Caucus & Committee Guests

Allie Braswell
Urban League, Black Caucus Guest

Since becoming President of the Urban League two years ago, Allie Braswell has made education and youth empowerment one of the central themes of his work. His experiences in that capacity will provide our caucus chairs to gain insight when working off campus. In their own words, the Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Allie also serves on the Advisory Committee for the Center for Minority Veterans, having served thirteen years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Joey McKinnon
Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, Environmental Caucus Guest

In addition to working as a Hydrogeologist for an environmental engineering firm in Jacksonville, Florida, Joey serves on the executive board of the Jacksonville Young Democrats to increase political participation in Jacksonville young professionals.  Joey helped found and serves as the Vice-President of the Florida Democratic Party’s new environmental caucus, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida (DECF).  He looks forward to sharing the DECF’s mission, and his environmental science experience, regarding environmental stewardship through political engagement in Florida.

Jose Fernandez
LULAC Florida, Hispanic Caucus Guest

Over the past year, our Hispanic Caucus has had the opportunity to work alongside LULAC Florida, especially in the advent of this year’s presidential election. Jose Fernandez has been a key component to this still developing relationship between students and outside organizations. Jose has been LULAC Florida’s State Director since 2009 and has also served as the statewide Chair for the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, enabling him to navigate the different circles in which we work.

Emily Caponetti
Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, Women’s Caucus Guest

Another one of our guests who got her start as a student activist is Emily Caponetti, State Policy Director for the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. At American University, Emily was the President of Democratic Women and Friends while being the Public Policy Manager for Choice USA. Since then, she has worked as a Field Organizer for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, a campaign manager, the Director of Public Affairs with Planned Parenthood of South Florida, and the Communications Director for the Women’s Campaign Forum. Her experiences will help provide insight into how to make maximize the experience for students working alongside our Women’s Caucus.

Chris Hicks
Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Campaigns Committee Guest

While a student at Wichita State University in Kansas, Chris worked to strengthen his campus’s Student Labor Action Project (SLAP). SLAP is a national organization connecting students to locally operated labor organizations, promoting activism on and off campus. Since graduating in 2010, Chris has become SLAP’s national coordinator, traveling to campuses from one coast to the other. The organization’s focus this year has on reforming student loan debt, which ties in quite nicely with the President’s aim of making college more affordable. The campaigns committee will be meeting at 4pm on Saturday, March 31st.