Good afternoon, everyone! This post is, hopefully, what you all have been waiting for - more information about me, your Candidate for EMEA Delegate. I am a big fan of Frequently Asked Questions, so what better way to introduce myself a little bit more and share some important information with you?
Curious? Read on...
Why are you running for EMEA Delegate?
In my time spent in France and the United States, I have participated in various aspects of presidential campaigns, but I have never attended a national convention. This year's DNC in Charlotte would be a wonderful opportunity for me to be exposed to several different facets of the political process: the spectacle, the personalities, and the nitty-gritty of convention politics. Furthermore, I feel that the 2012 DNC comes at a perfect time in my life as a Democratic political activist; I am no longer a novice, but I still have a youthful enthusiasm - zeal, even - for the entire process. Most importantly, I want to be a voice for young Democrats (and young people in general) at this critical time in our country's history.
Can you tell us a little about your political experience while living abroad?
My first political experience abroad came in 2003-2004, during the run-up to the 2004 Presidential Election. I joined Democrats Abroad France through the Meet Up groups, and became actively involved with General Wesley Clark's campaign in Paris. I was fortunate enough to be elected as a Delegate from France to the Democrats Abroad European & Worldwide Caucuses in Edinburgh in March 2004, where I was involved in the debate on the DA Platform. When I returned to France in August 2010, I immediately set about reestablishing involvement with Democrats Abroad France, and was elected as a Member-at-Large to the DAF Executive Committee. Since that time, I have been a member of the Voter Registration Team and have coordinated events for Young Democrats. Currently, in addition to my DAF ExCom duties, I am part of the planning team for this summer's Democrats Abroad Road Trip - a bus tour through several EMEA countries that will provide voter registration, chapter recognition, and general enthusiasm & attention for Democrats Abroad.
How about the US? Were you involved politically there as well?
Glad you asked! I am proud to say that I have voted in every election for which I have been eligible since I turned 18 in 2000. In 2004, I organized debate-watch parties in Los Angeles for the Bush-Kerry Debates (and even got a Republican to attend!), and was a member of the Students for Kerry-Edwards at UCLA. In 2008, I really came into my own as a political activist and phone-banked for Barack Obama in San Francisco - first, by calling San Francisco voters and then calling potential voters in Missouri.
What do you like most about Democrats Abroad?
Without a doubt, the diversity of the membership. Through membership in DA, I have had the opportunity to meet wonderful people from every corner of Europe, the EMEA Region, and - in certain exceptional cases - all around the world. At the 2012 EMEA Regional Meeting in Strasbourg, I was sitting next to my Country Chair from France, across from two women from Israel, and was shouting down the table to Democrats from the UK, Germany, Denmark, and Belgium. And this was just one meal! And with such a collection of people, what I appreciate most are the stories; finding out where someone is from in the United States, how they arrived in their DA country, where else they have lived, where they have family, where they call "home".
So, what's your story?
Oh, I see what you did there. I was born in France to an American mother and a French father who met in Africa. After living in France for 4 years, I spent the next 27 years in Texas (Houston) and California (the San Francisco Bay Area), with a year abroad my 3rd year of college. It was at that moment that I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the greatest city in the world, Paris. Lucky for me, work brought me over to France 6 years later and I couldn't be happier. I love my "home" here - the neighborhoods, the boulangeries and their smell of freshly-baked bread, the River Seine, the Louvre, and, yes, even the Eiffel Tower.
I want more! How do I do that?
Keep visiting the blog, and if you have a question - comment! I'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.
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