Happy Women's History Month! 

This month we have been celebrating the women that lead us every day in the Young Democrats, the Democratic Party, and across the nation. We pause to acknowledge all of those who have stepped up into leadership positions and who are continually making history each day, from those who are organizing the grassroots all the way to those who are breaking the glass ceiling in elected office. 

In addition, we are just 90 days away from our biennial convention in Las Vegas. 

Please make sure that you have reviewed all the necessary information and register for the convention as soon as possible at https://yda.vegas. 

Upcoming Events: 

• April TBD - Virtual YDA Meeting 
• June 18 - June 21: YDA Vegas Convention

Updates:

The 2023 National Convention of the Young Democrats of America will take place June 18th through June 21st in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Hotel.

All information pertaining to YDA Vegas can be found at yda.vegas. 

This website will be updated with more information surrounding the Convention over the next few weeks and months, but you can reserve your room today. 

YDA is excited to announce that we’ve brought on two well established organizations to help further our work and build a more sustainable national organization: 

Kalik & Associates have been brought on to help further YDA's fundraising goals. is a political consulting firm with over 50 years of combined experience assisting Democratic candidates, political action committees and progressive non-profit organizations in their quest for successful fundraising. They focus on establishing, maintaining, and enhancing your fundraising operations to solicit individual donors across the nation and in your home state/district, as well as political committees and other groups. Through their personalized, hands-on approach, Kalik & Associates will assist YDA with developing a finance plan, training staff, implementing high and low-dollar donor programs, event planning, and compliance, along with many other aspects of our finance operations.

Bright Compass has been brought on to help facilitate YDA's Human Resource management. They are a full service HR Consulting firm for progressive committees, campaigns, firms, and nonprofits. Their company was founded with the simple belief that traditional HR firms can't meet the unique challenges of political teams and environments. Their goal is to help busy leaders and teams get back to the work at hand by helping with human resources tasks and challenges. An added bonus is that they are managed by former YDNC members so they have firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of YDA. 

Call for members: Our Programmes are a great platform for our members to engage in our Federation. If you would like to become a member of one of our programs please fill in this form (https://forms.gle/CuJPHneC2SPAfKCJA).

More information about the Programmes and how to contact the Programme Managers can be found here (https://www.iflry.com/our-programmes/latin-america/)

If you haven't heard already, last month former YDNC national committee representative Anderson Clayton was elected as the Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, becoming the youngest state party chair in the Nation and joining just a handful of other Young Democrats who have been elected to lead their state party. 

Supported by a campaign team of Young Democrats from the Tarheel State, Anderson ascended to the post after most recently serving as the Person County Party Chair. At just 25-years-old, her age has been a frequent point of conversation as she began her efforts to prepare progressives for 2024.

"I represent the type of progressive that wants to see their party go forward and wants to see their communities thrive. People ask me all the time, where do you want to see the party go, left or right? And I tell them, I want to see it go straight, I want to see it go forward. I want to see it make sure that the people in their communities can see somebody that's representing and talking about the issues that actually matter to them and in their own backyard.

I really want young people to feel like this is their win. This is something for them to take and say they can see themselves in this party, and know that it’s possible for them to make it here, too.” - Anderson Clayton, NCDP Chair

Anderson is showing us exactly what we want our members to know, your age does not prohibit you from being a leading voice in your community and in your state. If you let your experience and your advocacy speak for themselves and put the work in, you can be the one at the head of the table. We could not be more proud of the her victory and the hard campaign work that the members of YDNC who helped lead her campaign to get there. It has proven to Young Dems across the country what they can do to achieve these great feats. 

“When people see that the party has elected a young person who is speaking to their disaffection and their disillusionment from the past election, they see that the people who are running this party care,” - Katherine Jeanes, YDNC National Committee Rep

We are excited to see how NCDP will thrive under Anderson's leadership and how YDNC will continue to excel along side them. 

Do you know a YDA chartered unit that should be highlighted in our next newsletter? Email us at [email protected] to let us know which unit and why! 

YDA Design Request Form

With our new branding, there are obviously going to be needs for new graphics. Our Comms Team is willing and able to help with the majority of requests coming from YDA. These are for official YDA use by YDA Officers, YDA Regions, or YDA Caucuses. The team urges you to have all information in this form completed before you request a design. 

Please allow 3-5 working days for a request to be fulfilled. If a request is urgent, please email Matt Royer at [email protected]. Requests may be edited for grammar and tone, brevity, or brand consistency. 

Don't Forget Your YDA Merch! 

Now's your chance to get your piece of the YDA Rebrand. We have shirts, totes, buttons, and can coolers. Get yours now! 

Go to store.yda.org now! 

Join the YDA Discord!

We're still on Discord! Make sure to join to communicate with fellow YD's across the country! 

Currently, the server will be available for National Committee Members, Appointed Officers, Regional/Caucus Officers, and active members of YDA Constituency Caucuses.

The invite for the YDA Discord Server can be found here.*

Please note that this link may expire in the near future, and subsequent server invites will be emailed out or can be requested to one of the server moderators.

Please note that participation in our Discord server is entirely optional, and no official communication from YDA will occur on this server.

We also recognize that many individuals may be unfamiliar with Discord, which is entirely okay. With that in mind, we encourage you to review this beginner guide to answer many of your questions - many of our moderators on our server are also available to answer questions.

In the News: 

Washington Post - March 18, 2023 - D.C. leaders begin lobbying Congress against effort to block policing bill 

• “While many of our friends made a decision that was of interest to politics, we have built so much leading up to this point from a momentum standpoint,” said Jamal Holtz, the 24-year-old president of DC Young Democrats, “and we have to continue to live up to that momentum and not let our foot off the gas. I still believe that we’re closer to achieving statehood and that did not change after the disapproval resolution.”

The Valley - March 9, 2023 - Sam Ackerman helps reactive Young Democrats of RI 

• “It’s been an amazing experience to be back home in Cumberland, and to be able to contribute to civic life in the state through the Young Dems,” said Ackerman. “I’m excited to be able to be able to lead the Young Democrats into a new chapter for the organization.”

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette - March 7, 2023 - Senate approves Sanders' Arkansas LEARNS Act; education bill on its way to governor's desk

• In a news release after the meeting, Micah Wallace, president of Young Democrats of Arkansas, called on English to hold a youth town-hall-style forum.
• "These meetings have been wildly inaccessible to students in high school and college," Wallace said in a news release. "Still, Sen. English was militant in her demands that students could only speak 'on the amendment' and insistent, even when they were clearly speaking on the amendment, that they were not."

Las Vegas Sun - March 3, 2023 - Tug-of-war among progressives and moderates continues with Nevada Democratic Party leadership on the line

• Nnedi Stephens, second vice president for the Young Democrats of America who is based in Washoe County and unsuccessfully ran for a state Senate seat, slammed Whitmer over her lack of outreach to young people as well as candidates in her part of the state.
• “With this latest administration, there are just fewer opportunities for young people to truly get involved and get engaged,” said Stephens, who also was an executive board member of the state party. “There has been less of a focus of strengthening the party and more focus on this weird cult of personality that Judith had cultivated.”

Daily Caller - February 27, 2023 - ‘Meritless Lawsuits’: Activists, Dem Lawmakers Rally Outside Supreme Court Ahead Of Student Loan Cases

• Matt Royer, Chief of Staff for Young Democrats of America, said all advocates were asking is for corporations to “take the foot off the neck of our generation.
• From public universities raising tuition costs astronomically ahead of inflation to student loan corporations putting terms in front of young adults with minimal financial literacy, this is a system that has not worked for the betterment of our society,” Royer said

WUNC - February 21, 2023 - Anderson Clayton is a fresh voice atop the North Carolina Democratic Party

• Anderson Clayton: "I tell folks all the time, and I told people on the campaign trail, regardless of what happened, I'd still plan to always be an organizer back in rural North Carolina; that was the goal with all of this is to make sure that people understood rural young folks have a place and can do amazing things when they really get involved in their own backyard. I understand that there's a large undertaking with it. But I think that I'm ready to do it. I had the courage to step up and try."

AP News - February 21, 2023 - McClellan makes history, becomes Virginia's first Black congresswoman

• Virginia voters elected Democrat Jennifer McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond and former Virginia Young Democrat President, to fill an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will make history as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.

Charlotte Observer - February 15, 2023 - ‘Young people are capable’: New faces for NC Democrats open new possibilities | Opinion

• Having younger leadership may help the party’s standing with young voters, who are growing increasingly disillusioned with party politics, Katherine Jeanes, a young Democrat who helped with Clayton’s campaign, said. Though they are more likely to align with Democrats ideologically, younger voters in North Carolina are disproportionately registering as unaffiliated.