# Young Democrats of America

The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the youth wing of the Democratic Party of the United States. YDA operates as a separate organization from the Democratic National Committee; following the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, it became an independent 527 organization. The group's membership consists of Democrats from ages 14 to 35, and its political activities include an emphasis on increasing the voter turnout of young people.

## Leadership

YDA membership elects seven national officers on a biennial basis at the organization's National Convention in odd-numbered years and two DNC representatives in even-numbered years. These officers maintain the day-to-day management of the organization. Most recently, officers were elected at the 2023 YDA National Convention in Las Vegas.
Between national conventions, the governing body of YDA is the National Committee which is composed of the president and two national committee representatives from each chartered unit, along with the chairs of the twelve constituency caucuses, eight regional directors, eight chairs of select committees, and the nine individually elected officers.
The President, Democratic National Committeeman, and Democratic National Committeewoman are members of the Democratic National Committee, and superdelegates to any Democratic National Convention occurring during their terms.

### 2023–2025 national officers

* President: Quentin Avola Wathum-Ocama of Minnesota
* Executive Vice President: Dyna Martinez of Indiana
* Eastern Vice President: Gabriela Koc of Connecticut
* Southern Vice President: Hannah Perkins of Georgia
* Midwest Vice President: Spencer Dirrig of Ohio
* Western Vice President: Kathleen Durkin of Washington
* Secretary: Lezlie Braxton Campbell of Massachusetts
* Treasurer: Sam Jane of Virginia

### 2022–2025 Democratic National Committee members

* Democratic National Committee Representative: Steph Campanha Wheaton of New Jersey
* Democratic National Committee Representative: Katherine Jeanes of North Carolina

### Ex officio national officers

* Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents: Jovan Richards of New York
* Chair of the Council of Caucus Chairs: Zachary Shartiag of Illinois

### Past leaders

Democratic party leaders and Democratic elected officials who are former YDA national officers include:
* Steny Hoyer – U.S. representative from Maryland
* Warren Magnuson – Former U.S. senator from Washington
* Allan Turner Howe – Former U.S. representative from Utah
* Mark Stodola – Former Mayor of Little Rock
* Chep Morrison – Former Mayor of New Orleans
* R. Spencer Oliver – Former Secretary General Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
* Maggie Toulouse Oliver – New Mexico secretary of state
* Chris Anderson – Former Chattanooga city councilman and Tennessee Democratic Party State Executive Committee member
* Lena Guerrero – Former member of the Texas House of Representatives
* Isaac Robinson – Former member of the Michigan House of Representatives
* Joe McDermott – King County councilor
* Elaine Marshall – North Carolina secretary of state

## National Convention, National Committee, and chartered units

The YDA organization is composed of "chartered units" with one from each U.S. state or territory. YDA holds a National Convention every two years during the summer of odd-numbered years with complex rules for how many votes each chartered unit may cast. The YDA National Committee meets at least two times per year and consists of the President of each chartered unit, two representatives of differing gender identities from each chartered unit, and a number of other officers and committee and caucus chairs.

### National Convention locations

Past and Future YDA National Conventions were held in the below venues:
* 2025: Philadelphia, PA
* 2023: Las Vegas, NV
* 2021: Cincinnati, OH
* 2019: Indianapolis, IN
* 2017: Dallas, TX
* 2015: Los Angeles, CA
* 2013: San Antonio, TX
* 2011: Louisville, KY
* 2009: Chicago, IL
* 2007: Dallas, TX
* 2005: San Francisco, CA
* 2003: Buffalo, NY
* 2001: New York City, NY
* 1999: Little Rock, AR
* 1997: Miami, FL
* 1995: New Orleans, LA
* 1993: Merrillville, IN
* 1991: St Louis, MO
* 1989: Columbus, OH
* 1987: Phoenix, AZ
* 1985: Miami, FL
* 1983: Charleston, WV
* 1981: Richmond, VA