The National Environmental Caucus of the Young Democrats of America - YDA

Dear friends,

We are writing this post to inform you that we will be discontinuing the use of this page and reverting back to the Caucus' original page, YDA Environmental Caucus.

Please push the like button on that page and continue to stay in touch with us there.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Jason Park
YDA Environmental Caucus Director of Communications

and just high fived each other on the international stage in Davos in agreement that they won’t get rid of the Jim Crow era relic filibuster. They’re also both bought by fossil fuel industry🛢️

Absolutely gross.

This morning Chair Paul Anthony Presendieu-Cuesta and Director of Communications Jason Isaac Park attended Winter Meeting of the Environmental Caucus of the California Young Democrats, where Chair Presendieu joined speakers California State Nancy Skinner and Caroline Spears, Executive Director of Climate Cabinet Action in delivering remarks on behalf of our Caucus.

Thank you CYD Environmental Caucus Chair Christophe LaBelle for having us be part of this conversation!

Happy first week of 2023, !

Today we are introducing you to your new Caucus Parliamentarian, Terry Altherr from the Chartered Unit of Massachusetts!

Terry Altherr (he/him) is a lifelong progressive activist. Originally from Tokyo, Terry has lived in Newton, Massachusetts since 2007. He has been involved in the Young Democrats of Massachusetts (YDMA) since 2018, serving as its Secretary from 2020 to 2022. He also serves as the Secretary of the YDA Asian Pacific Islander (API) Caucus. He is also involved in the Newton Ward 4 Democratic Committee, the Newton Democratic City Committee (he currently serves as their Secretary), and the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee as one of the three male-identifying Disability add-on committeepersons.

Having first gotten involved in Joe Kennedy’s 2012 congressional campaign, Terry decided work for progressive candidates and causes once he graduated from American University in 2018. Most recently, he worked as a Voter Data Coordinator for the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) in support of Question 1 (a 4% wealth tax) and Question 4 (driving licenses for all regardless of immigration status).

Terry has been involved in various activist groups, primarily environmental ones. He is involved in 350 Massachusetts (the state 350 chapter) and the Sunrise Movement Boston Hub, rallying for the Green New Deal. He also fights for a greener Democratic Party by getting environmental activists involved in the Democratic Party, including Young Dems.

Like us on our new page, you can find us on Facebook on the link in our bio.

Happy New Year, ! Over the past several days, we have been doing a series re/introducing all of our Officers.

Today we are introducing you to your new Midwest Region Director, Addison Miller from the Chartered Unit of South Dakota!

Addison Miller (he/him) lives in Vermillion, South Dakota as a senior political science student at the University of (you guessed it!) South Dakota as the child of two deaf parents, having grown up in vibrant deaf communities in Sioux Falls.

In addition to his position as Midwest Regional Director, Addison also serves as President of the Young Democrats of South Dakota (YDSD), as well as on the South Dakota Democratic Party’s Executive Board and on its’ State Central Committee. Prior to that, Addison served as YDSD’s National Committeeman and as the College Democrats of South Dakota’s Eastern Regional Director.

Addison strongly believes that the Midwest will play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis as both a key source of renewable wind and solar-powered energy, and as a home for migrants displaced by the effects of climate change.

You can follow Addison on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok at .

Earlier this month, from across the country elected several new officers for our Caucus. With the New Year coming up in a few days and several new faces joining our Board, we have been doing a series re/introducing all of our Officers.

Today we are introducing you to your Northeast Region Director, Cristian Corza from the Chartered Unit of Connecticut!

Cristian Corza is a community advocate living in Hartford, Connecticut. Cristian has worked in the issue advocacy space since undergrad and is currently pursuing an MPA at the University of Connecticut. He has been involved with YDA since 2020 and serves as a national appointed officer and represents his chartered unit in Connecticut as National Committeeman.

Roughly two weeks ago, Young Democrats across the country elected several new officers for our Caucus. With the New Year coming up in a few days and several new faces joining our Board, we have been doing a series re/introducing all of our Officers.

, today we are re/introducing you to your Secretary, Francesca Stephenson from the Chartered Unit of Michigan!

Francesca is an activist and community organizer based in Detroit Michigan. She has been a YDA member since 2017 and currently serves as the treasurer of the Youth Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party. She works full time in the auto industry as a researcher focusing on battery and electrification technologies.

With the New Year coming up in a few days and new faces joining our Board, over the past several days, we have been doing a series re/introducing all of our Officers.

, meet the person behind the keyboard for our social media platforms, Jason Isaac Park from the Chartered Unit of California!

Jason is an activist and organizer from California who is deeply involved with all levels of both the College and Young Democrats as well as the Democratic Party at large, from the federal to the local. As not only a first-generation immigrant but also the first in my family to ever graduate from college in the States and pursue a career in public service, he cares deeply about issues of access in our Party and political system at large and encourages his peers to be actively engaged in all levels of policymaking. Jason has a formidable record in climate and environment, from conducting research in ocean biology to allocating funds to sustainability projects in the context of student government. Outside of YDA, he is currently serving his second term on the National Executive Board of the College Democrats of America. He is also serving on the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party as one of its youngest members. Beyond his work in the Democratic Party, Jason hopes to earn a degree in and practice law in the future.

Roughly two weeks ago, Young Democrats across the country elected several new officers of the National Environmental Caucus of the Young Democrats of America (YDA). With the New Year coming up in a few days and several new faces joining our Board, we are currently doing a series re/introducing all of our Officers!

, meet your Vice Chair of Organizing, Tasneem Al-Michael from the Chartered Unit of Oklahoma!

A community-justice advocate and creative at his core, Tasneem Al-Michael is an artivist, entrepreneur, and organizer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by way of Bangladesh. As an organizer, Tas has served
at the local, state, and national levels in the electoral arena and issue-based campaigns. He aspires to help break barriers in underrepresented communities by recognizing their collective power and uplifting their stories to become changemakers. In his spare time, Tas enjoys hosting community events, fostering growth in future organizers, and resting!

Roughly two weeks ago, Young Democrats across the country elected several new officers of the YDA National Environmental Caucus. With the New Year approaching and several new faces joining our Board, we’d like to re/introduce all of our Officers!

, we present to you your Vice Chair of Political Action, Ciara Hart from the Chartered Unit of Louisiana!

Ciara Hart (SLA ’17) is the External Relations Manager for Ed Trust Louisiana. She is also very active in the Democratic State Central Committee and the Young Democrats of Louisiana, where she serves as President. As a former Louisiana History Teacher, Ciara is invested in dismantling systems of oppression that negatively impact black and brown students. Ciara is a committed educator and community organizer dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression with experience in designing and managing community organizing campaigns, issue based and advocacy campaigns, elected leadership, and community engagement. Passionate servant leader with a Bachelors in Social Work from Florida A. M. University, Tallahassee Florida.

Roughly a week ago, Young Democrats across the country elected several new officers of the . With the New Year approaching and several new faces joining our Board, we’d like to re/introduce all of our Officers, starting from our Chair (see our previous post) and now our Executive Vice Chair!

, we present to you your Executive Vice Chair, Jack Perenick from the Chartered Unit of Massachusetts!

A native of western Massachusetts, Jack Perenick resides in Somerville, MA, where he is also serves as President of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts. Formerly our Northeast Director, Jack has been serving as Executive Vice Chair for the last few months as we work to expand and refocus our efforts of being a resource to Young Democrats.

Jack is active in his local Democratic Party committee and State Committee and has always been passionate about putting bold climate public policy solutions forward at the state level. One of his first interactions in politics was lobbying with agricultural and apiarist groups to prevent the use of certain pesticides in the state.

Jack is also a Climate Reality Project Leader with Vice President Al Gore’s group and is passionate about making local climate issues a part of elections and municipal politics.

You can connect with him at https://dot.cards/jhperenick, and you can like the Massachusetts Young Democrats on Facebook at Young Democrats of Massachusetts.