YDA membership elects seven national officers biennially at the organization's National Convention in odd-numbered years. These officers maintain the day-to-day management of the organization. The Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents (ACUP) and the Chair of the Council of Constituency Caucuses (CCC) serve as ex-officio national officers.
2023–2025 National Officers
Elected on June 21st at the YDA National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada
Dyna Kristine is a proud Latina and community activist. She currently serves as Global Program Manager at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation where she manages Government-to-government relationships and foreign direct investment ventures.
She is the Founder of Defy the Odds LLC, a mentoring program for underprivileged youth who have experienced adverse childhood circumstances. As a survivor of childhood abuse, Dyna Kristine knows all too clearly the gaps the system has and has worked for the past 10 years with legislators and national partners to reduce the devastating child abuse statistics.
Through her activism, she empowers young black and Latino youth to pursue leadership opportunities in her community. Through her work with the Black Girl Social Club, WOMEN4CHANGE, and the Indiana Bar Foundation, she hopes to build a civically engaged youth electorate.
Gabriela Koc was born in Venezuela to Peruvian parents and is a youth advocate, proud immigrant, and political organizer. She is a proud UCONN alumna with a B.S. in Biology with a Pre-Medicine concentration, and a M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction, with a CT teaching certification in 7th-12th science. During the pandemic she won her current seat as President of Connecticut Young Democrats, making her the first woman of color and Latina in the position. As President, she has led organizing efforts for regional chapters in one of most rural areas of the state, the Northwest Corner Young Democrats and the New London County Young Democrats and passed an amendment to allow non-citizens as members of the organization.
Her career expands over three areas; education, law, and government. As a paralegal she specialized in immigration law and civil suits. She left her position as a senate aide in the CT legislature in 2022 to work as Deputy Political Director on Governor Ned Lamont’s successful re-election campaign. She currently lives in Stamford, where she serves as one of the two youngest members on the Democratic City Committee. In her free time, she is a career coach for students at UCONN, providing a crucial perspective as a first-generation college graduate.
She volunteers with the Juvenile Review Board, a restorative justice-based court diversion program for juveniles, and is a Board Member at The Center for Wellbeing-Centro Bienestar, a non-profit that provides culturally responsive mental health services for the uninsured. At the beginning of 2023 she was appointed to work at the Office of the Treasurer as part of his executive team, where she is part of the pioneering CT Baby Bonds initiative.
Having an extensive background in Democratic campaigns, Hannah has worked in Georgia politics for over seven years. An organizer at heart, she is committed to empowering others and creating sustainable change in Georgia and across the south.
After starting her career as an organizer, Hannah managed winning campaigns for barrier-breaking candidates to local and state offices across Georgia through effective voter engagement programs. To complement her campaign work, she’s also a force in the Georgia Labor scene. As Political Director for the Georgia AFL-CIO and running the AFL-CIO’s campaign for the 2020 General, she continued on in the 2021 runoff to be a bridge between Warnock for Senate and Georgia Unions as the Labor Coordinator. Along the way, Hannah dipped her toes into the official side as well, both as a labor lobbyist and as Chief of Staff for prominent Georgia Assembly Democrats.
Hannah later served as the Campaign Manager for Bee Nguyen, the 2022 Democratic Nominee for Georgia Secretary of State, where she oversaw a budget of $4 million in order to run a historic campaign, from hiring young Democrats to elevating Georgia’s first Asian American woman and union member to statewide candidacy.
Outside of work, Hannah has a record of creating space for and amplifying the efforts of young people in the political arena. As a leader among Georgia’s Young Democrats for several years, Hannah has connected countless young Georgians to leadership roles with candidates, elected officials, and advocacy organizations, lifting others with her as she climbed – particularly through the successful and deliberate implementation of the YDG Resume Bank ahead of the 2021 municipal and 2022 midterm cycles.
Kati was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, where she first became politically involved in high school when joining the “Add the Words” movement to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected identities in the state constitution. Kati went on to receive a degree in Political Science and International Relations from Boise State University and studied Mandarin Chinese at Shanghai University. After graduating from Boise State, she re-entered the Idaho political landscape, working on local elections, in the state legislature, and eventually joining the Idaho Young Democrats as Communications Chair.
After the 2020 elections cycle working with the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Kati returned to Idaho to bring a new level of investment back to her home state. She was elected President of the Idaho Young Democrats in December 2020, and founded her own consulting firm which served local and statewide Democrats in Idaho, labor unions, and conservation and reproductive justice groups. Under her leadership, the Idaho Young Democrats launched a field fellowship program, training countless young people in crucial political job skills for a living wage, launched new chapters, negotiated seats for youth in party committees, and brought Idaho its first ever national Democratic meeting in 2022 with YDA Boise.
After moving to Washington State, Kati worked for the Washington House Democrats’ campaign arm, helping to expand the majority in 2022 while coordinating campaigns in more than 10 counties and 20 legislative districts. Kati now works as a Lobbyist for the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, where she fights for pay, benefits, and workplace conditions for Washington's state workers in every agency and community. She has successfully advocated for the passing of policy that protects victims of domestic violence, increases employee access to unions, and allocates resources to where they are most needed in the state. She is also a part of the team that passed the most significant employee cost of living package in recent history during Washington's employee recruitment and retention crisis.
When she is not advocating for Democrats, rural communities, or the West, Kati sits on the board for the Skagit Women’s Alliance and Network, antiques for vintage Fiestaware, and is a Mariners season ticket holder (mostly for the food). She lives in rural Northwestern Washington near Seattle with her boyfriend and their dog, Daisy.
Lezlie Braxton Campbell (LBC) is a politically and civically active educator, organizer, and leader across Massachusetts. Lezlie received his bachelor's from Westfield State University and is pursuing his M.A. in Politics and Education at Teachers College-Columbia University. Braxton has been involved in politics since his childhood. He began his advocacy work in high school, setting the stage for college and life. Braxton has been involved in multiple political campaigns, including being the Deputy Campaign Manager for the first Puerto Rican elected to the MA State Senate and running for City Council himself in 2021.
Braxton joined the Young Democrats of MA (YDMA) in 2019 by restarting and becoming the Western Mass Young Dems Chair. Being an active and engaged leader, he has also been Vice Chair of the YDMA Black Caucus, Secretary, and Chair of the YDA Legislation Committee. He served as President of YDMA from 2020-2022, being the first person of color to hold this role.
Braxton is active across the Democratic spaces because he believes in democracy, the values of the party, and increasing the presence of diverse voices in the leadership of the Democratic party. However, he is clear that his activism brought him to politics, not vice versa. He has organized around environmental issues, LGBTQ rights, school discipline reforms, school funding reform, and many other topics.
Outside of politics, he is currently the Deputy Director at Educators for Excellence (MA), teaches Adult Basic Education (prep courses for students to pass their GED tests), is the Board Chair of Neighbor to Neighbor Education Fund, and is a Commissioner on the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth. He is a former middle school social studies/humanities teacher. Braxton is also a mentor to elementary/middle school students through the Academic Leadership Association and an active member of the Theta Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
A native and current resident of Los Angeles County and the proud son of two Mexican immigrants, Dunixi currently serves as 3rd Vice-President of the Young Democrats of America. He has passion for creating a more diverse, welcoming, and inclusive YDA so that any voice that wants to be at the table has a place. Dunixi understands that Labor’s home is the Democratic Party, because of this he fights to make sure young workers are a prominent voice in YDA. He has been an active part of YDA’s International Affairs Committee so that YDA has a positive impact in developing youth democratic leaders around the globe.
Dunixi brings a diverse range of political leadership experience to the table. He proudly served as Immediate Past Treasurer of YDA, the President and Chief of Staff of the Nebraska Young Democrats (NYD), Secretary of YDA’s (former) State President’s Association (currently known as the Association of Chartered Units Presidents), Chair and Secretary of YDA’s Budget Committee, as well as the Midwest Regional Treasurer. He has also served on the Executive Committee and State Central Committee of the Nebraska Democratic Party, as well as an associate member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Dunixi is also a Delegate to The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
In his day job, Dunixi has the honor of being a Political Organizer for SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, where he empowers nearly 100,000 Healthcare Workers across the State of California. With nearly a decade of experience as a political campaigner, he has fought to elect Democrats everywhere— the red and blue, the rural and urban, and the safe and swing parts of this country. Dunixi studied Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Big Red) where he fell in love with Cornhusker football and the best steaks in the country!
Stephanie Campanha Wheaton is a first-generation American, raised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania but very much a New Yorker. Her middle name means “campaign” in Portuguese and she got her start rallying for candidates in her parent's home country of Brasil and eventually went on to study political science at Boston University. She has served on the board of her home chapter of the Brooklyn Young Democrats and as National Committee Representative and Meetings Director for the New York State Young Democrats. She also served as Meetings Director for YDA from 2019-2021 and acted as the Chair of the Convention Planning Committee for the Cincinnati Convention.
She is dedicated to public service and has worked in government for the majority of her career - mostly for Attorney General Letitia James. She also worked as the Senior National Surrogate Scheduler on the Bernie 2020 Presidential campaign - the first national campaign to unionize their staff. She is currently a member of SSEU 371 and works in the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment. She is deeply dedicated to progressive politics and ensuring a lasting legacy for YDA because she knows that we must leave this organization better for those who come next.
She resides in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, a paramedic for the Fire Department of New York, and her two cats, River and Rio.

Democratic National
Representative
Stephanie Campanha Wheaton (NY)
(She/Her)
[email protected]
@StephCW_
Ex-Officio National Officers

Chartered Unit Presidents
Jovan C. Richards is an Entertainment, Political, and Hospitality Professional. He specializes in government relations, communications, political consulting, non-profit advocacy and volunteerism, and the art of mixology.
Jovan currently serves as the Media & Government Relations Manager for the NYS Society of CPAs; the President for the NYS Young Democrats; the Executive Director for the Westchester County Democratic Committee; the Vice President of Operation Prom National Network; and the Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents (ACUP) for the Young Democrats of America.
Before becoming active in politics, Jovan spent a majority of his time dedicated to the arts. He has performed all over the world, including in the Continental U.S., Scotland and London. England.
Jovan also has an extensive career in the radio, film, and television industries. He has worked in front of and behind the camera for commercials, films, and sitcoms. Jovan has hosted numerous radio talk shows and podcasts throughout the New York Metro area.
Jovan has worked with or been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the New York Post, City & State New York, Spectrum News, Broadway World, the Journal News (LoHud.com), News 12 Westchester, News 12 Long Island, Fios 1 News Hudson Valley, Patch.com, WVOX-AM, WVIP-FM, Westchester Radio, Westchester Talk Radio, and Public Access Channels throughout New York's Hudson Valley.
Outside of Jovan’s work in politics and the arts, Jovan is a Mixology Expert and a training Sommelier. He has had the honor of working with spirit brands such as Bulliet Bourbon, Tres Agaves Tequila, Goslings Rum, Shipwreck Rum, and White Girl Rosé. He has also designed cocktail menus for places like Yankee Stadium, the Prudential Center, and Hilton Hotels.
Jovan studied Film and Video at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York.
Constituency Caucuses
Coming soon