-
Sponsored Links
Follow Us!
Category Archives: Member of the Week
Alex Muwu Li, LGBT Activist, 22
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 … More >>
Tagged LGBT, Member of the Week
Leave a comment
Russell Drapkin, OFA Arizona Regional Field Director, 30
Russell’s career in the field began before most of us knew what the word “democracy” meant: 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 … More >>
Tagged Field, ofa
2 Comments
Stephen Spear, History Teacher, 35
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, … More >>
(Former) Member of the Week: Mike Denklau, Congressional Candidate, 26
Just four months ago, Mike Denklau was living in New York, plugging away on Wall Street. Today, he’s running for Congress. Who is he? Well, he’s one of us. Mike is a former member of MYD and he decided to give it all up in the Big Apple to move back to his homestate of Iowa to really make a difference. He’s just 26 years old and he launched his candidacy for the 2010 Iowa 5th District Congressional seat last month. 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 … More >>
Tagged mike denklau
Leave a comment
Elizabeth Kanter, Super Vol, 29
Universal healthcare. Cancer advocacy. Low-income youth mentorship. Immigrant career support. Women’s empowerment. And of course, youth activation in democracy. When it comes to the things she cares about, Elizabeth puts her money where her mouth is — or more appropriately, she puts her time where her heart is. Luckily for NYC, Elizabeth grew up with a supercharged sense of social action and has applied her considerable expertise and fiery passion for issues to many NGOs in the city. With MYD, she helps David and the Board mount spectacular special events, like our fundraiser at the Griffin in late September. Elizabeth grew up in Jacksonville, Fl, with a dad who inspired her passion for politics: My parents would have the news … More >>
Sam Hudis, Founder of Hunter College High School YDs, 18
Sam’s Democratic adventure began one night last February, when he was feeling bored and partisan. He clicked on Democrats.org. Which took him to the Young Democrats of America. He learned his high school did not have a chapter. So, he started one. Pretty soon, he’d made MYD’s acquaintance through Scott Murphy’s NY20 campaign. Unlike some of the “older” folks in MYD (read: 25 and up), Sam grew up under the reign of George W. Bush and has little recollection of previous presidents. W was nearly enough to turn a young man off politics for good. Luckily, a certain community organizer from Chicago came along: I was extremely cynical about politics until President Obama won the Iowa Caucus on January 3rd, … More >>
Tagged sam hudis
Leave a comment
