Office of the Chairwoman
Susan Swecker, Chairwoman
Executive Department
Shyam Raman, Executive Director

Shyam joined the DPVA in June 2015. Shyam’s political career has taken him from Iowa to Nebraska to what is now his home here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He’s a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals and Tottenham Hotspur fan and enjoys cooking, watching soccer, playing golf, and playing with his dogs Charlotte and Artoo. Fun fact, he met Charlotte and his wife Julie at the dog park. The dogs take all the credit for their meeting.
shyam@vademocrats.org
Communications
Liam Watson, Press Secretary

Hailing from the New River Valley in Southwest Virginia, Liam has made a career of leading local- and state-level campaigns across the Commonwealth. After graduating from the College of William & Mary (’20), Liam returned home to Montgomery County to run for the Board of Supervisors, where he most recently served as Chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party and as a commissioner on the Blacksburg Planning Commission. Liam spends his free time reading, flying, and volunteering for his local Catholic parish. liam@vademocrats.org
Data
Brenner Tobe, Deputy Executive Director, CTO

Brenner has been working to help elect Democrats for the past 20 years. Having served as the State IT Advisor for the DNC, Brenner came to Virginia in 2001 to implement one of the first statewide online voter files in the country for Mark Warner’s campaign. Since then, he has continued to bring new, innovative and technological tools to help our candidates meet the changing demands of today’s campaigns. Brenner lives in Richmond with his wife Kelly, and daughters Caroline, Isabelle, and Annika. brenner@vademocrats.org
Katie O’Grady, Data Director

Katie O’Grady grew up in Wisconsin and was drawn into politics during the 2011 attempted recall of Governor Walker. As Quality Control Director for a political consulting firm, she worked on ballot initiatives, voter registration drives, and getting out the vote for Democrats across the country. After moving to Virginia in 2015, she managed a Virginia Senate campaign and went on to work as a legislative aide in both the Senate and the House of Delegates. katie@vademocrats.org
Digital
Nick Scott, Digital Director

Originally from Milwaukee, Nick got his start in politics by taking a semester off of college so he could work as an Organizer for Hillary Clinton in 2016. He moved to the Commonwealth in late 2017 and started as an Intern at the DPVA in January 2018 before joining the staff full-time as a member of the Finance team during the 2018 and 2019 cycles. Nick spends his time cheering for the Green Bay Packers, the Wisconsin Badgers, Arsenal Football Club, and playing FIFA. nick@vademocrats.org
Finance
Vicki Daguerre-Bradford, Finance Director

Vicki grew up in Connecticut and went to school at Roanoke College. She began her career in politics as a Field Organizer in 2017. In 2019, she became the Finance Associate for The Way Ahead PAC, working directly for Governor Ralph Northam. She has worked for Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA). Vicki loves to travel — she spent a few years after college exploring Thailand and Mozambique. When she’s not raising millions for politicians or traversing the globe, you can find Vicki in the gym or in her kitchen making a good soup. vicki@vademocrats.org
Operations
Olivia Rappe, Operations Director

A Richmond native, Olivia graduated from UVA before working on various campaigns in Virginia, New Mexico, Georgia, and Arizona. Most recently, she served as the Deputy Ops Director for the Arizona Coordinated which helped deliver Democratic wins for the Senate, Gubernatorial, Attorney General, and Secretary of State races in the state. In her free time, Olivia can be found helping her dad renovate old houses or tinkering in her pottery studio. olivia@vademocrats.org
Local Candidates Program
Tierra Ward, Local Elections Director

A leader in her own right, Tierra Ward is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, with a passion for politics. Ms. Ward has spent several years working on various projects in Virginia and has most recently been tackling all things redistricting for the DPVA. Ms. Ward has contributed to victories and close races with Joe Biden for America, Fair Districts PAC, Greg Robinson for Tulsa Mayor, 2019 DPVA Coordinated Campaign, JB Pritzker for Governor, Virginia Gubernatorial Coordinated Campaign 17, Hillary for America, and more. tierra@vademocrats.org
Political
Jack Foley, Political Director

Born and raised in Danville, Jack went to Radford University where he began working to elect Virginia Democrats along with getting a degree. Jack has worked for the VA House Democratic Caucus, the VA Senate Democratic Caucus, the Democratic Party of Virginia previously as Deputy Political Director, Senator Mark Warner and many more Democrats across the Commonwealth. He most recently served the Association of State Democratic Committees, at the DNC, as Southern Regional Director covering 13 southern states. Jack enjoys traveling throughout the Commonwealth. jack@vademocrats.org
Training
Emily Hamm, Training Director

Originally from Sacramento, California, Emily has worked in Democratic Politics for over 10 years. She was most recently Field Director for former Congresswoman Elaine Luria, and ran a field program statewide in the 2021 primary. Before coming to Virginia, Emily worked on races in Florida, Maryland and New Jersey. In her free time, you can find her in your local dive bar or concert venue, or crocheting for herself at home.
The DPVA is committed to diversity among its staff, and recognizes that its continued success requires the highest commitment to obtaining and retaining a diverse staff that provides the best quality services to supporters and constituents. The DPVA is an equal opportunity employer and it is our policy to recruit, hire, train, promote and administer any and all personnel actions without regard to sex, race, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity or expression, ethnic identity or physical disability, or any other legally protected basis. The DPVA will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination and any such conduct is strictly prohibited.