democrats Abroad should be looking outwards at the issues that matter to everyday Americans in the Netherlands and that focusing on their needs is the best way to win their votes in 2024.

Video Statement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_W5akcLy3Lnp7b_c6ShjHJMrfR1a1Pfu/view?usp=sharing

Best regards,
Nick Lee
Lives in the Netherlands
Votes in PA-05 District

Kendra Borgen

Born and raised in Alaska, I studied in Oregon before moving to the Netherlands (for two years) in 2004. I came for a master’s degree, and stayed for love; that love being The Netherlands. As a struggling musician I loved the opportunities I had performing and the opportunities to exist and have a decent standard of living. Currently I run a successful tourism business and have a busy career as a standup-comedian. Politically, I have been volunteering with elections since I was 15 working at polling stations in Alaska, helping friends and family register to vote, both at home and when I moved abroad. Voting matters. It’s why it’s been my top priority since childhood.

I’m putting my nomination forward to be re-elected DPCA voting representative for Democrats Abroad Netherlands. I have been involved in DANL since moving abroad in 2004 and have been in elected leadership positions since 2015. The specific role of DPCA voting rep. is to show up and be engaged at the global level, casting votes that can help shape the global organization that impacts how we work locally as a country committee. This isn’t always the most glamorous of work, but it does require someone who understands how we operate and has the passion to participate. Having been Chair of the Netherlands (2017-2021) and Chair of Global Voter assistance (2020-2021) I bring a depth of knowledge about the organization and am happy to step up to the role once again if re-elected.

Thank you for your consideration
Kendra Borgen

Lives in Amsterdam, votes in Alaska.

Tricia Augustine-Hamilton

I would like to be a DPCA Representative to become more involved locally and vote for what is in the best interest of our Netherlands chapter and our organization as a whole.

I led the organization of the cocktail party at BOLS during Pride Weekend and our Wine and Cheese Fundraising cruise. I look forward to leading more events, such as the May 3rd grand opening of our campaign office at my home, where we will participate in Get out the Vote activities and celebrate.

I want to hear your thoughts regarding the by-laws and resolutions we will vote on in Washington DC. I will not simply vote for what I believe is right for Democrats Abroad. I will ensure your voices are heard.

I was the co-chair of the pilot project for Democrats Abroad, where we drafted and lobbied for a voting rights bill that passed in New Jersey. The key ingredient to our success was making our bill a priority. As a DPCA representative, I will help introduce a resolution to continue to do our fine work in Getting Out the Vote and keep up with our changing political climate by spending equal effort protecting our voting rights. We proved that Democrats Abroad has the ability to successfully lobby for voter protection while getting out the vote.

Before moving abroad, I worked in politics for 15 years. As a member of Democrats Abroad for 9 years, I have been the Head of Global Research; a Member at Large; a Volunteer Coordinator; and voted at our Annual Global Meetings both online and in person. I am accustomed to reading by-laws and resolutions
thoroughly and thoughtfully.

I want to share my experience and energy with our chapter in a more official capacity, which will give me greater access to people who can help our chapter achieve our goals. My many years of political experience both home and abroad will provide me the ability to help decide what is in the best interest of Democrats Abroad. I hope you give me the opportunity to represent you at our global meetings.

Bob Bragar

I know a lot about how Democrats Abroad works and want to continue to strengthen our Dutch chapter. Our core function: Helping every American in NL to vote, is a joy for me. Voter registration helps people to connect with their American-ness, and lets me connect to them in a very special way. I am an experienced member of the voter registration team as well as the (former) Legal Team at Democrats Abroad where we fought the tougher cases. I am a member of the bar in both New York and Washington DC.

I vote in New York. I was born in Summit, NJ in 1952 and have lived in Amsterdam since 1994.
Thank you for considering my candidacy! Please vote for me.