The Alliance network has been winning some major victories and scaling work to new heights. In order to match the brilliance and growth in our network, we need a national team and board that are just as awesome. We are thrilled to introduce to you all the newest members of the Alliance national staff and Alliance Boards of Directors!
Meet the powerhouses joining the Alliance staff
Billy Koontz
As the Finance Director, Billy monitors and maintains organization-wide financial management systems to ensure high quality internal controls, accurate financial reporting, and effective financial analysis and planning. Billy is excited to begin his professional organizing career, previously only volunteering on U.S. Senate & House campaigns in Texas. Prior to working at the Alliance, he worked in numerous financial analysis and accounting management roles within a variety of publicly traded corporations. Billy is excited to have an opportunity to put his finance and accounting skills to use for an organization that truly aligns with his strong desire for political engagement. Billy recently moved back to Washington, D.C. to work at the Alliance, and is very eager to contribute to the team and mission!
Mariella Villacorta
Mariella was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador and immigrated at the age of 11 with her family to the outskirts of Washington, D.C. She believes in the power of community and youth advocacy for a just and inclusive future. In college, she advocated for marginalized student’s issues to support a better campus environment for students of color, undocumented, first generation, LGBTQIA+, students with disabilities, and other underrepresented folks. After, she worked with progressive candidates at the local level to grow grassroots campaigns and win critical victories in Maryland. She’s excited to support transformational organizing and young people’s empowerment as the new Development Associate at the Alliance. Let’s get this money!
Kenny Myers
Kenny just moved to Washington, D.C. from Ohio to join the Alliance. Before this, he worked as the National Events Manager at Brass Tactics, where he guided earned media “disruption” campaigns nationwide focused on the climate crisis and protecting public lands. He also has extensive experience in scaling up electoral field work on both local and statewide levels. Joining a growing program team at the Alliance, Kenny supports affiliates to develop badass programs that deliver real wins and results for our generation
Meet the new minds powering the Alliance’s Boards of Directors
Several of our board members are transitioning out due to some exciting, new roles they are taking on that leave them with less capacity ( ie congrats Kelley Robinson, new ED of Planned Parenthood Action Fund!). While we are bummed to see some of these board members go, once you’re part of the Alliance, you will always stay part of the fam <3 Join us in welcoming these incredible new members to our board!
Cindy Kang
Cindy believes in the power of organizing to create a more just world and that young people are the future, which is why she’s thrilled to serve on the Alliance board! She currently serves as Managing Director at The Management Center, supporting social justice leaders to build and run effective organizations. She got her start as a field organizer with Green Corps, where she gained the training and inspiration for a career in social change. Over the next 12 years, she served in various leadership roles at Green Corps including Executive Director. Cindy then served as Managing Director and then Executive Director of Citizen Engagement Lab (CEL), where she supported social change entrepreneurs in launching innovative projects and startups. Cindy lives in Berkeley, California, where she’s likely to be found eating tacos or hanging out with her orange cat named Juice.
Daniel Gonzales
Daniel is the *new* Director of Planning and Program Analysis at America Votes. Previously he worked for five years at the Analyst Institute, bringing evidence-based programming to groups across the country. Daniel lives in Colorado and has worked to center voices of color in his work at AI, the Colorado c3 table, and Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR).
Juan Escalante
Juan is a nationally renowned immigration advocate and online strategist who recently moved to Washington, D.C. from Tallahassee, FL. He has been fighting for the Dream Act and pro-immigration at all levels of government for the past ten years. Escalante’s work has been published by the Miami Herald, VOX, the Huffington Post, USA Today, and other major outlets. He currently designs digital campaigns for FWD.us, where he helps organize and local efforts through a variety of online platforms to get pro-migrant legislation enacted.
LiJia Gong
In LiJia’s current role at Public Rights Project, she supports state and local governments in protecting and advocating for civil rights, economic justice, and environmental protection. Previously, she worked on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s reelection campaign and worked as a litigator in private practice. LiJia is also a proud founder and member of Radfund, a group of friends that give at least 1% of our income and .1% of our wealth to folks organizing around racial economic justice in NYC. One of the things that brought the folks in Radfund together is that we all love to dance–and LiJia is no exception! They are thrilled to be joining the Alliance Board, because they believe that local organizing of young people is the key to transformative change–and to winning elections! LiJia is excited to follow the lead of young people on organizing, social change, and–most importantly–dance moves.
Oscar Boleman
Oscar grew up in Galveston Island, then received a BA from Baylor in Psychology and Philosophy. He has worked for political campaigns, community organizing groups and state-level PACs and is currently the National Data Manager at America Votes. Oscar says that being a part of Alliance for Youth Action’s board is a humbling and exciting commitment. One of the issues that he has always seen faced by youth-engaged orgs is that they’re seen as the “kiddie tables” of the political space, where they should be treated as incubators for future leaders and their novel ideas. Seeing the actions taken by the Alliance affiliates and partners reignites what first got him interested in pro-social advocacy/politics. Oscar can’t wait for the opportunity to pitch in and help with the development of new campaigns for the Alliance and its affiliates and partners to continue fighting for a more equitable and future-facing society.
Paola Ramos
Paola is the host of VICE’s “Latin-X”, a weekly contributor for Telemundo News and a fellow at Laurene Powell Jobs’ foundation, Emerson Collective. She was the former Deputy Director of Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton, as well as a former political appointee in the Obama White House and an Obama 2012 campaign staffer. Throughout all of these platforms, Ramos focused on using creative means to uplift the stories and voices of the Latinx community. She’s also in the process of writing her first book, which defines the Latinx movement and reimagines our power. Ramos received her B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University and her MPP from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Vaughn Frisby
Vaughn currently serves as the Director of Individual Giving for SPUR, a Bay Area urban planning and policy think tank. Vaughn’s previous roles include the Associate Director of Individual Giving for Worldreader, the Senior Major Gifts Officer at San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and the Assistant Advancement Director at The Sierra Club. Outside of the office, Vaughn is a regular participant in AIDS/Lifecycle and enjoys traveling. Vaughn holds a BA in Sociology from Goucher College and a M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University.
We are beyond thrilled to have such fierce advocates for youth political power joining our team and board. Join us in welcoming these new faces to the Alliance fam.