Greetings John,

After the Young Democrats of America convention in Philadelphia in August, we committed to keeping everyone updated on our activities and how to get involved. Our DNC members have hit the ground running and we’re excited to share that young got it done at the meeting in Minneapolis! Check out our update below.



Young Democrats of America President, Fatima Heyward (NJ), delivered her first update on behalf of YDA at the DNC Youth Council meeting. She provided information on how to get involved at the national level, shared developing partnerships and electoral priorities, and highlighted recent actions and upcoming events. These events included the YDA Disability Caucus Advocacy Day in early September and the YDA Black Caucus Black Linkup, which will be held during the Congressional Black Caucus Conference.

DNC Representative Stephanie Campanha Wheaton (NJ/NY) was re-elected as Vice-Chair of the Youth Council, elected as Secretary of the Eastern Region, and participated in her first meeting as a member of the Rules & Bylaws Committee. She proudly voted to give the High School Democrats of America a seat on the DNC’s Executive Committee on the 20th Anniversary of their creation. Stephanie also spent some time at the State Fair in some YDA merch and you can get your very own here!

DNC Representative Stephon Moore (KY) organized a Meet & Greet for YDA and the DNC Youth Council. This event provided an opportunity for young members of the DNC to meet the new YDA representatives, as well as all the YDA members who were present. He also stood in solidarity with the DNC Labor Caucus, Chairman Ken Martin, and American Federal Government Employees (AFGE) at a press conference advocating for labor rights.

Our representatives were joined by a number of Young Dems who not only attended the meeting, but were elected to serve in leadership positions for the Caucuses and Councils! Former Muslim Caucus Chair Reem Subei (NC) was elected as Co-Chair of the Interfaith Caucus, Environmental Caucus Chair Paul Presendieu (NY) was elected as Director of Youth Engagement of the Climate Council (shout out to great friend of YDA, Chair Michelle Deatrick (MI) to her re-election as Chair), Matt Hughes (NC) was elected Vice Chairperson for Civic Engagement and Voter Empowerment, Katherine Jeanes (NC) was elected Corresponding Secretary, and Manny Crespin (NM) was elected Recording Secretary of the LGBTQ Caucus, Ron Harris (MN) was elected Chair of the Midwestern Region, Oscar Mata (UT) was elected Vice-Chair of the Western Region, Kerrigan Sanders (TX) is now the 2nd Vice Chair of the Rural Council, and Coby Owens (DE) was elected a Regional Director of the Black Caucus.

Our leaders and members got to speak with Chairman Ken Martin about the importance of YDA and how we can ensure that more young people are involved at every level. We’re so proud to count him as a friend, ally, and alum of the Young Democrats of America and look forward to working with him for the rest of this term.

We're looking forward to seeing more Young Dems at upcoming meetings. The next DNC meeting is from December 11 to 13 in Los Angeles, CA. If you plan to attend, please complete this short form.

In solidarity,

Fatima Heyward, President

Stephanie Campanha Wheaton, DNC Representative

Stephon Moore, DNC Representative