RFS feel-good update (12/5): Meet our Gen Z 2022 winners
We saw six alums IRL in NYC at our 4th Annual Alumni Awards!
Hi all - Our highlight of last week was getting to see SIX of our alums and a bunch of RFS supporters IRL in New York City!
Tiffanie Harrison (Round Rock ISD School Board) and Amanda Gonzalez (Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder) participated in a Q&A with Ross that we hope will help future RFS candidates learn what to actually expect when running for office.
We were proud to honor four of our amazing elected officials at our 4th Annual Alumni Awards:
Travis County District Attorney José Garza (Champion of Change Award)
Michigan State Representative Mari Manoogian (Generation Next Award)
Memphis Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas (Getting it Done Award)
Detroit Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero (I am History Award)
And a special shoutout to our first-ever Icon Award winner Jennifer Carroll Foy, who was fighting the good fight in Virginia and couldn’t make it - we’ll get her the award when we see her next!
We have more history makers to highlight:
Rex Richardson is the first Black mayor of Long Beach
More good news in Minnesota, where Lori Saroya is the first Muslim and the first woman of color to win a city council seat in Blaine and Mai Chong is the first Hmong-American to win a county commissioner seat in Ramsey County
Lindsey Horvath is the first millennial elected as a Los Angeles County Supervisor
Cameron Sasai became the youngest Pinole council member ever
And listen to this great interview with Ruwa Romman about being the first Muslim woman elected to the Georgia House
And a couple of quick notes about what our alums are up to:
New York State Senator Samra Brouk, a new mom, is “championing legislation that would first establish a work group to study the impact doulas have on decreasing infant and maternal mortality rates”
Assemblymember Alex Lee formed a new caucus in the California State Assembly to advocate for renters
Lee says being a renter himself, he fully understands the challenges people face with affordable housing. He says he too cannot afford to own a home and has had to rely on his family to be able to live and work at both the Capitol and in San Jose.
We are so excited to have 10 Gen Z winners this year and want to introduce you to all of them. We can’t wait to see what these 25-and-under leaders accomplish. So here is each winner. Be sure to read their RFS profiles to learn more, follow them on social, and check out the articles we picked out about them. We know you’ll become huge fans like we have.
Sathvik Nori
State: California
Position: Sequoia Union High School District School Board, Area D
Age: 19
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Q&A: Stanford sophomore Sathvik Nori runs for a Sequoia Union High School Board spot
Sathvik Nori, 19-year old Stanford student, wins Redwood City school board race
Michael Ankton
State: Arkansas
Position: Clark County Justice of the Peace, District 2
Age: 21
RFS Profile | Instagram
Jasper Martus
State: Michigan
Position: State House, District 69
Age: 22
RFS Profile | Instagram
MSU graduate Jasper Martus declares candidacy for State House
Martus tops Couch and Childress to win 69th State House seat
James Aguilar
State: CA
Position: San Leandro Unified School District Trustee, Area 6 (re-elected)
Age: 23
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Nabeela Syed
State: Illinois
Position: State House, District 51
Age: 23
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Meet the 23-year-old Indian American who flipped a Republican Illinois district
How This Gen Z, Muslim American Political Newcomer Flipped a Republican Seat in Illinois
Hector Bustos
State: California
Position: Santa Ana Unified School District Board, Area 5
Age: 23
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Cameron Sasai
State: California
Position: Pinole City Council
Age: 24
RFS Profile | Instagram
Miguel Sanchez
State: Rhode Island
Position: Providence City Council, Ward 6
Age: 24
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Political Profile: Miguel Sanchez, Candidate for Providence City Council in the 6th Ward
Providence's Sanchez brothers credit Mexican American roots in their big wins for the left
Zaynab Mohamed
State: Minnesota
Position: State Senate, District 63
Age: 25
RFS Profile | Twitter
Joe Vogel
State: Maryland
Position: State House, District 17
Age: 25
RFS Profile | Twitter | Instagram
Vogel, Long first Gen Zers elected to Maryland General Assembly
‘Fresh Passion': Meet the First Gen Z Delegates Elected to Maryland's General Assembly
Before we go, we wanted to flag that our See Yourself Running: Election Administrators series will be back on January 9th. RSVP here, or send the link to someone that you think should run.
See you in your inbox next week!
Ross and Abe