Learn more about the duties of the Executive Committee positions
Caitlin Kawaguchi
President
Caitlin is an impact and communications strategist working with startups, nonprofits, and campaigns to drive change. She believes that politics should be accessible and inclusive, and has loved organizing with Rep Your Block to help everyday Brooklynites run for County Committee. She currently leads marketing and partnerships at Bird + Stone, and has also worked on digital communications for campaigns around youth justice reform and opportunity youth.
Pronouns: she/her
Tony Melone
Chief of Operations
Brandon Smith
VP of Policy
Brandon is an attorney and Downtown Brooklyn resident since 2005. While he manages the Americas Sanctions program of an international financial institution by day, Brandon loves all things related to politics, Jazz, voting rights, and his local Brooklyn Community. He is Chair of Community Board 2's Health, Environment, and Social Services Committee, and helps lead several other organizations. Brandon is excited to bring his experience with policy to NKD's Policy Committee and hopes you will get involved by joining one of the monthly meetings!
Pronouns: he/him
Paige Havener
VP of Political Affairs
Mikael Haxby
VP of Organizing
Mikael is a soccer analytics writer and stay-at-home dad, and he wrote a book about gender and political violence in ancient Christian apocalyptic literature. Those are all things that go together. He lives in Williamsburg and has been an NKD member for seven years, having helped lead the Rep Your Block campaign in North Brooklyn and recently helping to lead the Brooklyn Can't Wait campaign in 2022.
Pronouns: he/him
Vanessa Nutter
Director of Membership
Vanessa is a librarian by both training and by nature and loves to learn. She has lived in Brooklyn since 2005 and has been a member of NKD for three years. She is excited to increase her participation in the club this year in this new role. Vanessa is happiest when she is wandering around New York City.
Pronouns: she/her
Jacob Goldfinger
Treasurer
Pronouns: he/him or they/them
Liz Stevenson
Secretary
Liz moved to Brooklyn in 2004 and has lived all over. She enjoys trivia, knitting, and baking, although she's not very good at any of those things! In addition to her work with NKD, she's also active on the legislation committee for her union, PSC-CUNY. Liz works as an academic advisor in the ASAP program at City Tech. Prior to that, she worked at several different social services organizations in the city and earned her Master's in Social Work.
Pronouns: she/her
Sara Hodges
Data Director
Sara is a cartographer and data scientist. When she's not making maps she likes to explore the city – usually on bicycle, always looking for delicious food. She has lived in Brooklyn since 1998 and has been an NKD member since 2016. She's excited to focus her skills on making the Brooklyn Democratic Party a more open and accessible institution.
Pronouns: she/her
Nicholas Kemp
Director of Communications
Nick works in marketing and communications at indie film distributor Kino Lorber. He has been a member of NKD since 2018 and a County Committee member in the 44th Assembly District since 2020. Nick lives in Brooklyn with his husband Jesse and their cats Hugo and Gomez.
Pronouns: he/him
Victor Ng
Digital Director
Victor is a creative director, educator, and community organizer based in Brooklyn. He has led design and brand work for non-profits, news organizations, political campaigns, and technology startups. As of 2022, he is also a County Committee member. Victor lives with his partner and their one-eyed Pekingese in Crown Heights.
Pronouns: he/him
Kellan Calder
Director of Social Action
Josh Hyman
Director of Fundraising
Josh is: a dad to a badass nine-year-old named Penelope; a pollyanna; and a longtime NKD admirer-from-afar, before finally getting to help with some fancy spreadsheets for the 2022 Brooklyn Can’t Wait campaign! He cut his teeth organizing by doing student voter registration at Nassau Community College with NYPIRG in 2001. He managed Pat Fahy's highly competitive Primary campaign to become the first woman to represent Albany in the Legislature in 2012, then went on to manage other races in Albany and NYC.
Josh worked on the Obama campaign in 2008 in 10 states, and has lived in 37 different apartments. He is motivated by new people getting involved in politics, biking, and food. (He was into politics and whatever, but, let's be real: he came to his first NYPIRG meeting for the pizza.) Whoever you are, he will probably cook for you at some point.
Pronouns: he/him
Christina Sulpizio
Director of Voter Education
Christina is an artist currently working as a graphic designer. In addition to working with fashion and consumer brands, she has designed for campaigns locally and nationally. She believes in political transparency, which led her to run for County Committee in 2020. Using design as a platform to inform voters, she’s excited to help promote civic engagement and empower BK voters. She loves libraries, enjoys sourcing vintage goods, and is learning techniques to mend clothes.
Pronouns: she/her
Matt Nisenoff
Director of Party Building
Matt has a longstanding involvement in politics and government that spans a number of different states. He also has a podcast that keeps him busy: SoundCloud.com/PolitiPod. Matt looks forward to interacting with County Committee members and District Leaders to expand democracy in Brooklyn.
Pronouns: he/him
Rebecca An
Events Manager
Rebecca is an auntie, giant nerd, amateur chef, and recovering hipster who has called North Brooklyn home since 2007. As a multilingual daughter of immigrants, she is a fierce advocate of language access and organizing in communities with limited English proficiency. Rebecca has been an NKD member since 2017 and looks forward to producing inclusive and engaging events around the borough.
Pronouns: she/her
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio
Campaign Manager
Bio coming soon.
2021
President: Mariana Alexander
Chief of Operations: Caitlin Kawaguchi
VP of Policy: Genevieve Vaida
VP of Political Affairs: Jessica Thurston
VP of Organizing: Akel Williams
Director of Membership: Morenike Lambert
Director of Communications: Tony Melone
Treasurer: Jacob Goldfinger
Secretary: Vanessa Nutter
Data Director: Mikael Haxby
2020
President: Mariana Alexander
Chief of Operations: Emily Hoffman
VP of Policy: Richard Semegram
VP of Political Affairs: Jessica Thurston
VP of Organizing: Sage Rockermann
Director of Membership: Morenike Lambert
Director of Communications: Caitlin Kawaguchi
Treasurer: Courtney Adrian
Secretary: Vanessa Nutter
Data Director: Mikael Haxby
2019
President: Brandon West
Chief of Operations: Jessica Baker Vodoor/Maria Barva
VP of Policy: Mariana Alexander
VP of Political Affairs: Emily Hoffman
VP of Organizing: Sage Rockermann
Director of Membership: Becky Steinberg
Director of Communications: Jessica Thurston
Treasurer: Fred LaPolla
Secretary: Maria Barva
2018
President: Brandon West
Chief of Operations: Jesse Pierce
VP of Policy: Mariana Alexander
VP of Political Affairs: Emily Hoffman
VP of Organizing: Angela LaScala-Gruenewald
Director of Membership: Becky Steinberg
Director of Communications: Jessica Thurston
Treasurer: Fred LaPolla
Secretary: Maria Barva
2017
President: Anusha Venkataraman (until November 2017)
Chief of Operations: Sara Shoener
VP of Policy: Brandon West
VP of Political Affairs: Matt Stern
VP of Organizing: Yaneth Lombana
Director of Membership: Jasmine Fernandez
Director of Communications: Ryan Shanley
Treasurer: Essence Franklin, Anna Scaife
Secretary: Cindy Tran
2016
President: Anusha Venkataraman
Chief of Operations: Sara Shoener
VP of Political Affairs & Policy: Brandon West
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Secretary: Rodrigo Camarena
Digital Director: Ryan Shanley
2015
President: Andrew Sloat
VP of Political Affairs & Policy: Anusha Venkataraman
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Secretary: Sara Shoener
Digital Director: Ryan Shanley
2014
President: Andrew Sloat
VP of Political Affairs & Policy: Esteban Duran
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Treasurer: Rachel Lauter
Secretary: Lacey Tauber
Digital Director: Annie Werner
2013
President: Alex Low
VP of Political Affairs: Esteban Duran
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Treasurer: Catherine Butler
Secretary: Andrew Sloat
Director of Communications: Greg Wasserstrom
2012
President: Alex Low
VP of Political Affairs: Morgan Pehme (partial term), Chris Barron (partial term)
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Treasurer: Catherine Butler
Secretary: Antonio Reynoso
Director of Communications: Andrew Sloat
2011
President: Matt Cowherd
VP of Political Affairs: Sarah Baker
VP of Organizing: Theo Moore
Treasurer: Alex Low
Corresponding Secretary: Connie Rourke
Recording Secretary: Maisha Morales
2009–10
President: Matt Cowherd
Vice President: Lincoln Restler
Corresponding Secretary: Chris Henderson
Recording Secretary: Will Florentino
Treasurer: Alex Low
Parliamentarian: Sarah Baker
2008–09
Co-Chair: Matt Cowherd
Co-Chair: Rachel Lauter
Treasurer: Andrew Stengel
Secretary: Laura Stein
Communications: Morgan Pehme