Castro Campaign Press Release - Julián Castro Announces Key Hires for Campaign Staff

Presidential campaign announces new national and early state staff in Iowa and New Hampshire

SAN ANTONIO, TX (February 25, 2019) – Today, presidential candidate Julián Castro's campaign announced key new senior staff based at campaign headquarters in San Antonio and two early states, Iowa and New Hampshire. The new staff brings a wealth of political experience and fresh ideas to the campaign, and join campaign manager Maya Rupert, deputy campaign manager Derek Eadon, and senior advisor Jennifer Fiore.

"I'm very excited to welcome a new slate of extremely talented and experienced operatives to our campaign, said Secretary Julián Castro. "As we continue to grow our operations in San Antonio and across the early primary states, these strategists and organizers will be invaluable to ensuring that we reach every voter, from big cities to suburbs to rural areas. With this expanded team in place we are building a strong foundation for the long road ahead."

National campaign staff, based in San Antonio, TX:
Greg Diamond, Chief Operating Officer
Greg has more than 10 years of campaign and organizing experience, serving most recently as Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Greg worked at the DCCC from 2014 through 2018, helping to build the state-based infrastructure that helped the party take back the House in 2018. Prior to joining the DCCC, Greg served as a regional operations director for President Barack Obama's successful re-election campaign. Greg is originally from western Oregon and is happiest when he's climbing up mountains in the summer and skiing down them in the winter.

Natalie Montelongo, Political Director
Natalie joins the campaign from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she was the National Campaign Strategist for Immigrants Rights. Her work has recently focused on President Trump's executive orders on immigration, including his move to block refugees, his decision to rescind the DACA program, and most recently family separation. Previously, Natalie served as the National Organizing Director for Voto Latino. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Natalie joined the Hillary for America campaign, where she served as the Political Director in Colorado, and was part of the winning field team during the crucial Nevada caucuses. Natalie has also served as a Presidential Appointee in the Obama Administration at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Shereen Zaid, Scheduling and Advance Director
Shereen Zaid comes to the team with more than 10 years experience in political event planning. Most recently, she was with the Texas Democratic Party, creating and overseeing the scheduling and advance department for the statewide slate of candidates. Previously, Shereen was the Director of Events for The Hill and was on the national advance team for Hillary for America. She's worked with many political nonprofits in Washington DC, including Third Way, The Hub Project and Center for American Progress. Shereen is an Okie at heart but has found a new home in Texas.

Sawyer Hackett, Deputy National Press Secretary
Sawyer Hackett most recently served as Communications Director for Congressman David Price (D-NC) and Deputy Campaign Manager on Rep. Price's 2018 re-election campaign. Previously, Sawyer was a Presidential Appointee in the Obama administration, serving at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Assistant Press Secretary and Special Assistant to Secretary Julián Castro. Sawyer, a native Virginian, has worked on several political campaigns, including on the press advance team for Hillary for America in 2016.

In New Hampshire:
Manny Espitia, New Hampshire State Director
Manny was most recently the Nashua Democratic City Committee's Executive Director in 2018, for which he raised a record amount and helped execute a campaign plan to elect all 27 state representatives, two state senators, and one Executive Councilor to the NH State House. Prior to 2018, Manny served as the Legislative Director for Free and Fair NH. In 2017, Manny served in the office of U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, and in 2016 he was an Assistant to Mayor Jim Donchess of Nashua. In the 2016 presidential cycle, Manny worked on the Hillary for America Primary campaign. Additionally, Manny worked in Texas for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and President Obama's re-election campaign in New Mexico. In 2018, Manny was elected a State Representative in the New Hampshire state legislature for Nashua.

Lauren Reyes, New Hampshire Organizing Director
Lauren most recently served as the Field Director for Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's re-election campaign and the Virginia Coordinated Campaign 2018, for which her team re-elected Senator Kaine with 1.9 million votes, re-elected four incumbent congressmen and flipped three congressional districts. In 2017, Lauren worked on both the Jon Ossoff for Congress campaign as well as the Virginia Coordinated Campaign 2017. In the 2016 presidential cycle, Lauren worked on the Hillary for America campaign in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In Iowa (previously announced):
Cynthia Sebian-Lander, Iowa State Director
Cynthia is an organizer who has worked on political and issue campaigns across the country. In 2018, she was Campaign Manager for Deidre DeJear who ran for Iowa Secretary of State. She helped Deidre make history during the primary as the first African American woman nominated by a major party for statewide office in Iowa. Prior to that, in 2016, Cynthia joined Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in Iowa as the Statewide Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Director. Before heading to Iowa, Cynthia worked for the national League of Women Voters, specializing in voting rights and advocating for voting reforms across the country. She has experience working in organized labor  with AFSCME, reproductive freedom with Planned Parenthood, environmental advocacy, and political campaigns in Alaska, New Hampshire and Virginia.

Marika Bresler, Iowa Organizing Director
Marika is a grassroots campaign professional who has worked campaigns in Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Texas. She served as a Campus Organizer for Barack Obama's re-election campaign, Youth Organizing Director for Wendy Davis' gubernatorial race, Field Director for NextGen Climate Iowa, Organizing Director for the US Senate Campaign for Jason Kander and Deputy Coordinated Director for the Missouri Democratic Party. Most recently she served as Campaign Manager/Deputy Campaign Manager for Colin Allred's successful 2018 congressional campaign.

About Secretary Julián Castro
Julián Castro served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. Before that, he was Mayor of his native San Antonio, Texas — the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city at the time. In 2012, he gave a rousing keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, during which he described the American Dream as a relay to be passed from generation to generation. In 2018, Castro founded Opportunity First, an organization to invest in the next generation of progressive leaders. In October 2018, Little, Brown published Castro's memoir, An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream. On January 12, 2019, Secretary Castro announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Follow Julián Castro on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. JulianfortheFuture.com and Julianparaelfuturo.com