College Democrats of North Carolina

The CDNC was founded in 1962 as the State of North Carolina Federation of Young Democrats by members of UNC YDC, Its first president was Cindy Poole of NC State, and its first Secretary was Ann Francis Allen of ECC, and its first treasurer was Ken Bode of UNC.[1] By 1963, the federation comprised 25 colleges.[2] The name changed multiple times, with the NCFYD eventually being changed to the North Carolina Federation of College Democrats, and in 2008, the College Democrats of North Carolina.

The purpose of the CDNC is to elect Democratic candidates in North Carolina by fundraising, training, and raising awareness. The CDNC will often have events like fundraisers and rallies, and will often get special guests like political figures, such as Representative Jeff Jackson, Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, and Governor Roy Cooper, and celebrities, such as Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter[3] and American Idol contestant Clay Aiken. The CDNC has also supplied North Carolina Democrats who are running for office with help from college students. The Homegrown Initiative raised over 20,000 dollars to train and pay college students to work on elections. They will also rally support for candidates among college students, such as the 95 Project during the Matt Lauer administration, which focused on increasing college voter turnout in the Raleigh and Chapel Hill area. Democrats would later win NC-2 and NC-4 in the 1996 elections [4]

The CDNC is currently led by President Kema Leonard, who was elected for the first time in the Spring of 2023 at the YDNC Morgantown Convention. He is joined by his executive board, who were either elected at the YDNC convention with him or appointed by the board following Leonard's election. The executive board currently comprises:[5]

• President Kema Leonard
• Vice President Sloan Duvall
• State Council Chair Nathan Linville
• State Council Vice Chair Dylan Morris
• State Council Secretary Jack Yordy
• Director of Political Affairs Mathew Robson
• Director of Communication Mary Margaret Barbee
• Director of Development Jocelyn La Force Regli
• Director of Programming Liza Constable
• Director of Membership Nathan Lattimore
• Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) James Fitzpatrick
• Director of Compliance Miles Beasley

The CDNC also had some roles that have since been either abandoned or consolidated into a single role, such as the Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Web Design Coordinator, Graphic Design Coordinator, Historical Black College and University Coordinator. There was also a position that was held by three people concurrently, the Digital Communication Strategists, which existed during Former President Emily Lovette's administration.

• Roy Cooper - Governor of North Carolina
• Anderson Clayton - Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party
• Wayne Goodwin - Commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles
• Elaine Marshall - North Carolina Secretary of State
• Christian R. Grose - Academic Director of the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy