California College Democrats (CCD) is a statewide network of more than 30 college Democrat chapters at UCs, CSUs, community colleges, and private universities. We are affiliated with the College Democrats of America (CDA), California Young Democrats (CYD), and the California Democratic Party (CDP).

CCD aims to engage and empower students across California to elect Democrats and promote progressive values. We provide resources for our chapters, help coordinate between chapters, and run statewide programs – such as our annual “Rush to Register” voter registration competition.

The CCD Executive Board is elected each year by all chartered college chapters at the annual CYD convention. Each chapter has an equal vote in CCD elections.

Click here to view the current version of CCD’s bylaws.

2012-2013 Executive Board

	Paul Murre President pmurre@cacollegedems.org Paul Murre is a Political Science major at San Francisco State University. Most recently, Paul served as the Vice President of Membership of CCD where he focused on new chapter creation at CSU campuses. Prior to this, Paul served as Director of Students for Gavin Newsom, a statewide organization which was comprised of over forty active chapters, identified over 10,000 supporters, and registered thousands of voters in support of Gavin Newsom’s 2010 successful campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Paul is the President of the College Democrats at San Francisco State University and is active in San Francisco local politics. As President, Paul’s focus rests in higher education advocacy, membership expansion, and running a sophisticated field program to mobilize young people behind the Democratic ticket in 2012.
	Bryce Farrington Vice President of Membership bfarrington@cacollegedems.org Bryce is a third year Economics major at the University of California, San Diego. Bryce’s work on political campaigns goes back to Students for Barack Obama in 2007-2008 and his work as a Field Organizer with OFA in Indiana during the general election. He is active in the College Democrats at UCSD and in the Associated Students UCSD where he is the Student Advocate. Bryce is also an avid basketball fan and roots for the Los Angeles Lakers.
	Zeeve Rose Vice President of Finance zrose@cacollegedems.org Zeeve is a third year Political Science and Philosophy double major at the University of California, Davis. He is also currently the Vice President of Finance of the Davis College Democrats and co-founder, and an Attorney, of the UC Davis Mock Trial team. He has been working in California politics since his senior year of High School, and has participated in numerous local, statewide and federal Democratic campaigns. Education, foreign policy, economics, and health care are all issues that are important to Zeeve. Away from the political sphere, Zeeve also enjoys watching television, rooting for the San Francisco Giants and playing strategic board games.
	Laura Epstein Political Director lepstein@cacollegedems.org Laura Epstein is a second year Government and Religious Studies double major at Claremont McKenna College. This year, she wants to focus on statewide legislative issues and of course 2012 local, state, and national elections.She also can’t wait to work directly with chapter members and leaders to promote best practices among various CCD chapters. She cares most about issues surrounding poverty like education, employment, and housing. She is currently the Vice President-Internal at her local College Democrats club and was on the SWAT (Statewide Action Team) this past year as Deputy Southern California Regional Director. Aside from Democratic activities, Laura is a part of her school orchestra (playing violin), and she is an avid rock climber.
	Michael Soto Communications Director msoto@cacollegedems.org Michael Soto is a third year political science major at CSU Channel Islands. Before attending CSU Channel Islands he was at Sacramento State where he developed a passion for politics becoming Director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies in student government and served as treasurer for the Sac State College Democrats fighting for progressive causes both and off campus. At Channel Islands Michael as already become Vice President of Membership and is working to help CSUCI become an active part of CCD. In his free time Michael enjoys long walks on the beach, Lucha libre, and reading the dictionary
	Mia Hodge Northern California Regional Director mhodge@cacollegedems.org Mia Hodge is a student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science and Arabic and minoring in Public Policy. Mia is especially passionate about increasing accessibility and affordability of education in California, and she cannot wait to get started with our work reelecting President Obama and mobilizing college students to ensure Democratic victories across the state, as well as pushing for progressive legislation at all levels. She previously served on the executive board of Cal Berkeley Democrats, the College Democrats chapter at UC Berkeley, as Communications Director. She is also active in student government, serving as the chief of staff for the Office of the Executive Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of California.
	Byron Callan Technology Director BCallon@cacollegedems.org Byron is a second year, Computer Science major at Pomona College in Claremont, California, and was originally a member of California College Democrat’s Statewide Action Team (SWAT). He has been active in the Claremont College Democrats, his local College Democrats chapter, for two years. Politically, he is most interested in civil rights, environmentalism and voter registration. He is excited to work for the California College Democrats, and looks forward to a good year.
	Nicholas Kitchel Operations Director nkitchel@cacollegedems.org Nicholas Kitchel is a second year student at UC Berkeley, studying Political Science and Public Policy. When he served as Chief Deputy of National Affairs for Berkeley’s Student Government in 2011/2012, Nicholas organized a delegation of ten students to travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby Members of Congress and the Senate on education affordability measures. As Director of Operations for the California College Democrats, he has worked extensively to help CCD recover from the Kinde Durkee scandal. Nicholas has worked on numerous progressive campaigns in Tehama County and Berkeley, has organized with both the U.C. & the United States Student Associations, and has interned in the Office of Governor Jerry Brown. This summer, Nicholas will be interning at the Democratic National Committee’s Washington, D.C. headquarters as well as beginning a yearlong fellowship with Young People For.
	Elizabeth Escalante Northern California Vote Coordinator eescalante@cacollegedems.org Elizabeth is a graduate from Sonoma State University with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a Minor in Political Science. While at SSU, she was the Vice President of the Sonoma State Campus Democrats and focused on mobilizing other students to become more involved. Prior to taking on the Northern California Vote Coordinator position, she has also served as the North Bay and North Coast Regional Director for the statewide Students for Gavin Newsom organization. Upon return to the United States in 2007, she developed a fascination with Democratic politics and became active in it during her first year of college at Santa Rosa JC. Public K-12 education, higher education, foreign policy, partisan politics, and various other social issues are important to Elizabeth. She also intends on furthering her education at Dominican University this coming fall.
	Ariel Teshuva Southern California Regional Director ATeshuva@cacollegedems.org Ariel is a 2nd year Political Science major at the University of California, San Diego. Ariel is currently the Canvassing Director of her school’s Students for Barack Obama chapter, and got her start in campaigns by volunteering for the President’s 2008 campaign. She is currently working on a number of local campaigns in concert with the College Democrats at UCSD, and is very excited to get other chapters connected with the races in their area. In her spare time, Ariel enjoys reading, watching TV, and baking.
	Adam Robak Policy Analyst ARobak@cacollegedems.org Adam is a first year Political Science major at the University of California, San Diego. Adam is active in the College Democrats at UCSD, serving as the Media Organizer for the Students for Barack Obama division of the club. In that role, he works on increasing SFBO’s membership on campus and helps organize trips to canvass in Las Vegas. Before coming to UCSD, Adam was the Editor in Chief of his high school’s 70- person newspaper, which sparked his passion for writing and current events.