Cincinnati, OH — Every two years, young democrats from all across the county attend a biennial convention in a new city. This year, we converged on Cincinnati, Ohio. New Jersey attended the Young Democrats of America 2021 Convention in full force with a group of 20 in-person and 3 virtual delegates from 11 counties across the state. Led by President Fatima Heyward and National Committeeman Jason Bergman.

“This was an incredible convention. We witnessed diverse leadership be elected into office, our full delegation participate in and lead activities, and young democrats across the nation be empowered to make a difference in their communities. I also had the pleasure of co-leading the Chapter Building Committee meeting with the incredible Nnedi Stephens,” expressed Fatima Heyward, President of the New Jersey Young Democrats and Deputy Director of the YDA Chapter Building Committee .

The newly elected executive board was from the YDA Reimagined slate. Many members of the New Jersey Delegation assisted with their campaign from on the ground canvassing, staffing, and support for the slate.

“The New Jersey Young Democrats congratulate Quentin Wathum-Ocama and the newly elected YDA board. And thank, immediate past president, Joshua Harris-Till for his service and everything he’s done to further the mission of Young Democrats of America, “ said President Heyward

New Jersey is even prouder to boast about all the members of our delegation that were elected to serve as board members of caucuses, along with other celebrations.  “I was so happy to have been able to assist in the election of not only the YDA Reimagined Slate but the election of many of our delegates to caucus positions. We had an amazing group of delegates that wanted to and now are more involved with the organization nationally and here at home, ” Exclaimed Jason Bergman, who attended his third national conference and currently serves as the National Committeeman for the New Jersey Young Democrats

Celebrations include President Fatima Heyward receiving the YDA President’s Award and NJ young democrats being elected to committee and caucus positions. Those positions are as follows:

• Samantha Minchello: Deputy Director -YDA Mid-Atlantic Region Board
• Seth Levin: Treasurer- YDA Jewish Caucus
• Casey Haddox: Secretary– YDA Jewish Caucus
• Adrian Ballesteros: Treasurer – YDA Hispanic and Latinx Caucus

The New Jersey Young Democrats would also like to personally thank President Fatima Heyward, National Committeeman Jason Bergman, and Executive Vice President Brian Boyell for their amazing efforts in fundraising to send these delegates to the convention. Unlike many other delegations, New Jersey takes pride in being able to assist with covering the fees for our delegates.

“We would like to thank all of the sponsors for not only their monetary donations but also their continued support of our local Young Democrat organizations. What makes us unique is the respect and empowerment we receive from our local elected officials and the acceptance that our generation is the future. Uplifting our organizations creates a mutually beneficial working relationship that will continue the hard work and values that are the core of our Democratic Party,” expressed Brian Boyell, Executive Vice President of the New Jersey Young Democrats

Sponsors Include:

New Jersey Democratic State Committee

Congressman Andy Kim

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

Senator Troy Singleton
Senator Linda Greenstein

Senator Vin Gopal

Assemblyman Herb Conaway

Assemblywoman Angela McKnight

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano

Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti

NJ LGBTQ Democrats

Millennials for NJ

Chris James

Ahmet Akdag

Quandell Iglesia

Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc.

YDA Mission Statement

https://www.yda.org/about

YDA Platform

https://www.yda.org/sites/default/files/yda_platform_2017_2019.pdf

NJYD Website

https://www.njyoungdems.com/

Original Article