image via the ny times

My parents, especially my mom, helped inspire my passion for politics and staying on top of issues and current events. She has been active with environmental groups that try to educate the community about the issues that affect our health and safety. When I was in high school, I would join her at events and meetings.. and was very inspired by the passionate, hard-working people I met. One issue I learned a lot about, from a very early age, was that of radioactive waste transportation and “disposal.” It’s an issue that isn’t anywhere close to being resolved—even today. She also has been instrumental in helping me find informative and thought-provoking sources of news and opinion beyond the mainstream media.
My father has been an avid recycler as long as I can remember, and I’m keeping that tradition alive with my subway trips carting paper and plastics to recycling centers!

Jennifer, who just signed up to volunteer with The White Roof Project, has recently taken up the cause against Hydrofracking and urges everyone to see Academy Award nominated Gasland.

When she isn’t attending MYD events Jennifer can be seen on stage! After a sold-out, critically-acclaimed run at the Metropolitan Room in March, Jennifer will return for an encore engagement of her cabaret show on May 6th and 13th. Details are available at: www.jennifersheehan.com.

Member of the week will be on vacation next week! Do you know someone you’d like to highlight on our blog? Nominate them by emailing Taylor at taylor[@]gomyd[.]com

Prince had worked his way up to the Vice President of Finance in the Virginia Young Democrats when he moved to New York in 2006. Like many young people Prince balances political activism with a career and took some ‘time off’ during the 2008 election to focus on his professional development. Last year, when Prince joined MYD he found that his interests varied and attends several meetings and events a month. Democratic and American principals at their core inspire him to remain active.

My political beliefs are defined by the first line of US Constitution (We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, provide for the Common Defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America).

Providing for the general welfare means that everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their potential by ensuring everyone is treated equally and free from bigotry (as the Warren Court established, “separate is inherently not equal”), everyone is provide a solid basic and higher education, and that government does it’s part to balance out the macroeconomic business cycle that no individual can control by providing commonsense programs that help people as a crutch during hard times.

While in law school, I served as an intern in federal and state court. Upon graduation, I completed a public service fellowship in the Consumer Frauds Bureau of the N.Y.S. Attorney General’s office. At the AG’s office, I worked to prohibit unscrupulous businesses from selling products within the state so that New Yorkers would not fall victim to deceptive business practices. Additionally, I am helping my law school raise funds through our annual Public Service Auction to support students who will be taking unpaid public interest positions this summer.

That being said, Jeff is a Super-MYD member with various interest and is active in several committees. Really, why only pick one when there are so many issues worth devoting time to? Taking advice from his Grandmother Jeff can see how the various issues intertwine and depend on each others’ successes.

While attending MYD committee meetings I learned of specific issues such as hydrofracking in upstate New York, food inequality, gender inequality, and healthcare.
My grandmother used to tell me that nothing is more important than your health. I agree. Without good health, your dreams may go unpursued. I am presently thinking of local, state, and federal incentive based programs to encourage people to exercise. Looking ahead, it is my intention to work with fellow Manhattan Young Democrats to create greater awareness with regard to these issues in order to effectuate positive change.

Why not take Jeff’s lead and check out a few committee events and meetings? You can search through them HERE. You never know what you might find!

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for MYD Member of the Week? Email me at taylor [at] gomyd.com!

Eric Katz is currently attending Cardozo Law School while simultaneously holding posts in various school organizations and as the Labor Caucus chair of NYSYD. There’s a calmness to Eric that would lead you to believe he’s not that busy until he casually mentions that he’s heading out of town for this or that conference, or he’s been granted this or that fellowship, or he’s working on a huge project for law school. Like many of us Eric was empowered by the elections of ’08, but he had started his political career earlier by writing about Congestion Pricing at The Albany Project. It was really only a matter of time before Eric was an active member of MYD.

But what’s really important to me isn’t how I first heard about MYD, it’s why I’ve stayed involved.  I’ve had the chance to go to a lot of political groups and talk with a lot of people involved in politics, and I’ve never met a more welcoming, open, and friendly group as MYD.  The atmosphere is unlike anything I’ve experienced in the political world.  People at MYD want to get to know you, befriend you, and get you involved.  They check their egos at the door and they work together to get stuff done while having a good time.  That’s the environment that keeps me coming back.

In the summer of 2010 at the NYSYD Convention Eric was elected Labor Caucus Chair, a cause that he has dedicated his studies to.

I’m a labor guy and I went to law school specifically to become a union-side labor lawyer. Unions and the labor movement are near and dear to my heart. My grandpa was a labor activist and communist and both of my parents have a lot of intimate experiences with unions on both sides of the table. We spend so much of the precious time of our lives at work, so justice and democracy on the job are crucial issues to me. If you have democracy on the job, you’ll always strive for democracy in all aspects of your life. And I truly believe that the labor movement is the best hope for workers to gain respect and justice in the workplace.

What’s so important to me about melding labor activism with young democrats is that too many of my generational colleagues don’t understand why labor is so important. We forget that the 8 hour day, the 5 day work week, and all sorts of benefits were forged on the backs of unions. We dismiss the notion of solidarity in the workplace and we assume that unions are for blue collar folks instead of those of us with secondary degrees. The fact is that labor and young professionals have all sorts of ideas and interests in common and we need each other. So in the long run, it’s critically important in my mind to help educate my fellow young democrats why labor is important to them.

With the current war against Organized Labor being waged in America it’s absolutely essential to have young people like Eric leading the march!

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for MYD Member of the Week? Email me at taylor [at] gomyd.com!

Christina is a new member of MYD and already an active participant in the Women’s Issues Committee (she’s on the Host Committee for Engendering Progress, 2nd annual event to honor women thought-leaders, activists, and philanthropists on Thursday!) Christina was interested in joining MYD while at Barnard but didn’t think that she had the time to commit, and it’s no wonder! She was an active member of several clubs and organizations, holding several high positions (Vice President of Student Activities for one!) Christina moved to New York from San Diego in 2004. Right before the 2004 Presidential Election, which fell 4 days before her 18th birthday!

That fall, I remember buying a lot of Kerry/Edwards gear, and those essentially made up my wardrobe for about 2 months.  My favorite t-shirt was one that said “JFK in 2004″ – a shirt which I remember wearing during a GOTV canvassing trip in Pennsylvania in the few days leading up to Election Day 2004.  As a wide-eyed 17-year old who hadn’t had much exposure to politics, it was so exciting for me to be a part of that.  Since I couldn’t vote, the thing that I knew I could do was to make sure that other eligible voters did exercise their right to do so.

Community involvement is very important to Christina. During her time at Barnard she took a position at the New York Legal Assistance Group and the Family Law division of the Legal Aid Society, helping low-income New Yorkers. Afterward Christina worked at a Law Firm for two years, specializing in pro-bono cases and acting as a Mandarin Chinese interpreter for workers’ rights cases.

At the Legal Aid Society, I worked in Family Court, assisting with child protective and juvenile rights cases for low-income New Yorkers.  During those experiences, I felt that I was able to contribute somewhat to the greater community.  A person’s socioeconomic level should not prevent them from access to the assistance and resources that they deserve, and I’m glad that I was able to work in organizations that fought tirelessly to bring these rights and resources to the under-represented.

Christina’s passions and experience are too vast to list in full! Join her and the rest of the Women’s Issue Committee on Thursday at Engendering Progress to learn more about Christina and our other awesome new MYD Members!

Before moving here, people had always told me that New Yorkers were rude and constantly in a rush, but it wasn’t long before I realized what an unfair and exaggerated generalization that was.  People are always on the go here because they’re working for and towards something that they believe in.  It is this passion and drive that inspires me to be a better person, to speak up, to fight for what I believe in, and to never settle for mediocrity.  It’s in New York where I’ve really grown up, and come into my own.  It is New York that has taught me what kind of person I want to be.

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for MYD Member of the Week? Email me at taylor [at] gomyd.com!

Julia Hanes grew up in a very political family in a suburb of Philadelphia. Politics were always a hot button issue at the dinner table and Julia has fond memories of filling out her first ballot and watching her father, Hon. D. Bruce Hanes being sworn in as Montgomery County’s Register of Wills. She’s even confessed that it was more exciting when President Obama won the election than when the Phillies won the World Series!

Julia moved to New York in 2000 to study Art History at NYU, during school she put politics on the back burner but in the past few years has picked up volunteering and political action again.

I joined because the members of MYD are very friendly and passionate people.  Most importantly, MYD is an open space for ideas and will encourage you to pursue any issue you feel strongly about.

Julia is a member of our newly founded Women’s Issues Committee, the committee is planning our Second Annual Engendering Progress event next Thursday at Marquee (tickets HERE). Women’s issues, specifically sexual health and crisis intervention are Julia’s focuses within MYD and her career path.

As a member of the Women’s Issues Committee and a volunteer for RAINN, I am very focused on the rights of victims.  Cutting funding to Planned Parenthood is not only detrimental to women who rely on those centers as their only resource for information on sexual health, but it is a slap-in-the-face to women who need emergency contraception and/or STD testing after being raped.  It is sad that people have focused on one big issue, but have forgotten about the already marginalized women they are hurting.

It’s also Julia’s birthday on Thursday! Happy Birthday Julia! See you next week!

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for MYD Member of the Week? Email me at taylor [at] gomyd.com!

When Alex Muwu Li was three years old her parents left their fishing town in The People’s Republic of China to start a new life in New York City. Six years later, at the age of 9 Alex hopped on a plane, landed at JFK at 7am and has lived here ever since.

Alex thrives on the youthful energy of the city and doesn’t mind that being politically active (she worked on Paul Newell’s assembly campaign in 2008, and can be seen in THIS movie documenting the experience!) and socially conscious means that she gets very little sleep. “Go out and do things. Who needs sleep when they’re young? You’ll sleep when you die!” is what the little nagging voice in the back of her head tells her, and she does! Alex is active in MYD’s LGBT Issues committee (who will be getting together this Saturday!), an issue that she has been active in since attending The Beacon School on the Upper West Side.

With the help of my best friend, we brought the then defunct Gay Straight Alliance back into my high school. My favorite political moment happened back in 2006. On the annual day of silence, students and teachers voluntarily chose to remain silent in order to stand in solidarity with LGBT youths. The silence mimics the alienation that LGBT youths face everyday due to their identity. That day, our expectation was to maybe get 100 people to participate, so naturally we printed out 200 “silence pledge” cards just in case. We ran out of pledge cards before the doors to the school were even opened and we scrambled to print out more as the word spread even further by first period. By our count, we had close to 500 participants and 10 teachers who taught “silent classes” because we had encouraged them to do so beforehand. In a school usually filled with nearly 1,000 chattering teenager during breaks between class time, walking down the halls that day was to put it mildly, eerie because nearly half of the students body was silent, everyone else felt compelled to tone down their chatter. It felt so good to walk down those halls that day with my head held high because on that day, despite the fact that I was silent, I felt like I’ve never said so much in my life to my fellow classmates. The slight nod of the head to everyone wearing a “pledge card”… more meaning was conveyed in that single gesture of solidarity than in all my 4 years of knowing some of them, and it felt beyond great.

Join Alex along with other members of our LGBT Issues committee this Wednesday at the 5th Annual Women’s Awards at the Stonewall Inn.

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for MYD Member of the Week? Email me at taylor [at] gomyd.com!

My first political experience was when I was in 5th grade and my mom’s boss was the campaign manager for a county executive bid in Maryland. Of course mom got dragged in, and so did I. So I’m pretty sure I was stuffing envelopes (old school!) and knocking on doors then.

Following up on this illustrious start (and much door-knocking and phone-banking since then), Russell is flying today to Phoenix, AZ — where he will take up his new role as Regional Field Director for Organizing for America (OFA). He’ll be managing Community Organizers and joining the good fight as the Dems head into what will be, by all estimates, a bruising midterm election season.

Originally from the DC area, Russell moved to NYC after finishing conservatory in Chicago in 2002. He took up residence in Harlem and got involved with MYD through the 2008 Open Seat Project — where we asked young Dems to run for elected office in the local county committee. Since then, he’s navigated us through harrowing bus rides to Mamaroneck, gotten very active in local campaigns as a volunteer, and generally always been willing to teach us a whole lot about politics and policy every time we’re all meeting for drinks.

Though his work in Arizona will be in the field, good progressive policy is also near and dear to Russell’s heart:

Arts policy in the US is pretty terrible.  It’s terrible at the federal, state, and local levels. Education is a lifelong endeavor. It doesn’t stop at the end of high school, college, or even grad school. Having things that will continue to challenge, engage and inspire people is something we should pay more attention to, and fund substantially better than we do now. The arts should be a big part of that.

We wish Russell all the best in his new gig — and we’ll miss you!

A pic to remember us by

There is a lot of talk about “Leaving No Child Behind”, but when a teacher is given six classes of 30 kids each its hard to believe people mean it. If teachers are going to train this country’s next generation of leaders, scientists and economists and expect them to succeed, then the government needs to get a lot more serious about the way it invests in education.

So says Stephen Spear, an MYD member who moved to the city to become a teacher in 2002 and now teaches at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on 76th Street in Manhattan. He joined MYD in 2007 at the first bipartisan Kickball game–and was such a good Democrat that he decided to stick around, despite MYD’s loss in that match to the Young Republicans of NYC. (This despite our outnumbering them 30 to 8… some things, unfortunately, have not gotten better over the years).

Stephen has always been interested in politics. He traveled to Cuba with Congressman Barney Frank while working for the Massachusetts State Legislature. But his coolest moment by far was randomly running into Bill Clinton. He writes of the former President, “He was the man.”

Stephen now spends his time with MYD as an indispensable member of the Environmental Committee, which has been making gains in awareness about a host of environmental issues (notably gas drilling in the city’s water supply) and working with groups like EANY and Sierra Club to influence policy through letter-writing campaigns and showing up to public hearings.

When he isn’t suffering the 6 train at 7:30AM on his morning commute, Stephen loves the city: “New York has got to be the most diverse city on earth…[there's such a] huge number of people from all over the world that you have the opportunity to meet and get to know.” Meet Stephen and your fellow MYDers at our next monthly General Meeting, which will take place this coming Tuesday, Nov 17!

Mike Denklau embodies the very spirit of MYD. He believes that we all have a responsibility to give back. He is well-educated, he is smart, he is driven and he truly cares about enacting change in Iowa. He’s going back home because he believes, in his very own words, that “… Providing a fair playing field and empowering people to help themselves is the best path to future prosperity.” And how would he do this? By looking past partisanship and by bridging divides, rather than creating them. He wants to focus on issues like job creation, expanding educational opportunities and relief for overburdened Iowa taxpayers.

Mike has decided to uproot himself from his successful career in New York City and move back to Iowa because he believes that now is the time to make a change in Iowa for the better.

To read more about Mike Denklau, visit his website.