President Christina Das
Christina Das is a proud first-generation Indian-American and Brooklynite. Christina has spent much of the past decade advocating for low-wage workers and women’s education from the local to the global stage. As a college student she traveled to China to collaborate on grant writing for women’s reproductive healthcare at Beijing United Family Hospital. Following this experience she was part of a bipartisan fellowship to Israel aimed at forging international diplomacy with other Young Democratic and Republican Leaders. Most recently, she spent her summer living in New Delhi, India, as a Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice Fellow working at Breakthrough, Inc. where she worked alongside activists and lawyers in order to advocate against gender-based violence for Indian women and girls. Das discovered her love of grassroots organizing while door-knocking throughout Western Pennsylvania as a Organizing Fellow for President Obama's 2012 race. Over the years, Das has worked closely with nearly a dozen campaigns ranging from Gubernatorial races to City Council, and even local District Leader races here in Kings County. She has served in strategic consulting roles, as a finance director, and of course as a field organizer. Das also serves on the Kings County Democratic Committee as a committee member & Judicial Delegate for the 42nd Assembly District. Presently, Christina Das is a third-year law student at the CUNY School of Law where she is training to become a Civil Rights Attorney focused on bringing government accountability to marginalized communities; desegregating America’s public schools; and increasing access to the ballot box. During law school, Christina has interned with the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, the NYS Attorney General’s Office, and served as a summer law clerk at Outten & Golden, LLP. After three years as Executive Vice-President of BYD, she is proud to take on the reins as President of the Brooklyn Young Democrats.
Executive Vice-President Julia Elmaleh-Sachs
After serving as BYD's Secretary for the past two years -- and spearheading many of the canvassing Days of Action that led to the 2018 Blue Wave in NY State -- Julia is thrilled to come on as BYD's Executive Vice President. Born and raised in the East Village of Manhattan (before it was trendy to live there), Julia made the big move across the East River to Brooklyn during her third year of law school in 2015 and has never looked back. Julia attended University of Maryland-College Park for her undergraduate degree and majored in Government and Politics. Her proximity to Washington, D.C. allowed her to pursue an internship at the White House in First Lady Michelle Obama's office. Julia was so inspired and impressed by the Obama Administration's dedication and genuine concern for the American people that she deferred law school for a year to work on President Obama's reelection campaign at headquarters in Chicago. During law school at Hofstra University, Julia interned at the Democratic National Committee in the Voting Rights Project during the devastating 2014 Midterm Elections. That election, as well as that-which-shall-not-be-named (2016), really highlighted for her how critical and underrated local elections are. As such, Julia has loved working with BYD over the past few years to get more young Brooklynites excited and energized about state and local politics. Julia began her legal career in 2015 as a Juvenile Rights attorney with the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn and saw firsthand the impact of progressive policies -- such as Raise the Age or pre-k for all -- on her clients' lives. Julia loved working at Legal Aid and spent three years advocating for Brooklyn children and young adults in Kings County Family Court. As an advocate for her clients and her neighbors, Julia has also become increasingly involved in her Boerum Hill community, recently joining Independent Neighborhood Democrats' Executive Committee and maintaining membership with New Kings Democrats. When she is not convincing her friends to canvass for local candidates instead of going to brunch at French Louie, Julia now works at a high-profile employment discrimination and sexual harassment firm, Wigdor LLP in her old neighborhood in Manhattan.
Central Regional Vice-President Rebeca Lafond
Rebeca Lafond is a young Democrat who enjoys being civically engaged in her
community. Rebeca is a member of various organizations including being a member of the 2020 cohort of the NAACP Next Generation Leadership Program. Rebeca is a former team lead for Brooklyn for Warren and was selected by former Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren to be on her NY-09 Presidential Delegate Slate. Currently, Rebeca serves as the Director of Constituent and Support Services for New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte. Rebeca is a graduate of Brooklyn College where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a double minor in Political Science and Criminal Justice. At Brooklyn College, Rebeca served as the President of the Women of Color Club, Outreach and Engagement Chair for the CLAS Student Government Assembly and Delegate for the CUNY University Student Senate. Rebeca is passionate about social justice and empowering women of color to be both civically and politically engaged. While in college, Rebeca served as CUNY intern for the New York State Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, Women Public Service Intern for the New York State Assembly and Caucus CUNY Scholar for the The New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus. Rebeca plans to pursue a career in law and governmental relations.
Northern Regional Vice-President STEVE FOX
Steve Fox is a New York State native and has called Bed-Stuy home for 7 years. He has a long history of political organizing, engagement, and general rabble rousing across the USA, having organized various campaigns in 10 states. He holds a Bachelors in applied policy and a Masters of Public Administration, both from the University of Delaware. In his professional life, he consults growing businesses on issues of green energy and engagement. In his free time, Steve enjoys going to concerts, riding his bike to Brighton Beach, and searching for the best slice of pizza in NYC.
Southern Regional Vice-President Hunter Rabinowitz
Hunter Rabinowitz is a South Brooklyn native and excited to represent his part of the borough in the Brooklyn Young Democrats. As a student at St. John’s University, Hunter majored Government and Politics with a concentration in International Relations, winning the Dr. Gerald E. Fitzgerald Memorial Award in Political Science during his senior year. He participated in Get Out the Vote initiatives throughout Queens and helped organize for Students for Bernie on St. John’s campus in the lead up to the 2016 New York Democratic primary. As a leader on campus, Hunter helped found the United Nations Association at St. John University’s, an organization that seeks to educate and advocate students for the initiatives of the general UNA-USA organization. Since July of 2019, Hunter has worked for the Museum of Jewish Heritage- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust as a Group Tours Scheduling Coordinator. Hunter spent his summers involved in local races throughout Brooklyn, primarily focused on judicial races in 2016 and city council races in 2017. In March 2019, Hunterorganized for Caroline Cohen’s Civil Court Race in the 6th Municipal District, becoming Deputy Field Director later that spring. The experience reinvigorated Hunter’s involvement in Brooklyn politics, and he has proudly served on the board for the Brooklyn Young Democrats since the summer of 2019. In his free time, Hunter enjoys watching old movies, visiting Museums in the City, and going to shows for local bands.
Secretary Max Davidson
Max Davidson has been supporting Democratic causes for his entire adult life. In the last two years, he has been fortunate to work for Congressman Max Rose, CouncilmemberFarah Louis, Councilmember Rafael Espinal and District Leader Josue Pierre. However, his favorite campaign has been serving as the Field Director for Caroline Cohen's Civil Court Judge race, where he learned the importance of friendship. Max's most important pet issues are anti-trust legislation and creating frameworks for reparations. Max was educated at the University of Michigan, where he graduated with honors and a degree in public policy and creative writing. Two fun facts about Max is that he changed his name for 5 years as part of an elaborate joke and that his favorite color is purple.
TREASURER Vladimir Sterlin
Vladimir Sterlin is currently a Budget Director within the New York City Department of Homeless Services - Human Resources Agency. He has worked extensively with various New York State and City of New York government agencies including the NYS Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery and the New York City Department of Design and Construction. He began his career on Wall Street at the Bank of New York, Mellon as an ETF Analyst. Vladimir is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn; earned a B.S. in Finance from St. John’s University and an MBA in Finance from Long Island University. He has close ties to the country of Haiti and has assisted in the establishment of a family - operated company that specializes in construction and fuel transportation within the island nation of Haiti.