Lauren Wolfe

The following is Lauren and Awais’ plan for CDA. Though the plan stated here is where they hope to begin next year that in no way means that it will not change. CDA needs to effectively build a plan from your suggestions and ideas. This is how we plan to start in 2006:

Building CDA From the Ground Up

CDA needs to continue working to build a plan of action from the bottom up, from our chapters to our national arm. CDA on a national level has grown enormously over the past few years. We must continue to build on this strength and expand our infrastructure in the year ahead, so that all of our members, chapters and state federations can benefit from national organization.

• Preparing the Democratic Party’s Future Leaders. CDA needs to continue building its training and leadership development programs. In 2005, CDA hosted its first National Council leadership retreat after Convention and flew state federation leaders to Washington, D.C. for training. These programs need to be continued and expanded in the year ahead.
• Sharing Ideas. CDA should do as much as possible to provide College Democrats, especially on a chapter level, with programming ideas for how to organize their campuses. Next year, we plan to expand the tips and resources CDA offers on its website, including a revamped ideas bank with ideas for campaigning, membership development, speaker events, and community service programs.
• Mentoring Program. CDA has made strong steps building up state federations over the past year, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be. We’ve taken good steps to increase coordination between state federations and the national party, and we need to keep that moving. CDA also needs to do more to build networks of communication between strong and new state federations. Established state federations can provide useful advice and assistance and mentoring relationships can strengthen our nationwide network.
• Internship Database. Searching for political internships is often difficult work. The College Democrats of America should aid students in compiling a massive database of available internships for liberally minded students. This database should be accessible off the CDA website.

CDA needs to develop a solid plan to complement Governor Dean’s 50 State Strategy at the DNC so we can ensure victory for Democrats this fall and in 2008. We need to develop campaign infrastructure in each state and also organize campaign invasions for the fall.

Due to CDA’s position within the national party, we rely a great deal on the DNC for support. It is important that we continue to increase our budget within the DNC, while also fundraising as much as possible independently. We are an organization of college students and thus it is important that we raise money from sources outside of our organization.

• Pressure on the DNC. CDA needs to put pressure on the DNC to give us an adequate budget. In 2004 the youth vote was proved to be an essential emerging demographic in the party. Resources need to be given to the College Democrats so that the organization can bring more young people into the Democratic Party especially for the elections this fall and in 2008.
• Increase CDA Grants. It is essential that CDA support state and regional programming. In 2005, CDA began a grant program for state federations. The program has been growing over the past year. During the 2006-2007 school year, CDA should expand its program to increase grant allowance heading into 2008.
  


• Expand Fundraising. Fundraising programs can be a great way to bring students together and also raise money. Fundraising events – like our 375 event in January, 2005, which raised $65,000 – should occur on a more regular basis. Events like this increase our visibility, bring more students into the organization and simultaneously serve as a successful fundraiser.
• Material Costs Covered by CDA. During the 2004 election cycle, schools received promotional material from CDA. During the 2006 election cycle, CDA should provide campuses who request materials with resources like bumper stickers, signs and buttons.

• Accessibility. Lauren and Awais will change the tone of CDA. The National President should remain in contact with all state leaders, not just a select few. For those who know Lauren, she certainly has proven that she has the ability to stay in contact. A leader with the desire to talk to all members while maintaining an open ear is perhaps one of the best traits that CDA can look for in its president. College Democrats outside of the circle of relative insiders need to have input so their ideas can be implemented on a national level.
• Discussion. Lauren is not only someone who will listen and stay in contact with all members of the College Democrats, but she has proven a willingness to listen to all sides of the debate within the College Democrats and work together to build the best solution. State federations need to have more leverage over the future of the organization.
• Keeping eChapters Updated. National phone banks are necessary to keep eChapters data updated. This is crucial for communication. With proper data in eChapers, CDA can inform chapter leaders about resources and events and state federations can keep in better contact with their membership.
• Blog. There is a great deal of potential with CDA’s Smart Ass blog. It is being underused. Lauren has experience with blogs and plans to post on CDA’s on a regular basis.
• Legal Resources. CDA should provide more legal assistance to its chapters and feds. This can especially become a question during election cycles. With new information on our website this fall, CDA will be able to aid College Democrats with legal questions.
• Getting Press. The College Republicans devote themselves to pitching stories. They get significant press despite the fact that Kerry won the youth vote by 10 points. We need to do less reacting by establishing a proactive media plan.

Posted by Lauren Wolfe at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The College Democrats of America have grown enormously over the past few years. New CDA chapters have formed, we’ve learned the skills necessary to make us the true future of the Democratic Party and our impact over elections is stronger than ever. Now is the time to truly seize upon the accomplishments of the past few years to build a better CDA. In the year ahead, CDA must continue to grow through the strengthening of connections between individual College Democrats.

If we are to succeed in these objectives, CDA must build itself from the grassroots up and join Governor Dean’s plan to compete in every county in every state. We must further increase the strength of our state federations and make sure they have leverage over the future of our organization. We must ensure that our chapters feel connected to our national network and plan more grassroots activities on all our campuses.

CDA needs strong leadership to accomplish these goals - leaders who have worked their way up in the organization, and who know firsthand the difficulties of running a chapter and a state federation. Most of all, CDA needs leaders who are accessible, know how to listen and will make everyone an insider.

We believe we understand the challenges of College Democrats on every level and are uniquely prepared to lead our organization toward these goals in the months ahead. But we need your support. Please let us know what ideas you have for the future and what you think of our plan and vision.
CDA is your organization, and together, we will move it forward.

Lauren Wolfe
Candidate for CDA President

Awais Khaleel
Candidate for CDA Vice President

Posted by Lauren Wolfe at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Candidate for CDA Vice President

Awais Khaleel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised all over the upper Midwest and Oklahoma. He learned the importance of hard work and middle class values early on from his Muslim Indian immigrant parents, who make a living working as a small business owner and an educator.

Currently a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Awais has applied the strong principles he learned from his upbringing to many Democratic causes as a volunteer and employee of the Democratic Party, as well as a state leader for the College Democrats of Wisconsin.

Awais began his involvement with the College Democrats his freshman year when he was elected to the College Democrats of Wisconsin (CDW) state board as the second-ever Diversity Action Coordinator. During his first term on the state board, Awais also worked as an employee for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW), running the field program of one of the largest counties in Wisconsin for one of the most extensive statewide field plans in the nation. Among his many duties as an organizer, Awais organized and incorporated numerous campuses into a larger field program. Later that year, Awais coordinated the 2005 College Dems State Convention, which was the largest such convention that the state had ever seen. His work ensured that this convention was the most racially and religiously diverse conventions in CDW’s history.

Having had both the benefit of working as a political organizer and serving as a state leader, Awais was overwhelmingly elected as the College Democrats of Wisconsin State Chair in 2005. With Awais as State Chair, Wisconsin organized the first ever DPW/CDW Leadership Summit, where both state leaders and chapter leaders within the College Dems jointly planned the direction of the organization with the state party and legislative leaders. Awais also saw to it that CDW aggressively and effectively lobbied campus-representing lawmakers on legislative issues that directly impacted students. In addition, CDW broke every fundraising record ever set in the history of the organization during Awais’ term.

Since his freshman year, Awais has also worked as the Outreach Director for Wisconsin’s pre-eminent training conference, the Democratic Leadership Institute. At the Institute, Awais has served as a trainer, instructing state and county party leaders on how to better engage young people and also instructing young activists on how to effectively organize their campuses for Democratic causes. Additionally, Awais has previously worked as a Field Manager for Grassroots Campaigns Inc., who was contracted through the DNC to do door-to-door fundraising. Awais has also been an intern or volunteered for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Gore/Lieberman 2000, and Russ Feingold for Senate 2004.

Posted by Lauren Wolfe at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Candidate for CDA President

Lauren Wolfe grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan and is a seasoned veteran of the College Democrats. As a chapter, state, and national leader of CDA, Lauren has earned a reputation as a tireless, innovative, and enthusiastic organizer and advocate.

Lauren became President of the Smith College Democrats in the fall of 2003. In that position, she increased the organization’s budget and membership tenfold. Lauren built an email list of more than 1,000 students – over one-third of the college’s student body – and developed innovative speaker and campaign programs on campus. Under Lauren’s leadership, the Smith Democrats recruited new members through a food drive, raised a record amount of money through a Western Massachusetts College Democrats “date auction,” and organized a conference to connect students and influential Democratic Party leaders. At the 2004 CDA Convention, the national organization recognized Lauren’s achievements by naming Smith College its “Chapter of the Year.”

While serving as President of the Smith College Democrats, Lauren had an opportunity to meet and work closely with other chapters across the state of Massachusetts. In the spring of 2004, Lauren was unanimously elected President of the College Democrats of Massachusetts (CDM). In that role, Lauren helped organize the 2004 CDA National Convention in Boston and she transformed CDM from a loose organization of less than ten schools to one of the largest state federations in the country. Lauren also coordinated the nation’s largest College Democrats campaign invasion in 2004, sending more than 1,000 volunteers to New Hampshire to volunteer for the Kerry-Edwards campaign the weekend before the election.

In 2004, Lauren was also elected chair of the National Council, CDA’s body of state federation officers. In that role, Lauren served as a member of the CDA Executive Board and as a liaison between the DNC and state federations across the country. Under Lauren’s leadership, the National Council grew to include members from all 50 states for the first time. Lauren also provided resources to state federations on behalf of CDA and coordinated the first-ever CDA state federation leadership retreat at the 2005 National Convention.

In addition to her experience with CDA, Lauren has interned with the DNC, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Oakland County Democratic Party, Dean for America and Senator Carl Levin. She has also served on Smith’s student government, participated at the Goldman Sachs Global Leadership Institute, and currently teaches English in Zwickau, Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship. In the fall, Lauren will return to her home state of Michigan to study law this fall.

Posted by Lauren Wolfe at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)