YDA membership elects seven national officers biennially at the organization's National Convention in odd-numbered years and two DNC representatives in even-numbered years. These officers maintain the day-to-day management of the organization. The Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents (ACUP), the Chair of the Council of Regional Directors (CORD), and the Chair of the Council of Caucus Chairs (CCC) serve as ex-officio national officers.
2021–2023 National Officers
Elected on August 14th, 2021 at the YDA National Convention in Cincinnati Ohio
Terri Chapman, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the Young Democrats of America. Terri is passionate about creating an organization that centers the voices of all members to ensure their needs are reflected at every juncture of YDA. Terri knows the members of YDA are what have made the organization what it is today, and is determined to make YDA a safe space for young people to express their beliefs and strengthen their values. Terri also understands that leading with inclusivity is key to building a sustainable organization, and she will continue to build on YDA’s efforts to create a welcoming community that provides a place for members to foster lasting relationships and build stronger leaders in the Democratic ecosystem.
Prior to serving in the role of Executive Vice President, Terri served as the Immediate Past 3rd Vice President of YDA where she advocated for Democratic issues, supported YDA’s chartered units working to elect Democrats in their own states and territories, and leveraged her resources to raise the necessary funds for the organization. In addition to serving as a YDA national officer, Terri has a long history of involvement with the Alabama Young Democrats— from serving as President, Vice President of Communications to currently serving as the Executive Vice President, Terri is committed to working as hard on behalf of Young Democrats in her state as she is across the country. In her home state of Alabama, Terri has been at the forefront of electing Democrats up and down the ballot and ensuring young people have a seat at the table. When it was recognized the Alabama Democratic Party did not have adequate youth representation, specifically BIPOC youth, Terri recruited BIPOC youth from across the state to demand a seat in the Alabama Democratic Party Youth Caucus.
Outside of her service with YDA, Terri works as the Community Engagement Manager for Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi), a black owned financial tech company that connects unbanked and underbanked communities to low to no cost financial services with the purpose of minimizing the financial wealth gap persistent in black and brown communities and providing the tools for creating generational wealth. Prior to joining MoCaFi, Terri worked as a governmental affairs professional for over eight years working on behalf of several local organizations and universities to help them further their legislative goals and facilitate relations with elected officials. Terri also worked on multiple state and local campaigns in Alabama, including Doug Jones’ Senate campaign, where she served as the Political Director for the Central Alabama region.
2022–2024 National Officers
Elected on April 2, 2022 at the YDA National Committee Meeting in Boise, Idaho
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. She currently serves as the Chair of the Site Selection Committee and Meetings Director of the Yong Democrats of America (YDA). 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
Regional Directors
@ChrisEClevenger