Sanders Campaign Press Release - Bernie 2020 Announces California Staff Hires

WASHINGTON – Bernie 2020 on Friday announced its first slate of hires in California. The hires highlight the campaign's commitment to work for every vote in the state, building a regional infrastructure to support the work of the nearly 400,000 supporters who have already taken action.

"We are building a talented and diverse team in the Golden State that understands people power is the key to our success here," said Campaign Manager Faiz Shakir. "We will empower a statewide volunteer army that will help Bernie win the California primary and transform our government into one that will work for all of us, not wealthy campaign contributors."

Staff Profiles:

Shelli Jackson - California State Coordinator: A Central Valley native, Jackson has dedicated her career to voter education, outreach, and statewide campaign work. Jackson's twelve years of professional experience demonstrates a deep understanding of the nexus between community organizing and political activism. With over five years of campaign leadership, Jackson led the charge on various successful but highly contentious Assembly races. In addition to her campaign experience, Jackson served as a Senior Advisor to the California State Legislature.

Susie Shannon - California Political Director: Shannon has worked as a senior advisor, campaign director and labor consultant for over 14 years on statewide and local campaigns in California. She is an elected member of the Democratic National Committee from California, where she has served since 2016. She has also served on the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party since 2007. In 2015, Shannon spearheaded legislation to place California on a Housing First model for homelessness, which passed the California legislature and was signed by the Governor in September 2016.

Melissa Byrne - California Grassroots Director: A Riverside County native, Byrne is an experienced leader at both the intersection of offline/online organizing and issue and electoral advocacy. She's a nationally recognized leader in the work to make college free and end student loan debt. After serving as Bernie 2016 New Hampshire Digital Director, she became a leader in the work to hold Trump accountable from coast to coast by running strategic direct actions, including the largest sustained action in the Senate to elevate the voices of survivors and allies opposing Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Byrne has worked extensively with Ultraviolet, MoveOn, and CredoAction.

Sand Brim - California Policy Advisor: Brim is a longtime progressive activist. Brim has served in various senior roles including, Director of Strategic Campaigns, Senior Advisor, and speech writer for both the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. Prior to that Brim was an attorney specializing in child abuse cases.

Daniel Andalon - Los Angeles Regional Director: Andalon has dedicated his career to public service through government affairs and community relations. During the summer of 2016, Andalon led a team in Central Valley California on a half a million dollar campaign for a bond measure in Tulare County and then helped elect Mayor Tim Sandoval in Pomona, later that year. In 2017, he served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Jimmy Gomez for Congress, ultimately getting him elected. Most recently, as campaign manager, he led a successful bid for State Senate for now Senator Bob Archuleta.

Robert Dempsey - San Diego Regional Director: Dempsey is a veteran Democratic campaigner with a 20-year history of working on behalf of Democrats and organizations throughout the country. In 2018, Dempsey oversaw the Congressional Campaign Program for the California Democratic Party, flipping a total of seven seats – including every seat in Orange County – blue. In 2016, Dempsey served as the State Director in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New Jersey for the presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, at the conclusion of the campaign he returned to California to run Doug Applegate's congressional campaign against Republican incumbent Darrell Issa in CA-49, bringing the first-time candidate to within 1,621 votes of unseating the wealthiest member of Congress.

Jane Kim - Bay Area Regional Director: Kim is a proven progressive leader who has fought to expand access to affordable housing, protect renters, close the income gap, and improve public schools. From 2011-2019 Kim served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing a diverse district in San Francisco, including the lowest-income residents and the wealthiest zip code in the City. Prior to being a Supervisor, Kim was a community organizer at Chinatown Community Development Center, a civil rights attorney at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and served as President of the San Francisco Board of Education. Kim is the daughter of immigrants from South Korea.

Samuel Sukaton - Inland Empire and Orange County Regional Director: Sukaton was previously Associate Director of Inland Empire United, successfully electing more than a dozen municipal candidates across San Bernardino and Riverside in 2018. He's also consulted with Annie Cho for Los Angeles City Council and the California League of Conservation Voters. Prior to his work at Inland Empire United, Sukaton worked as a Southern California political organizer with SEIU-UHW, GOTV Director for Eloise Gomez Reyes' 2016 campaign for the California State Assembly, an anti-fracking and fair trade organizer with the Sierra Club from 2014-16, and a field organizer with Sandra Fluke for California State Senate in 2014.