Exceptional Midterm Winners Headline Latest Class of NewDEAL’s Rising Democrats
Twenty leaders from fifteen states have been chosen to join the NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a selective national network of state and local leaders working to enact pro-growth progressive solutions in a wide array of communities.
The new members were chosen from among more than 1,500 nominees, and include 10 first-time state and local officials elected to their offices in the past two years.
“We have been inspired by the remarkable influx of talented Americans entering public service in the past couple of years. This new class draws from the most innovative of those individuals while also recognizing a larger group of the most promising leaders across the country,” said Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., and former Delaware Governor Jack Markell, honorary co-chairs of NewDEAL.
“These innovators have a vital role in enacting policies that meet the demands of a changing world and expand opportunity for all Americans. We look forward to promoting their work as this excellent new class joins a network with a proven track record of governing successfully in diverse communities,” they said.
The new class members were recognized for their unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity as they work to move their communities forward in the 21st century economy.
The new class of NewDEAL Leaders includes:
- Monte Hodges, State Representative, Blytheville, Ark.;
- Josh Fryday, City Councilmember, Novato, Calif.;
- Stacey Walker, Linn County Supervisor, Linn County, Iowa;
- Ryan Fecteau, State Representative/Assistant Majority Leader, Biddeford, Maine;
- Will C. Smith, Jr, State Senator, Silver Spring, Md.;
- Darrin Camilleri, State Representative, Brownstown, Mich.;
- Donna Lasinski, State Representative, Washtenaw County, Mich.;
- Anna Wishart, State Senator, Lincoln, Neb.;
- Eric Pettigrew, State Representative, Seattle, Wash.;
- Kristine Reeves, State Representative, Federal Way, Wash.
The new class members elected in just the past two years includes:
- Annette Taddeo, State Senator, Miami, Fla.;
- Jen Auer Jordan, State Senator, Atlanta, Ga.;
- Zach Wahls, State Senator, Coralville, Iowa;
- Will Jawando, Council Member at Large, Montgomery County, Md.;
- Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, Michigan;
- Jon Morgan, State Senator, Brentwood, N.H.;
- Erika Strassburger, City Councilmember, Pittsburgh, Pa.;
- Erin Healy, State Representative, Sioux Falls, S.D.;
- Devan Allen, County Commissioner, Tarrant County, Texas; and
- Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Vice Mayor, Alexandria, Va.
The NewDEAL brings together leaders focused on expanding opportunity, helping them develop and spread innovative ideas to spur economic growth that is broadly-earned and sustainable. Most importantly, the organization facilitates the exchange of ideas among its members and connects them with other pro-growth progressive political, policy, and private sector leaders.
The work of the new class of NewDEAL Leaders will help build on policy agendas being developed for state and local officials, including recently released recommendations developed by the NewDEAL Forum Future of Work Policy Group to address the future of work, as well as The Way Forward, an agenda that addresses the most pressing issues facing Americans in the digital age.
One of the organization’s signature events, the annual Ideas Summit, will take place May 6-7 in Denver, Colo., where about 40 NewDEAL Leaders will join other innovators from the public and private sectors to discuss a forward-looking agenda for state and local Democrats to address the future of work, education, and climate change, and to rebuild trust in government.
