Alejandra Salinas and Jeremy Feigenbaum President and Vice President Your CDA: Alejandra and Jeremy Alejandra

a C. Salinas for CDA President Jeremy Feigenbaum for CDA Vice President Through the collective efforts of the College Democrats of Americas board members, Executive Director, appointed officers, state federation leaders, and chapter presidents, CDA has grown and expanded tremendously in the past year. We have built new relationships, redefined the expectations of our organization, and worked to further empower College Democrats. As President, Alejandra has been at the forefront of that growth, while Jeremy has worked to support her throughout the year as CDA Programs Director. The work of improving CDA began as soon as we were elected and has continued through the present. Beginning last summer, our organization experienced immense turnover. Three months before the midterm elections, CDA had a new board and was conducting a search for our next Executive Director. We welcomed the challenge and took the opportunity to provide new and innovative resources for a midterm election cycle. We also spent countless hours working on exciting new initiatives such as the Back2School program, putting resources and guides into the hands of state leaders. As soon as school began, we launched the Again 2010 efforts to elect Democrats, investing unprecedented resources in campaign invasions, organizing our first Fall Campaign Contest to allocate additional resources to state federations for GOTV programming, coordinating hundreds of watch parties for the Presidents youth address, planning Dial4Dems phonebanking days to support five targeted races, and hosting a conference call with President Obama. After the elections were over, College Democrats moved forward to regroup and rebuild in preparation for new legislative and electoral challenges. We coordinated the Stand With Students campaign and created a comprehensive advocacy guide and held call days to support key Democratic issues. In addition, CDA enacted its State Communications Grant and grew our social media presence, we ran an exciting Service Week, and Alejandra nominated a former College Democrat, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, as the new Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Despite these accomplishments, we are not done yet and we look forward to leading CDAs continued expansion. As CDA prepares for the challenges that 2012 will bring, we need to recognize what our organization is most effective at and act accordingly. From Alabama to Wisconsin, we have learned that providing resources and support to the incredible work that chapter and state leaders are already performing on

their campuses is what we do best. Our campaign, with its theme of Your CDA, reflects the ways in which we both intend to develop the numerous and exciting aspects of state and chapter College Democrats organizing. The Reelect, the DNC, and You Nothing can be more important to College Democrats than guaranteeing a strong relationship between CDA, the DNC, and President Obamas reelection campaign. We are proud of the relationship we have already built, and Alejandra was honored to be one of the DNC members chosen to nominate Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz as Chair. Here is how we will continue to build that relationship:

Coordinate and provide support to voter registration drives at campuses across the country from August of 2011 until November of 2012. Develop a Voter Registration and Primary/Caucus Organizing Guide. Establish a Youth Delegate Guide for interested College Democrats and lead the efforts to get our members elected to these positions in 2011 and 2012. Ensure that White House and DNC messaging is being brought to states and chapter leadership through CDA Wire, social media, and the National Council. Coordinate internship opportunities for College Democrats with Democratic Party offices including the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, and DGA, as well as State Parties, State OFA organizations, and others.

Providing Resources to You College Democrats states and chapters do amazing work on campus, whether planning new events, conducting social media outreach, organizing issue advocacy, or volunteering on local campaigns. But such impressive agendas often need support from the national level. Here is what we will do to help:

Produce a comprehensive Chapter Fundraising: Best Practices Guide and a State Federation Fundraising: Best Practices Guide. Offer full website development and support for state federations that seek assistance in improving their online communications. Expand the newly created CDA Communications Grant to ensure that states have the opportunity to utilize social media advertising and micro-targeting free of cost. Create at least 10 CDA Alumni contacts in each chartered state with fundraising potential for that state federation.

Support Your Campus Organizing

Supporting our states and chapters means more than grants and resources, however. Our pledge to assist your efforts also means offering advice on programming, guidance on membership development, and more. Here is some of what we can do for you:

Produce a Membership Outreach Guide that includes includes best practices on state federation and chapter expansion, as well as advice on outreach to specialized campuses including HBCUs, community colleges, and womens colleges. Revamp the Chapter Contact portion of the website and develop a means by which chapters can update incorrect information. Host "Social Media 101" and "Advanced Targeted Social Media" Webinars with the DNC at the beginning of this year. Collaborate with targeted state federations to help them build relationships with their State Party and states OFA. Develop five central programming ideas to be released at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, and work continuously with states to execute those programs. Create a CDA Speakers Bureau that provides assistance to states and chapters looking to attract Democratic officials.

Access and Accountability to You The CDA Executive Board cannot support your efforts on campus and in the community if we are not accountable to you. In addition to expanding our relationship with the reelect and the DNC, and providing resources, training, and advice to states and chapters, we plan to ensure that CDA is even more accessible to its members. Here is how we will do so:

Streamline the National Council by increasing the number of regions so that relationships between states and regional directors are stronger and more reciprocal. Improve the participation in and the quality of National Council calls by including prominent guest speakers and publicizing detailed agendas one week in advance. Institutionalize officer Fireside Chats, in which 2-3 officers will provide an official update and offer opportunities for questions on National Council calls every month. Continue this past years experience of drafting monthly officer reports and releasing these reports on CDA Wire.

Continue our pledge to reply to all College Democrats emails within 24 hours.

We are so thrilled that College Democrats across the country have come together this past year to elect Democrats and fight for the issues we care about. We look forward to an even stronger community, and an even stronger CDA next year. We know you will enjoy our exciting National Convention, with amazing keynote addresses and exciting speakers, and look forward to working with you and the entire CDA Family in the coming year. We cannot wait to see you all at Convention! Alejandra & Jeremy

Michael Worley Communications Director To Whom It May Concern: I, Michael Dominic Worley, would like to formally announce my candidacy for reelection as the National Communications Director for College Democrats of America. I usually would have a much longer candidacy statement, but I have decided to focus all of my time and resources on our upcoming convention. Thank You,

Andrew Slade Development Director Since arriving at Boston College nearly two years ago, College Democrats has been my biggest single commitment outside the classroom. Having taken on active roles in campaigns at home in Pennsylvania throughout high school, I knew that I wanted to become even more politically involved in college, and I have been able to do just that by working with College Democrats at the chapter, state and national levels. In April, I completed my one-year term as Finance Director of College Democrats of Massachusetts and was elected Vice President. Since last summer, I have also served as a member of CDAs finance committee. It is now my honor to officially declare myself a canidate for Director of Development of College Democrats of America. Having seen both ends of College Democrats finance as a state finance director and a member of the national finance team, Ive developed a vision for the position of Development Director as one that raises money for CDA nationally, while simultaneously facilitating state-level fundraising efforts. In both capacities, the end result is the same, and that is for CDA to serve as a resource to state and chapter leaders, whether it be through direct support in the form of grants, or assistance with respect to the establishment of relationships with banks, credit card companies, fundraising groups and campaign finance regulators at the state and national levels, as well as general help when it comes time to plan and execute a state fundraising campaign. As far as national fundraising efforts go, I have learned firsthand that they can be particularly challenging, and different from state-level development. We cannot eliminate the hurdles we face along the way, but we can work efficiently around them by being persistent and organized, and by adapting to work more productively within the institutional structure of the DNC. As Development Director, I will do this by building on great ideas like a small-donor program, and seeing them through to execution. I will, moreover, bring to the position new and innovative ideas for fundraising, like working with the Political Director and caucus leaders to target donors based on salient, high-stakes issues. I plan to also collaborate with the National Council and regional directors to bring College Democrats together in person for a series of regional fundraising events co-hosted by CDA and a given chapter or state federation. In Massachusetts, I have been on the receiving end of financial support from CDA, and I have seen just how great its impact can be. With this understanding in mind, I will work to ensure that we at the national level are able to continue offering grants to maximize the efficacy of our membership in coming elections. Beyond raising money for CDA, I will take the understanding I have gleaned by building fundraising efforts in CDM and apply it to help states in their own development initiatives. I have committed myself to not only being accessible to state and chapter leaders, but to proactively reaching out to you, even if it is just to

check in and see how things are going with an event that you have been planning or a campaign you have been working on. I will be holding regular weekly virtual office hours, but I also want to make clear that you should feel comfortable contacting me at any time, and I will be making it my priority to make sure that you do. Ultimately, I want to help you engineer fundraising plans that will be effective in your area, and I know that I have the experience to do just that.

Ryan Terrell Development Director Dear College Democrats,

My name is Ryan Terrell and I am honored to run for the CDA Director of Development position. Now, more than ever, it's important for CDA to have a Director of Development who understands the financial struggle of the majority of our state federations and who is able to think creatively, embody transperency and be able to adapt to the changing world of campaign finance. As the former Chief Financial Officer of the Florida College Democrats, I understand the situation many of our state federations and chapters are in. Many are lost and unsure how to raise the basic funds needed to keep the state fed operating. A few new federations have begun debating whether they should operate as a branch of their state party or branch off to become a state PAC or 527. And some states even have new officers who have never dealt with finances before and are looking for guidance.

As I've traveled and spoken with state federations across the country, Im left with one overall feeling: disappointment. CDA entered the year with amazingly talented officers and wonderful plans to help College Democrats become an effective structure ready to fight for the Democratic message. CDA accomplished so much this past year. But on the financial front, much more could've been done. Many state finance directors, including myself, went entire months without ever being contacted by the CDA Finance Committee. As your next Director of Development, maintaining an accountable and transparent process will be a central component to our Financial operation. That's why I've pledged to hold at least one call every month with our state leaders specially related to CDA finances and the financial picture of our state federations. As we gear up for the 2012 elections, it is crucial that all College Democrats are on the same page because we are all in this fight together.

As I've listened to state's concerns, another crucial issue has continued to arise in this race: campaign finance laws. Many states have confided in me that they are either unfamiliar with their tax code status or that they are unfamiliar with the campaign finance rules and restrictions related to their status. This is a serious concern, because not only could accidentially breaking these rules lead to financial or criminal reprecussions, but it could severely damage College Dems credibility in those states. Therefore, as your next Director of Development, I pledge to assemble a team of experts in campaign finance law to help create a CDA guide on tax statuses and basic rules state federations need to be aware of.

Finally, as a former Chief Financial Officer, I've learned the importance of financial flexibility. Time and time again, CDA regulars have complained about the constraints of fundraising as a branch of the DNC. Yes, we have issues with what type of fundraisers we can have and where we can raise money, but its time we stop complaining and start adapting to the situation. If we can't have fundraisers, then we need to raise money the old fashioned way: calling individuals and asking. We need to stop using DNC bureaucracy as an excuse and start getting to work putting CDA back on a fiscally stable track.

Our message is too strong, and our work too important for us to expect anything less from our next Director of Development. We must call on our new CDA Finance Team to adopt a no-nonsense attitude toward transparency, troubleshooting and flexibility. CDA truly deserves more.

Sincerely, Ryan Terrell

Emma Gibbons Membership Director In order to win in 2012, our work begins right now. As CDA Membership Director, I will build and recruit state federations key to the Presidential Election. I will not limit my focus to the states that are high priorities for the Obama campaign, but instead will also emphasize the states that have important Congressional races. I plan on doing this by working with the National Council and regional directors to identify the highest priority states in each region. Working through that list will ensure we are maximizing our time and energy in preparation for 2012. As for the states that have already chartered, I will work to produce helpful documents and templates that every chapter at any level can use. For example, Id like to have examples of what campus lit looks like, what a student groups budget should be like and perhaps a list of creative membership recruitment techniques. I hope to also help with outreach to targeted colleges and universities, such as HBCUs. I want to make State Fed and Chapter Presidents jobs as easy as possible, especially when it comes to recruiting and maintaining members. By the time the 2012 Presidential primaries begin, I want to have an established chapter in 80% of the states and hopefully by fall 2012 there will be a CDA College Democrats Chapter in every state. Building CDA Chapters gives students a strong, unified message throughout the country. Effective communication and flow of information is key to winning any election and a large membership base will lead us to victory. I look forward to earning your vote for CDA Membership Director at the National Convention in June!

Eliza Hernandez Political Director Politics has been my passion since becoming involved in issues surrounding comprehensive immigration reform. It has been an amazing experience to serve as the Hispanic Caucus Chair for the past year, as well as working with the College Democrats in multiple capacities. On the state level, I am currently the VicePresident of the College Democrats of North Carolina, and I previously served as the Director of Finance. I am also serving my second term as President of the UNC Charlotte College Democrats, the same university that hosted the 2010 CDA National Convention last summer. This past year, CDA has moved into the direction of serving as a resource to state and chapter leaders. My goal is to steer the caucuses in the same direction. As Political Director, I will work to ensure caucuses are building and maintaining relationships with state and chapter leaders to provide ideas and new sources of information to College Democrats across the country. I want caucuses to be able to live up to their potential, and not miss any chances to expand opportunities for political involvement in their respective communities. As Political Director, I will work closely with the DNC and CDA to create effective programing, messaging, and legislative guides on how to advocate and organize around caucus issues. The caucuses will be given the tools they need to understand how this system works from the beginning in the form of a guide with defined roles, responsibilities, and ways they can push their demographics agenda. I also aim to create the position of Legislative Director to assist in keeping caucuses up to date on items in state legislatures across the country so that CDA can organize effectively around those respective issues. As a caucus chair, I was able to see firsthand what has worked for caucuses and what can be improved. Continuing bi-weekly conference calls with caucus leaders and calling caucus chairs weekly is critical in ensuring communication is kept open so they are able to meet their goals. To strengthen communication with state leaders, monthly reports on caucus developments will be sent to help build CDAs relationship with the caucuses constituency groups in each state. In order for caucuses to be a resource to College Democrats, it is important that they work with the CDA Membership Director to strengthen outreach in specific collegiate constituencies. A great way for caucuses to start their new direction as a resource is to organize relevant caucus organization directories for every state federation to increase collaboration with other progressive groups. My plans for the caucuses next year continue to grow. I hope to be elected and be given the privilege of working with the CDA Executive board next year, to serve the College Democrats this country.

Elsie Raymer Programs Director On June 12, 2011 I formally declare my candidacy for CDA Director of Programs. If elected, I intend to use CDA programming to help foster strong relationships between the national organizations and State Federations. Its important to me not only that the states know about CDA programming, but that they also have necessary support from CDA in implementing national programs, as well as in developing their own initiatives at the state and chapter levels. I want to structure programs so that they fit every state's agenda and ability by ensuring programs are relevant to the states. The first projects I hope to complete will focus on student voting rights and will include issue advocacy to combat state voter ID bills, a national voter registration drive, and a national voter protection program. With these projects and with others, I want to ensure that CDA programming is a statebased effort and that CDA's primary role will take form as a reliable resource for state federations. First, it's absolutely essential we register as many students as possible in 2011, not just for the sake of the 2011 elections, but also for the purposes of laying the groundwork for 2012. I want to collaborate with the DNC and OFA to coordinate the biggest student voter registration push CDA has seen. Next, we need to engage College Democrats in issue advocacy against the voter ID bills that have been proposed throughout the country. These bills are aimed directly at preventing students from voting, so it is CDA's responsibility to see that we retain our rights. Immediately after my election, I will work closely with states like Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin. Tennessee, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island. I want to work hand in hand with state federations and the Democratic Lawyer's Council to place lawyers on as many campuses as possible on election day in order to ensure that every student, including College Democrats, are able to vote. Lastly, CDA should be a leading organization in supporting Democrats in upcoming debates on immigration policy, gay marriage legislation, and energy reform. I want to help state federations take the lead on these efforts by helping the coordinate around issues that matter to them.

Tori Taylor National Council Chair Growing up in a small, conservative town in western North Carolina, I never had many opportunities to be politically active until I got to college. Two days after beginning my freshman year of college, I was volunteering at my schools College Democrats table during our student activities fair. I was instantly hooked. From making new friends to campaigning for my local congressional candidate to lobbying for education with state legislators and organizing rallies on campus, being a College Democrat helped me define the past few years of my life. The friends Ive made and the opportunities presented to me in this organization have been invaluable. I want every College Democrat across the country to have the same amazing experiences Ive been able to have in this organization. After serving as a chapter president, I am currently serving in my second term as President of the College Democrats of North Carolina. I have also served CDA in dual roles this year as Southern Regional Director and National Events Coordinator. Over the past few years of being involved in College Democrats, Ive been able to understand the importance of chapters and states in CDA. They are truly the backbone of this organization. The hardest working people in CDA are the ones we dont know. They dont have national titles or insane resumes they are the inspired students that spend their Saturdays canvassing for local school board candidates and work summers volunteering at their state party headquarters. They are the students that set up tables around campus and convince their peers to come to a phone bank for a couple hours. These are the students that need a national organization listening, supporting, and ensuring that they have the resources necessary to be successful on a local and state level. It is imperative that CDA has these students, their chapters, and their state federations on the forefront of every agenda item we implement. This is one of the reasons why I want to serve as your next National Council Chair. CDAs National Council is the link between the national executive board and state federations and chapters across the country. The first of these is how efficient we need to become. National Council needs to establish consistent and productive lines of communication between state federations and CDA in order to promote a working and representative national agenda. This means making our calls informative, productive, and consistent with guest speakers, CDA officer reports, state federation highlights, useful information, and questions & answer sessions. I believe that this will ensure that state federations have a voice in CDAs national agenda and direction and keep the CDA executive board accountable to states. Our next step to an exciting CDA experience for all our students is simply being inclusive. We have to be able to create an open and comfortable dialogue on monthly National Council calls for states to ask questions about CDA programs/initiatives and discuss what they are doing on a state level to promote the Democratic Party. Likewise, we have to prepare people to ask these questions by publicizing detailed agendas for every National Council call at least one week in

advance on the CDA Wire, website, and Facebook. Lastly, we need to do everything we can to ensure that our most productive year is ahead of us, especially as we continue to be a resource for chapters and state federations. I think this can best be accomplished through a streamlining of National Council by adding additional regions, thus improving Regional Director (RD) accountability and involvement. With that will come expectations, timelines, roles, and responsibilities of the RDs toward the goal of creation stronger relationships between RDs and their states. I know that every person here loves being a College Democrat. CDAs National Council needs to make sure that the students who will be sitting in our seats next year feel the same way.

Jake Sticka National Council Vice-Chair Jake Sticka is from San Diego, California and is a member of Georgetown Universitys Class of 2013, majoring in Government and minoring in History & Philosophy. Jake first became politically mobilized by issues surrounding education reform while attending the Preuss School UCSD, a public charter school for low-income, first generation college students. It was after realizing that the Democratic Party was the only party willing to work toward correcting these issues of educational inequality and other problems facing America's urban poor that Jake became involved with the party, first as an Obama for America volunteer and later as a member of the Georgetown University College Democrats. Since then Jake has campaigned for Democrats in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia, become the Vice President of GUCD, Historian of CDA, and the President of the DC College Democrats. As a state federation leader, Jake has been very active with National Council, attending every call and initially being a part of the Council's Constitution Committee. In this time, Jake has seen the potential of National Council but also observed several ways in which it can reach this maximum potential. As National Council Vice Chair, Jake hopes to work toward the goals set forth in the platform that he shares with National Council Chair candidate Tori Taylor and National Council Secretary candidate Dashell Fittry. Foremost in these platform goals are the principles of efficiency, inclusivity, and productivity. Toward efficiency, Jake plans to work to make calls more interesting, by asking CDA officers to give reports on calls and inviting guest speakers to jump on. It is his hope that this will keep CDA leaders accountable and encourage more state federations to participate in National Council. Similarly, Jake is committing to make sure that internally National Council is organized, releasing notices about calls at least a week in advance on the Wire, the website, and Facebook / Twitter. Jake also wants to make National Council more inclusive by replying to all emails within 24 hours and being proactive in contacting other state federation leaders. Further, Jake also wants to make National Council more productive. Jake thinks the best way toward this goal is creating additional Regional Directors and keeping them more accountable by providing them with measurable goals. Outside of College Democrats, Jake tutors court-supervised youth as a part of Georgetown's After School Kids Street Law Program and serves his student body as their elected representative on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.

Dashell Fittry National Council Secretary I am honored to announce my candidacy for the College Democrats of Americas National Council Secretary. While I am relatively new to the CDA, I was happy to jump right into the fray, fighting for Democratic and American values throughout the past year alongside of other College Democrats. Not only did I defend and support these principles, I also worked on multiple campaigns from state house races to gubernatorial races in multiple states. Soon after last years convention, I submitted an application and was appointed Northern State Outreach Coordinator. This position allowed me to reach out to many states to see how their relationship with their state party was and how the CDA could more effectively facilitate good communication between each body. This is the most important task I plan to undertake if elected Secretary of the National Council. I want to ensure that both the CDA federations of each state have a good working relationship with their respective state parties and that when federations or the individual parties need help or support from one another they have a line of communication that is effective and supportive. Along with that I want to continue to work to ensure state federations have a voice in the decision making process of the state parties. My goals are not only restricted to relationship building between state federations and parties, but also lies within the CDA. I want to work with the other members elected to the CDA executive board to make communication between the states and the executive board more effective and more conducive to collaboration and idea building. If elected to the position of Secretary of the National Council I will work tirelessly to advance the good work the CDA does annually and be as open and helpful as possible while in the position to help all members of the CDA.