We want to give a huge thanks and massive shoutout to our CD Convention sponsors! Their leadership and continued commitment to the Democratic Party of Virginia is truly appreciated!
If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor please reach out to our Chief Development Officer, Colleen Grady, at (571) 438-1142 or colleen@vademocrats.org
Virginia AFL-CIO, President Doris Crouse-Mays
Doris Crouse-Mays grew up in Rural Retreat, Virginia. She began her life’s work and dedication to Unions as she became a member of Communications Workers of America (CWA) while working as a telephone operator with United Intermountain Telephone (now known as CenturyLink). Her work as a union organizer sparked her interest in politics, and she has been engaged in political campaigns or over 25 years.
Her interest in politics, in fact, brought Doris the opportunity to work for the National AFL-CIO, beginning in 1997, for 5 years. From there she ventured into the position as the statewide coordinator for the Labor Program—which sparked Mark Warner to be elected as Governor and Time Kaine as Lt. Governor in 2001. Doris then went on to work for the Virginia AFL-CIO as their Political Director in 2003, managing the organization’s political program, helping to elect worker-friendly candidates to local, state, and federal office.
In 2006 Doris was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Virginia AFL-CIO, becoming the first woman to serve as an executive officer of the Virginia AFL-CIO. In August 2006, she was re-elected for a 4-year term, during which she became a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2008.
Doris became the first woman to be elected President of the Virginia AFL-CIO on August 13, 2010, the same year in which she was named a member of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC’s) executive council. Doris’s steadfast work and dedication to making the voices of Union members of Virginia heard, led her into a second term as President of the Virginia AFL-CIO, during which she served as co-chair of the Budget and Finance Committee of the DNC and received the honor of Virginia Women in History by the Library of Virginia in 2017. In August 2018, she was re-elected as President of the Virginia AFL-CIO for her third term where she continues to fight for the rights of Virginia’s union members and working families.
Norfolk Councilwoman Andria McClellan
Andria McClellan is using her experience as an entrepreneur, civic leader and community activist, parent of three, and former Planning Commissioner to make meaningful and progressive changes to the city of Norfolk, Virginia. Unseating a 16-year incumbent in 2016, she was elected to serve a Superward City Council seat for the second largest city in Virginia because of her pro-growth, innovation platform. Andria is focused on improving public schools; diversifying the economy in a city home to the largest Naval Base in the world; finding solutions and funding to address sea level rise and climate change; expanding access to broadband; enhancing public transit; and creating a more engaged, equitable and transparent city government.
Andria has served on numerous boards and commissions throughout the city, the region and the commonwealth, including gubernatorial appointments to the Virginia Small Business Advisory Board, the Virginia Family & Children’s Trust Fund, and the Local Government Advisory Committee for the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program. She currently serves on the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission as its Vice Chair (Chair of the Coastal Resilience Subcommittee and Regional Broadband Ring Subcommittee member); Hampton Roads Transit (Chair of the Smart Cities & Innovation Committee); WHRO; 757 Angels; Norfolk Commission on Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation; Democratic Business Alliance of South Hampton Roads; CIVIC Leadership Institute; UVA Center for Politics; and, the Sorensen Political Leadership Institute. She is a member of the American Flood Coalition and NewDEAL Leaders.
Raised in Hampton Roads, she began her career working in sales and marketing for two Fortune 500 companies, after which she ran two start-up enterprises – one in manufacturing and one in tech. Andria earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia and graduated from the Wharton Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
DNC Member Morgan Jameson
Morgan is currently a member of the DNC, representing the Young Democrats of America. He is also one of the founders of the Competitive Commonwealth Fund, designed to support candidates up and down the ballot in traditionally hard to win districts.
Having grown up in Fairfax County, Morgan is a Virginia local. His first engagement with the civic process was at the age of 8 when he began volunteering on political campaigns. Morgan has spent the past several years working with Democratic leaders, organizations, for and with elected officials to help create a more Democratic community in Virginia.
If elected to the DNC from Virginia, he will be the first OUT LGBT member of the delegation.
He is a foodie at heart and enjoys taking time away to visit some of his favorite Virginia wineries or take advantage of the many outdoor recreational activities the Commonwealth has to offer.
Ms. Sandra Brandt
Sandra Brandt has worked in Democratic Politics across Virginia. Currently, she lives in Virginia Beach and has lived and worked in the Hampton Roads area all her life. She has a vast background working in both the political and the non-profit community.
Ms. Brandt has been the Chief Executive Officer of STEP-UP, Incorporated, a non-profit corporation involved in training, placing and providing a multitude of supported services to returning citizens. Currently, Sandra is the Chief of Staff to Delegate Nancy Guy.
For several years, Sandra has been involved in assisting individuals in obtaining their voting rights by providing seminars for returning citizens who have meet the criteria to obtain their voting rights and longtime worker on Voter Protection. She has served on the statewide stakeholders’ committee for four governors.
Sandra Brandt has served in many capacities in the Democratic Party serving on the Democratic State Steering Committee, Chair of the Second Congressional District Democratic Committee, past chair of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, and numerous state committees such as resolutions, credentials, committee to select Democratic office building, and personnel.
As President of The Elective Group, a full-service campaign management firm, was one of Sandra’s greatest pleasures. She has run or worked on campaigns at all levels of government from local to presidential. Sandra was the campaign manager for Mayor Kenny Alexander, first African American Mayor in Norfolk. Also, she was the regional coordinator for the Jim Webb campaign. Recently, she ran the House of Delegates Race in the 83rd District where a ten-year incumbent was defeated. The final vote in the election was 41 votes.
Ms. Brandt is a graduate of the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, Leadership Hampton Roads and a founding member of CIVIC Leadership. She is a member of the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads. Sandra was a founding member of Emerge Virginia and currently serves as vice chair.
Sandra is running for a seat on the Democratic National Committee. She would be honored to have your vote and will represent you well.
Congressman Donald McEachin
Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) was first elected to represent the 4th Congressional District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.
Rep. McEachin is the son of an Army veteran and a public-school teacher who was raised in the area that he now proudly represents in Congress. Prior to his service in Congress, Rep. McEachin served as a legislator in both chambers of Virginia’s General Assembly. Throughout that time, he fought to protect our most vulnerable citizens — and to defend the rights of all Virginians. Rep. McEachin is a dedicated public servant who leads efforts that will promote equality, curb gun violence, protect our environment, and preserve access to affordable health care.
Rep. McEachin graduated from American University with a degree in Political Science and from the University of Virginia School of Law. In May of 2008, he received his Master of Divinity from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.
Rep. McEachin has always stood up for working Virginians, families and children in need. After practicing with several law firms in Richmond, Rep. McEachin and Donald Gee formed McEachin and Gee, in 1990. The McEachin and Gee Law Firm successfully helped many Virginians receive the resources they needed after accidents or injury.
Rep. McEachin is very active in the community and is a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the NAACP. Rep. McEachin is also a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.
Rep. McEachin and his lovely wife Colette are the parents of three adult children. Colette is also an attorney with extensive experience, presently working in the Richmond City Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
Delegate Debra Rodman
Elected in 2017 to represent Virginia’s 73rd district, Delegate Debra Rodman was inspired to run by the simple idea that real people should have a voice in their government. A Fulbright Scholar, she teaches Anthropology at Randolph-Macon College, and regularly uses her academic expertise to serve as an expert witness in US Federal Court where she advocates for families and LGBT refugees fleeing violence.
During her time at the General Assembly, Debra fiercely fought for improvements to Virginia public education and health care systems that our communities need. As a Delegate, she has worked across the aisle to improve teacher evaluations and raise teacher pay. It is because of Debra and her colleague’s advocacy for Medicaid expansion on the campaign trail and in the General Assembly that 400,000 Virginians who previously slipped through the cracks now have access to affordable health care.
In 2019, she stepped up to run for State Senate in District 12, to try to do more good for more people. While it wasn’t the result she hoped for, her campaign was the highest raising legislative race in 2019 and led to historic levels of turnout across Henrico and Hanover Counties in an “off-off-year” election.
Debra is a proud mom to two beautiful boys and the wife to Darryl, a Richmond native and member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.
Good Neighbor
Good Neighbor is a Virginia-based and headquartered mental health and disability services provider dedicated to helping people achieve their highest potential, no matter what their ability. Good Neighbor employs 1,200 across the Commonwealth and believes in a living wage for their caretaker heroes that care for the people they serve.
Established 15 years ago, Good Neighbor set out to care for the most complex and vulnerable among us and serves over 400 intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals in 51 locations across the Commonwealth. They provide holistic community-based mental health support to over 4,000 patients, through both outpatient locations and telehealth platforms. They also serve the important mission of providing mental health to incarcerated populations, including justice-involved youth with the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Good Neighbor believes that access to mental health and disability services is a human right and advocates on both the state and federal level for increased access to care and services for our most vulnerable populations.
Delegate Elizabeth Guzman
Elizabeth Guzman came to the United States from Peru as a single mom, looking for a better future for her oldest daughter. She remembers those early years; working three jobs in order to afford a one-bedroom apartment for her and her daughter. Despite graduating with honors from high school in Peru, Elizabeth’s parents could not afford to send her to college. With her love of learning Elizabeth persevered, and enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College, obtaining her degree in Office Administration and Management. Elizabeth also holds a Bachelor’s in Public Safety from Capella University, a Master’s in Public Administration from American University, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California.
Elizabeth is a long time resident of Prince William County, living in the community for more than 15-years – in spite of elected officials like Chairman Corey Stewart, who worked to divide the community and threaten the Hispanic community, which Elizabeth is a proud member of. She fell in love with Prince William County because of all of the opportunity the area offered to
Elizabeth was elected in 2017 to become the first Hispanic female immigrant to join the 400-year-old Virginia General Assembly. She now proudly represents Virginia’s 31st House District that covers Fauquier and Prince William County.