Luke Klipp - President - Email
Luke is honored and excited to have the opportunity to continue to serve at the helm of SFYD after almost five years of being active in the club. A seven-year San Francisco resident, originally from the Midwest, Luke has served on SFYD's Board for four years and been actively involved with several campaigns for local office over the years.
Luke's goals in his second year as President are to build on the club's momentum from the past year with the three upcoming elections, opportunities for more community service and outreach, and the new Young-at-Heart Democrats and grant program efforts.
Luke has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelors in Music from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Chris Jackson - Vice President of External Affairs - Email
Corey Friedman - Vice President of Internal Affairs - Email
Brian Gardner - Treasurer - Email
Brian Gardner graduated with an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh where he was one of five students chosen to represent the school at the George Washington University Case competition. Since moving to San Francisco, he has been highly involved in local politics, having volunteered in the DCCC headquarters, been Outreach Director for SFYD, and now serving as Treasurer of the San Francisco Young Democrats. Brian also worked on John Russo's campaign for State Assembly and has done freelance work with Annie Eagan and David Binder Research. After attending the annual Business for Social Responsibility conference in New York City, he began working with The Discovery Channel on new product development.
Rainah Ruckert - Secretary - Email
Rainah Ruckert was politically active in her home city of Pittsburgh, PA where she worked vigerously on John Kerry's Presidental Campaign in 2004 after spending a weekend in New Hampshire. After moving to San Francisco in May of 2005 she immediately signed up with the San Francisco Young Democrats. Rainah has also completed program’s such as the CORO Emerging Leaders in Public Affairs program and Camp Wellstone. Politics is her biggest passion since she has been a young girl registering on her 18th birthday to vote. Rainah offers her time to other democratic clubs in the city as well such as San Francisco for Democracy and the Noe Valley Democratic Club.
Jennifer Longley - Outreach Chair - Email
Michael Seville - Newsletter Editor - Email
Michael is excited to serve in his new post with the Young Dem’s as the Newsletter Editor. He has worked in the media for eight years in various posts including being a reporter and editor for several different daily’s, weekly’s, and magazines. He is very active locally serving as a Policy and Communications Advisor for IFPTE, Local 21 AFL-CIO, and as a political consultant to organizations in San Francisco. Michael is strongly committed to encouraging more young adults to become active in the Democratic Party and hopes to utilize this post in the most effective manner possible.
Alexis Ward - Media Chair - Email
A Director at Barbary Coast Consulting, Alexis develops political and community outreach strategies for public, private, and nonprofit organizations in San Francisco. She is also a weekly updater of SFUsualSuspects.com, a clearinghouse for San Francisco political news, and sits on the Board of Mission Learning Center. Alexis has a B.A. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.
Marivic Tolentino - Finance Chair - Email
Marivic is currently a Project Manager for Barbary Coast Consulting, a young and agile strategic communications firm in San Francisco. In the past year, Marivic has worked for private and public organizations on projects ranging from database management of philanthropic contributions for a Fortune 100 company to developing communication strategies for a local City agency. Marivic was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, but hopes to make the Bay Area her permanent residence. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from San Diego State University.
Ian King - High School and College Liaison - No Email
Brian Leubitz - Technology Chair - Email
Brian Leubitz runs Calitics.com, the progressive community blog for California. He has a law degree from the University of Texas, and a master's degree in public policy from Berkeley. He enjoys traveling, hiking, and facilitating progressive public policy using the tools of new media.
Owen Stephens - President Emeritus - Email
Owen served as President of the San Francisco Young Democrats from July 2004 - July 2006. As President he oversaw a large growth in SFYD membership, swiftly becoming the largest charted YD club in California, and one of the largest Democratic Clubs in San Francisco. San Francisco hosted the first Young Democrats of America National Convention on the west coast during Owen's Presidency. Owen also served as the SFYD Vice President in 2003/04.
Recently Owen was elected the 2007/08 Parliamentarian of the California Young Democrats. In 2006 he accepted the "CYD Event of the Year" award on behalf of SFYD and was honored at the 2004 State Convention as the "CYD Man of the Year".
In November 2006, Owen was appointed by Mayor Newsom to the Treasure Island Development Authority Board of Directors. He also serves as the Special Events Chair of the Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. Owen is a Sociology student at San Francisco State University, and recently joined Under One Roof, a non-profit charity that helps to fund Bay Area HIV/AIDS organizations.