40 Under 40 Award Winners

Libuse Binder is a writer, teacher, and coach who has spent most of her adult life working with young trendsetters in Los Angeles and New York. She drives a fuel-efficient vehicle, is a low-impact omnivore, and is constantly striving to find innovative ways to be a socially and environmentally conscious consumer. She has worked in film production on the East and West Coasts and currently teaches English and yoga in New York. Libuse understands what it is like to live on a limited income, work 60-70 hours a week, and feel overwhelmed by the environmental and social problems facing our generation. She founded this organization because she believes in the incredible power that we each have when we use our unique talents to effect change. She doesn't just write about this subject matter; she lives it.

David Burd is originally from West Nyack, NY and has been associated with many Democratic causes and organizations. Most recently, he founded the National Democratic Law Students Council and is a Chair of the College Democrats of America Alumni Association. David is currently working at the Chicago headquarters for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. David received his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. at Harvard.

Congressman André Carson is a 33-year-old native of Indianapolis, Indiana. Raised and mentored by his grandmother, Congresswoman Julia Carson, he served as a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council before winning a Special Election on March 11, 2008 to become the Congressman for the 7th District of Indiana. André's law enforcement background consists of nearly a full decade of public service. He has served as a Local Board Officer/Investigator for the Indiana State Excise Police for nine years, throughout Indiana. André also was detailed to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security's Intelligence Fusion Center. As a member of the IndyParks Kennedy/King Park Advisory Board, André has been able to demonstrate his dedication to providing safe, clean and quality parks for our community. His commitment to Indianapolis neighborhoods has led André to also serve as a board member for the Citizens Neighborhood Coalition. The Citizens Neighborhood Coalition is an umbrella organization representing all neighborhood organizations within its boundaries of 10th Street on the south, 30th Street on the north, Pennsylvania Street on the west, and the Monon Trail on the east.

Jack Conway was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in November of 2007 and is the second youngest Attorney General in the history of Kentucky. As Attorney General, Jack has pledged to support prosecutors, advocate for consumers, protect the environment, vigorously prosecute child predators, crack down on internet crimes, work with educators to keep our schools safe, and to create partnerships that will keep drugs out of our cities and towns. Prior to his election, Jack worked as a private attorney. He also spent six years in senior-level cabinet positions in former Kentucky Governor Paul Patton’s administration.. Jack is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the Louisville Bar Association. He previously served on the boards of the Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Library Foundation, and the African American Heritage Center.

Gabrielle Giffords is in her first term in the United States Congress where she represents her southern Arizona district and is also the second youngest woman in Congress. She serves on the Science and Technology committee and is a leader in promoting solar and other renewable energies. She has written and passed legislation related to human trafficking (H.R. 4326), Stop Arming Iran Act (H.R. 1441), the Combat Troops Tax Relief Act (H.R. 3808), Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2774), among other legislation.

Tyler Hudson is currently an Associate with Hilltop Public Solutions. During the 2006 Florida gubernatorial primary, Tyler worked as a speechwriter and member of the communications staff for the campaign of Congressman Jim Davis. In 2004, Tyler served as the youngest staff member of the Democratic National Convention, working for the team that designed and wrote the four-day Convention script. Tyler was also the youngest speechwriter at the convention, where he drafted and edited over a dozen speeches for Democratic officeholders and party leaders. Tyler received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from The George Washington University

Rachel Kleinfeld is the Executive Director of the Truman Security Forum in Washington, D.C.. She has worked as a consultant to the Center for Security and International Studies on biosecurity and bioterrorism response issues, and has served as a Senior Consultant on homeland security at Booz Allen Hamilton. Rachel maintains a strong interest in efforts to strengthen weak states through the rule of law, human rights, security, and development. She has consulted for numerous private, public, nonprofit, and international organizations regarding building the rule of law in weak states through improved judiciaries, police, and human rights structures. She has also worked in India and Israel in human rights and economic development. A Rhodes Scholar and a Truman Scholar, Rachel received her B.A. from Yale University and her M. Phil in International Relations from St. Antony's College, Oxford. Rachel is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Blue Fund, a progressive mutual fund.

Prior to joining GPG as part of the firm’s expansion to the West Coast, Leonard directed communications for California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi’s primary campaign, for a coalition of California’s largest labor unions to defeat anti-worker and anti-consumer ballot initiatives, and oversaw direct mail campaigns that helped re-elect Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, send four new Members to Congress and elect dozens of new legislators and school board members. Before to moving to Los Angeles, Leonard worked in Washington D.C. as the national spokesperson for the three most powerful independent expenditure groups of the 2004 election: America Coming Together, The Media Fund and America Votes. Leonard has served as press secretary and traveling staff for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), as Iowa communications director and national spokesperson for Democratic Presidential Candidate Governor Howard Dean, and communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party during Vice President Al Gore’s Presidential campaign.

Dyana Mason is the Executive Director of Equality Virginia, the state’s leading gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender education and advocacy organization, based in Richmond. Prior to joining Equality Virginia in 2003, Mason was the Southern Field Organizer and Membership Organizer for the Washington-DC Based Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization. Originally from California, she is a 1993 graduate of the University of Southern California and was also a member of the 2005 Political Leaders Program at the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. Governor Mark R. Warner appointed her to the Council in 2005.

Representative Tony Payton, Jr., is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where he has been spearheading significant education reform, including REACH Scholarships for high achieving high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania public universities and wrote legislations to create the Pennsylvania Youth Commission. Prior to serving in elected office, Rep. Payton was a housing counselor and the President of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats. He has always been active in his community, previously as a Big Brother, a graduate of the Young Non-Profit Leaders, and as a fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Benjamin Rahn, Co-Founder and Chair of Act Blue, went on leave from a Ph.D. program in theoretical physics to found ActBlue with Matt DeBergalis in 2004. Before entering politics, Ben was an NSF graduate fellow at Caltech. His work on multi-scale physics has been published in Physics Review A and been presented in conferences around the country, and he received a gold medal at the International Physics Olympiad. Ben has served as Assistant Director of MIT's Research Science Institute, a program for high-school students that has produced more Intel/Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalists than any other organization in the country. In addition to his work with ActBlue, Ben is currently the Resident Physics Tutor at Harvard's Pforzheimer House, where he aids Harvard undergraduates in navigating personal and academic challenges and builds the House's intellectual and social community. Ben holds a B.A. from Harvard College.

Tim Ryan has been serving in the US Congress since 2003 and currently serves on the Appriopriations Committee. Before being elected to Congress, Tim was a Ohio State Senator and a ranking member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He led efforts to establish a state-based earned income tax credit, to standardize community school data reporting, and to bring college students into the debate over higher education funding. Before his time in elected office, Tim served as president of the Trumbell County Young Democrats.

Sam Stein is a political reporter at the Huffington Post and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously he has worked for Newsweek magazine, the New York Daily News and the investigative journalism group, Center for Public Integrity. He has a masters from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Shaunna, 27, joined YP4 in 2005 as an intern in order to build a program to effectively recruit, empower and retain community college students in the core fellowship. Since she became a full-time staff member in November 2005, Shaunna has proposed, researched, tested and evaluated all of YP4’s major new pilot initiatives. For the past year, Shaunna has been responsible for the internal management of YP4’s programs and staff. Before joining Young People For, Shaunna was the executive director of Bike & Build, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to raising money for and awareness of affordable housing issues through cross-country cycling events. Shaunna’s formal entry point into the progressive movement came in 2003 when she campaigned and raised money for the Democratic National Committee and was the lead organizer in MoveOn.org’s voter engagement project in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was during the 2004 election cycle that she was a witness to and part of the growing power of the youth progressive movement. Believing in the ability of young people to make positive social change in their communities, Shaunna dedicates her spare time to organizations that support young social entrepreneurs, sits on the board of Bike & Build, Inc., and serves as the coordinating committee chair of the Generational Alliance. Shaunna is a native Southern Californian and an alumna of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Aimee Boone is the Deputy Executive Director and Finance Director for the Texas Democratic Party. She completed her undergraduate degree at The University of Virginia and was drawn to politics by Texas Congressman Martin Frost’s campaign in 2004. She has done work with Texas State Representative Richard Raymore as his Legislative Director and consulted as a managing partner with The Brooks Group.

Sarah Burris is a blogger at Future Majority and Everyday Citizen. She is also a reporter for Rock the Vote’s “Rock the Trail.” Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, she has worked on campaigns in Oklahoma, Nevada, California, and in her home state. Her specialties include fundraising, strategy development, communications and new media.

Mr. Choi is the Executive Director of Tying Nashville Together, a non-profit organization comprised of religious organizations and progressive non-profit organizations. Tying Nashville Together aims to improve various social and political justice issues including universal healthcare, public education, affordable housing, and voter engagement. Won Choi serves on the board of directors of Cumberland River Compact and recently served on the board of directors for Nashville Civic Design Center, Foundations Associates, and Belcourt Theatre. He has recently served on Nashville Metropolitan Council Thermal Site Task Force, Downtown Partnership Residential Development Committee, and Governor’s Leadership Council.

Gina Cooper is the Founder and Chair Emeritus of Netroots Nation. Often cited as a spokeswoman for online activists, Cooper has appeared on several national radio and television programs, including NPR's Morning Edition and CSpan's Washington Journal, and has been quoted in The New York Times and other major newspapers. Before her work with Netroots Nation, she was an early netroots activist and high school teacher in Memphis, TN. Cooper blogs her personal thoughts as a citizen-turned-political organizer at ginacooper.com.

Amy Graham is the Director of Operations for LiveFeed, a St. Louis-based grassroots organization that engages the entertainment industry and its fans to promote hunger awareness. The organization goes further to fight hunger by providing a reliable flow of food to local food pantries. Amy has been working in the non-profit world for over 15 years. Aside from chairing many fundraising and event committees, Amy has also been the Director of Food Resources for Operation Food Search.

Aaron became the Press Secretary for the National Jewish Democratic Council after serving as an Associate for Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, a media consulting and public affairs firm. As both a leading pro-Israel activist and an experienced young Democratic operative, Aaron has worked with numerous campaigns and candidates in their press, field, and finance departments. Most recently, he played a key role in the Clinton for President Campaign's effort to reach out to young Jewish voters as a national leader in their "Chai for Hillary" committee and is now the National Co-Chair of the College Democrats of America Alumni Association.

Anima is a co-founder and the executive director of Swing Semester. She sees the immersive – aka. full-body slam – approach of Swing Semester as a way to get young people addicted to progressive citizenship for a lifetime. Through her work in human development and philosophy, she’s acquired an ability to see the big, BIG picture (coined by a friend as “cosmic”) that often allows for long, fascinating conversations. When not overwhelmed by philosophy, she has been hard at work building and expanding the program from 2004 into the vision for this fall, drawing on her experiences in progressive politics and organizing over the past four years.

Nathaniel Loewentheil graduated cum laude from Yale University in 2007, majoring in the Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics with distinction. He has previously worked for a number of nonprofits in economic and community development and currently serves as the executive director of the Roosevelt Institution, which he helped found in his sophomore year of college. He sits on the board of the Elmseed Enterprise Fund, 501(c)(3), and serves on the advisory boards of the New Leaders Council and Drum Major Institute.

As the state’s top law enforcement officer, top consumer advocate, and top lawyer for the state, Dustin McDaniel and his staff work hard every day on a diverse set of issues—like investigating identity theft, upholding capital punishment convictions, safeguarding seniors from abuse, and educating parents on child safety, just to name a few. In 2007 alone 15 of Dustin's 16 proposed bills became state law; he was named co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Public Health and Safety Committee and was awarded an Aspen-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership. Dustin has always been dedicated to public service, and prior to becoming Attorney General, he served as a uniformed patrol officer in his hometown of Jonesboro. He was also a Democratic Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 75.

Ethan Porter is from Teaneck, NJ and is currently working as the Associate Editor for Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. His commentary has appeared in the New York Daily News, Politico, the Providence Journal, the New York Observer and the Forward, among other publications. A former national board member of the College Democrats of America and a Chair of the College Democrats of America Alumni Association, he graduated from Bard College with a B.A. in Literature and Political Studies.

Edmundo Rocha runs the "Para Justicia y Libertad" blog. He is a social worker, an activist, freelance writer and founder and editor of The Sanctuary as well. His focuses include: immigration reform, critical race theory and it's interaction with equality/inequality and freedom/oppression as they relate to the experiences of people of color in the Americas. Para Justicia y Libertad is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States.

Josh Shapiro, named "Best State Legislator" by Philadelphia magazine, is the Deputy Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and serves on the Appropriations Committee and on the Speakers Committee of Legislative Reform. In his legislative role, Rep. Shapiro has worked on decreasing barriers to attaining higher education by making it easier to transfer credits between state colleges and universities, eliminating the so-called "tuition tax". Beyond his formal legislative role, he is a well recognized leaders as an Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellow.

Kai Stinchcombe is a cofounder of IncentAlign, a Menlo Park based enterprise software startup. He is president of the Peninsula Young Democrats, a PhD candidate in Political Science at Stanford, and was the founder of the Roosevelt Institution. While a student he ran a successful living wage campaign, edited a progressive campus newspaper, and led the most active College Democrats chapter in California. He is engaged to Lilia Tamm, an accomplished grassroots organizer currently working to defeat the marriage ban.

Jonathan Zucker, Executive Director of Act Blue, spent the 2004 election cycle with the Democratic National Committee, where he served as National Director of Operations for Finance, overseeing technology, legal, compliance, vetting, and data-management for the DNC's $100 million major-donor program. Prior to the DNC, Jonathan worked with a wide variety of progressive and Democratic organizations as a fundraiser, legal counsel, and field organizer, including The Interfaith Alliance, Human Rights Campaign, GenderPAC, and the Democratic Leadership Council. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale and a J.D. from Georgetown.

Raven Brooks is the acting Executive Director for Netroots Nation. Brooks has a diverse business background in software development and design, management, business consulting, finance, and project management. Fortune 100 companies and small start-ups alike have sought his expertise. Uniquely able to wed his world-views with practical know-how, Brooks has been featured in countless media outlets as a visionary entrepreneur.

Elizabeth Caputo is currently the President of the Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C), an independent organization of young, progressive New York citizens. The organization works to increase political awareness and participation for these young progressives and serves as a model for grassroots organizing. Elizabeth has previously worked on the Clark for President campaign as the NE Political Director and is currently Vice President at Morgan Stanley.

Aimée is the Founder and CEO of Christensen Global and has been working on the intersections of environment, human rights, and development for nearly two decades, gaining diverse perspectives from her time in government, in the private sector, and with non-governmental organizations. Aimée previously worked at Google.org, helping it determine its energy strategy, at the World Bank on its Carbon Finance Business, and as the Executive Director of Environment 2004. She is currently applying her experience in law, policy, philanthropy, and communications to providing practical guidance to clients in all sectors who are seeking to contribute to solving the global challenges of climate change and wider ecosystem degradation and resource scarcity.

Judith Freeman currently works for the Obama campaign's New Media Department. She was the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the New Organizing Institute, a training, research and development organization for technology-enabled organizers, activists, staff, and leaders. Previously, she was the Senior Political Strategist at the AFL-CIO, where she also co-founded the Analyst Institute, an organization that provides results-based voter contact experiment design and support to organizations and analytic professionals. During the 2004 presidential election, she worked on the Kerry campaign's Internet operations. She advises political campaigns, unions and non-profit organizations on organizing, campaign strategy and technology infrastructure. She worked for 5 years in technology at the University of Chicago where she also organized with human rights and social justice organizations.

A leading young speaker and author of Revolution Driven Life, Anton Gunn brings together business, politics, and culture to educate Americans about healthcare and socially responsible leadership. He has served as Executive Director of South Carolina Fair Share and was a senior staff member for Senator Obama during the South Carolina Democratic Primary. He continues to be a frequent speaker and advisor to groups on political, policy, and social issues.

Scott Kleeb is a fourth-generation rancher from Hastings, Nebraska. He is running for U.S. Senate after a very close but unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2006. Spending a good part of his childhood overseas, Scott returned to the states to receive a Masters Degree in International Relations from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University. Scott currently serves as Director of Operations for Morgan Ranch, a Nebraska-based beef company that promotes locally-grown food and responsible business practices.

Ricky Le is the executive director of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation (CDCD). In his role,Ricky assists Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the CDCD chair, in advising the delegation's thirty-four Democratic members of Congress on legislative issues that affect the state. Ricky was born in Vietnam, grew-up in California, and now resides in Washington, D.C. He received a B.A. in Politics from UC Santa Cruz and a law degree from Santa Clara University.

Ian Manheimer is currently the Executive Director of Glassbooth.org, a non-profit creating innovative ways to access political information. Feeling that the media inadequately represents candidates, Ian co-founded Glassbooth.org to work with researchers to provide very accurate and unbiased candidate information accessible to those that wish to inquire. Ian has also been a staff writer for The Smoking Section and Gambit Weekly and a Project Manager for Dropping Knowledge.

Peter Murray is the founder of the Center for Progressive Leadership, a national training institute dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive leaders. He directs CPL’s fundraising and organizational development efforts and leads CPL’s talented and experienced staff and faculty team. Mr. Murray has spearheaded the creation of CPL’s core training curriculum, expansion in five state offices, and development of CPL’s national leadership programs. Prior to joining CPL, Mr. Murray was the President and founder of the Empowerment Group, Philadelphia’s largest minority and bi-lingual entrepreneurship training organization. Mr. Murray was also co-founder and Executive Vice-President of the I Do Foundation, a national social justice foundation, and CEO of Image Contractors, a community-based construction company in Philadelphia. For his leadership in the nonprofitsector, he received the Eli Segal Entrepreneurship Award in 2002, the Eugene Lang Community Service Award in 1999, and was selected for Fast Company Magazine’s 2002 “Fast 50,” which honors 50 leaders from around the world who are reshaping their sectors.

Jon Powers is running for Congress in New York’s 26th Congressional District. Jonathon served in the First Armored Division in Iraq as an artillery platoon leader and then a Battalion Commander's Adjutant in Baghdad and Najaf. After returning home, he founded War Kids Relief, a non-profit organization that helps Iraqi youth by providing training and opportunities to improve their futures.

Justin Rockefeller is a Co-Founder and National Program Director for Generation Engage, a non-partisan youth organization that connects young Americans to political leaders and other civic organization to engage in meaningful debates about the future of this country. He was a 2008 honoree of the Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative, the city of Marshfield, Missouri’s highest honor.

Matthew Spence is the co-founder of the Truman Security Forum and is an attorney at Munger, Tolles, and Olsen in San Francisco. Matt has been a Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University, a Visiting Fellow at the Stanford Center on Democratization, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), and an elections monitor in Kosovo. His commentary has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Yale Law Journal, the Yale Journal of International Law, and in various scholarly panels and publications; he is currently finishing a book on U.S. democracy promotion in the former Soviet Union. A Marshall Scholar and a Truman Scholar, Matt received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University; his Ph.D. from Oxford University; and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Emily Tisch Sussman is the President and Founder of Think Blue, a political organization for young Democratic professionals. Think Blue provides an opportunity for young professionals to cross the barrier of non-involvement and become active in national Democratic political races. Emily has held previous positions as the deputy surrogate scheduling director for Pennsylvania for the Kerry/Edwards Campaign, immigration associate at the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and associate director at Belvoir Terrace Camp for Performing and Fine Arts. Emily holds a B.S.W. from Skidmore College and in May 2008, she earned her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.