Keynote Speakers

Senator Bill Nelson

You probably know that Senator Nelson will be running for re-election this year, and that he first ran for office when he was only 30 years old. Since then, he has been consistently adding to his long-standing record of standing up for Floridians. We understand that he will need student support in order for us to send him back to Washington, and will be holding a cocktail reception with the Senator on the evening of Friday, March 30th.


DNC National Deputy Political Director Steve Walker

Steve Walker has over 20 years of grassroots organizing and public health experience, serving as an advocate, activist, educator and administrator in the areas of civil rights, environmental justice, HIV/AIDS, homelessness and offender rights.  As an undergraduate, he joined campus and legal action which eventually lead to establishing voting rights for students at Prairie View A&M University in Texas.  A community organizer from the south, Steve has volunteered for, founded and lead organizations and movements to empower people of color, the LGBT community and youth.  In 2008, he worked for OFA in Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.  Prior to becoming the DNC’s Deputy National Political Director in 2011, he served as the OFA State Director for Louisiana and Southern Regional Director. Steve will be the keynote speaker for our banquet dinner.

 

DNC Secretary Alice Germond

Alice Germond is the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee. Active in the Democratic Party for over 45 years, she has held leadership positions in local, state and national campaigns, including being the Director of the DNC’s Government and Party Affairs Departments. While being a strong advocate for issues and party values, Alice also led the historic effort to put Geraldine Ferraro on the Democratic Ticket. She has additionally served as the Executive Vice President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, worked for the AFL-CIO’s Women’s Division and for SEIU. We look forward to hearing from her late Saturday morning.

 

OFA Florida Youth Vote Director Stan Williams

Stan Williams got started as a volunteer for the Kerry Campaign in 2004. He stayed active by joining the Young Democrats at Arizona State where he served as co-director of programs for the states largest YD chapter. He was a Field Organizer for the Arizona Democratic Party in 2006, and then became the full time Arizona Executive Director for the Young Democrats of America. Stan began organizing for the President in 2008 as a Field Organizer in Missouri and continued as a Regional Field Director in Arizona through 2010. Most recently Stan was the Regional Field Director for Palm Beach County and now serves as the Florida Youth Vote Director.

 

OFA Florida Field Director John Gilbert

By now many you have already met John either through trainings, conference calls, office openings, and so on. Since getting his degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he has training organizers across the country through Wellstone Action and as a regional director for primary races in Nevada, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Texas, and North Carolina. He was a Young Democrat as an undergraduate student at UNLV and understands the importance of campus organizing, and the critical role we will continue to play between now and November 6th.