Los Angeles County Young Democrats (LACYD) is the premiere Young Democratic Club
in the greater Los Angeles area.  LACYD's founders include Congressman Howard Berman, 
Congressman Henry Waxman, Los Angeles Controller Rick Tuttle, and many other
Democratic leaders.  LACYD was established to give young Democrats
a voice and a vehicle for activism in local, state and federal political issues.  David Graham-Caso
currently serves as LACYD President. 

David Graham-Caso, President
David Graham-Caso is currently serving the second year in his two-year term as LACYD President.  Prior to being elected to lead the organization in 2011 and 2012, David served as LACYD’s Vice President of Communications and Legislative Director.

In his day job, David works as the Communications Director for Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón.  David joined Councilmember Alarcón’s office in November of 2011 after serving as the Deputy Press Secretary for the Sierra Club, the largest grassroots environmental organization in the country, where he managed the strategic communications and media relations for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign in the Western United States, as well as the Sierra Club’s messaging and communications work regarding clean energy development across the country.  Though most of his time with the Sierra Club was spent working on coal and clean energy-related issues, David also worked on a variety of other efforts.  He was dispatched to the Gulf Coast shortly after the BP Disaster began in the Spring of 2010 to manage the Sierra Club's on-the-ground media relations efforts surrounding the response to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and he managed and coordinated statewide communications for the Sierra Club's nationally-recognized "No on Proposition 23" effort during the fall 2010 election cycle.

After graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and an emphasis in American Government, David worked at a public affairs firm based in Studio City, where he served as a media relations specialist and gained experience dealing with a wide range of statewide and regional issues, including energy, water, land-use and entitlement processes, environmental issues and health care.  

David has been active in Democratic politics since he was young and has volunteered on a variety of statewide and regional campaigns.  In the 2010 election cycle, David was asked to speak on behalf of candidates for State Board of Equalization, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner and Governor.  He has also previously worked as a Voter Contact Representative for the California Democratic Party.  

In addition to David’s volunteer service with LACYD, he is involved in a series of other progressive non-profit and political organizations, including the New Leaders Council (a progressive leadership training program), the Truman National Security Project (a non-partisan, non-profit organization that trains young progressive leaders to effectively speak about national security issues) and the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters (the only environmentally-focused political action committee working on electing environmental champions to municipal offices in Los Angeles County).

David currently lives in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles with his fiancée Lindsay.


Jeff Ebenstein, Vice President of Programming
Jeff is a third generation Los Angeles native and proud of his roots.  Jeff attended Valley Beth Shalom and Milken Community High School, before pursuing his passions for Political Science and History at California State University, Northridge.  While in school, he hosted a radio program on 104.3 KBIG FM and worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District.  Jeff is a proud community activist, and serves as Vice President of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, a member of the Executives at the Jewish Home for the Aging, involved at Project Sunshine at Children’s Hospital and an alternate member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee.

Currently, Jeff is Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz. In his role Jeff provides assistance for residents, businesses and community organizations by helping them navigate the City bureaucracy, as well as representing the council office at any number of Neighborhood Council, homeowners association, neighborhood watch and many other community group meetings.  

While Jeff has been a member of LACYD for a number of years, he is especially thrilled now to be taking on the role of Vice President of Programming. Jeff is dedicated to Democratic causes and candidates and finds nothing more fulfilling than working together for civic engagement.


Jason Levin, Vice President of Communications
Jason Levin is beginning his second term as the Los Angeles County Young Democrats’ Vice President of Communications.  In this role, Jason coordinates and manages LACYD’s external and internal communications, including the organization’s social media presence.

In his professional career, Jason recently joined LACYD co-founder Congressmember Howard Berman’s office as a Field Deputy focusing on district media and communications.  He has previously served as a Field Representative in the office of State Senator Fran Pavley, a Field Organizer for the Nick Karno for CA State Assembly campaign, and as an Intern for  both the American Directions Group (formerly The Clinton Group) and the campaign to elect Jack Weiss as Los Angeles City Attorney in 2009.

Jason graduated from The George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts and Science with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.  He has also travelled abroad, studying at the Institute for the International Education of Students in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Jason currently lives in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles.


Daniel Lopez, Vice President of Administration
Daniel Lopez is currently serving in his first term as LACYD VP of Administration and currently serves as a Legislative Deputy for Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian.

Daniel's interest in politics first began within his family.   Growing up in a politically active family, Daniel was instilled with a strong commitment to the civic engagement, and with values that mandate fighting for those less fortunate.  His political engagement began in earnest when he attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles where his Government and Politics class cemented his love of politics.  

After graduating from Loyola, Daniel attended the University of Southern California.  While Daniel was attending USC he became involved in the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign.  Daniel became so involved in the campaign that he worked in Texas and North Carolina, where he got to staff now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Former President Bill Clinton, all while maintain a full class load at USC.   The Clinton campaign truly opened Daniel's eyes to the tremendous affect that politics and public service has to many every day Americans and how truly lucky we are to live in a free democracy.

After the Clinton Campaign, Daniel worked as the New Media Director for the Antonio Villarigosa Re-Election Campaign, where he created all of Mayor Villarigosa's now vibrant Social Media Websites.   After the conclusion of that campaign, Daniel went to go work for then-Assemblymember Paul Krekorian's bid for LA City Council.  Councilmember Krekorian was victorious and asked Daniel to join his City Hall Policy Team where he has been since.

Last May, Daniel graduated from USC with a degree in International Relations and Economics. Daniel is also a big sports fan and enjoys baseball, football and basketball.  

Daniel is a lifetime resident of the Pasadena area of the San Gabriel Valley.


Matt Hale, Treasurer
Matt Hale is currently serving in his first term as LACYD Treasurer and presently serves as a Legislative Deputy for Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian.

Matt’s journey towards public service started with an internship in the district office of Representative Sam Farr (CA-17) and another internship in the Sacramento office of former Assemblymember Simon Salinas (AD-28).  When Assemblymember Salinas termed out of the Assembly, Matt pursued a position and was hired as an Office Assistant to Assemblymember Paul Krekorian. Though he was still attending classes down the road at CSU Sacramento, Matt staffed 3 bills as an office assistant, two of which were signed into law. Upon graduation, Matt became a full-time Krekorian staffer. During his service to Mr. Krekorian in Sacramento, Matt staffed a variety of legislation, tackling issues like intellectual property theft, campaign finance, securing free speech online, and renewable energy.

In his final year as a Capitol aide, Matt was the lead Assembly staffer for the Select Committee on Renewable Energy and AB 64, which would require California utilities to generate 33% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Over the course of the life of AB 64, Matt became an expert in renewable energy and coordinated hundreds of stakeholders from some of the largest energy interests in California, and the world.

When Assemblymember Krekorian ran for and won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, Matt moved south to staff energy issues and the Energy and Environment Committee.

Matt was born outside of Chicago, IL, and raised in Illinois, Colorado, and the California Central Coast.  Matt was originally planning to study Computer Engineering and studied Java Programming and algorithm analysis for a year at Cal Poly, SLO. In the end, the call to public service was too strong, but Matt’s computing background brings a wealth of practical computer skills to the LACYD board.   Matt graduated from CSU Sacramento’s Government program in 2007.

He resides in Glendale.


Antonio Villaraigosa, Jr.
Antonio is currently serving his first term as an at-large Executive Board member for LACYD and is honored to have that privilege.   He has been involved in Democratic campaigns since the tender age of 5, primarily those of his father, but also those of other candidates for city and state offices.    Among his most cherished campaign experiences is working for President Obama’s campaign in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in the week leading up to the 2008 election and coming just 60 votes shy of turning a red county blue (George W. Bush won the county in 2004 by 3,000 votes).

At the moment, much of Antonio’s time is consumed by his activities as a student. After graduating from Loyola High School in 2007 with recognition from the California Scholarship Federation, Antonio enrolled at Princeton University, where he completed two years of study and was an active member of the Princeton College Democrats before deciding to return to the amenable weather and urban politics of Los Angeles.  This transition dovetailed with his lifelong interest in cities and architecture and emerging career path in urban planning and he enrolled at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where he is currently completing his Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning.   Urban planning is an inherently political line of work, where the concerns of many disparate parties must often be reconciled in order to get things accomplished, be they large public works projects or real estate developments.  Antonio embraces the difficulty of such situations by applying the principles of social justice and equity that are the core of the Democratic Party. Like many other Democrats, he is also committed to sustainability and environmental protection.  Antonio’s study of planning has taught him that cars are the cause of many of Los Angeles’ social ills and while he owns one, he commutes to CSUN everyday via public transit and bicycle because slow, incremental change has to start somewhere.


Aubrey Farkas, Board Member
Aubrey Farkas is a student at the University of Southern California, earning her Masters in Public Policy and certificate in Political Management.  Aubrey also works for Brad Sherman for Congress.  

Aubrey serves on the Board of Directors for BookEnds, a non-profit literacy organization based in West Los Angeles, and Progress for a New Generation, a committee dedicated to ensuring the political presence of progressive young professionals is felt. She is an appointed delegate to the California State Democratic Party and has worked on several campaigns including Hillary Clinton’s Senate and presidential races, Barbara Boxer’s 2010 Senate campaign and Phil Angelides for Governor.

Aubrey graduated from UC Davis, where she studied Political Science, Middle Eastern/South Asian Studies and Art History. 


Ben Harris, Board Member
Ben Harris is a field deputy for Congressman Brad Sherman, responsible for representing the congressman in the Jewish and business communities. 

Ben has experience at virtually every level of government, including working for Senator Dianne Feinstein, Councilman Eric Garcetti and for the City of Los Angeles for both the City Attorney and City Administrative Officer in the Debt Finance Division. His legislative experience includes working on private equity provisions of Dodd-Frank while at the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Ben grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Pitzer College, where he received the prestigious Robert Day Scholarship for Leadership and Finance and graduated with honors in Finance/Economics and Political Science.


Courtney Driver, Board Member
Courtney was born and raised in Pasadena, CA and became actively involved in community service and civil rights activism during high school when she was founded and was elected president of the Altadena Youth and College NAACP chapter. She then moved on to serve as the Economic Development Coordinator for the California State Conference of the NAACP and as the Los Angeles County Regional Director for CASC (California Association of Student Councils). Courtney graduated in 2008 with a degree in political science and a minor in public administration. Upon graduation, Courtney became actively involved with encouraging and educating young voters and working on various political campaigns including the historical campaign of Barack Obama.  In 2009, Courtney became actively involved with Young Democrats of America and serves as the Executive Vice-Chair of the Minority Caucus.

In 2010, Courtney founded the first Black Caucus in the history of California Young Democrats. The CYD Black Caucus is now the largest and most active caucus within CYD and won Caucus of the Year in 2010.

Courtney is currently a third year law student and works part-time at a law firm in Los Angeles specializing in real estate finance litigation.  When she is not buried in law books, you can find Courtney playing the Wii, singing karaoke, hanging out with friends and reading books about American criminal justice.  Courtney looks forward to another year working with LACYD.


Darryn Harris, Board Member
Darryn A. Harris is an individual of extraordinary talent, passion, and commitment to social and economic justice, sparked by the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest. With over a decade of experience in community engagement, Darryn has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor to The Sankofa Group for Civic Engagement, a political strategy firm committed to helping socially responsible individuals & organizations set and achieve goals that will improve public policy beyond the next election cycle, legislative challenge, or public demonstration.

Darryn brings a wealth of experience from the California Legislature. As a staff member to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, he planned and organized various statewide convenings that informed data collection for the State of Black California report and publication. This report was instrumental in informing various community-base organizations, as well as statewide legislation and policy affecting African-Americans in the areas of health, economic empowerment, education, housing, drug‐use and crime. While in the Speaker’s Office he developed and staffed the 47th Assembly District’s People’s Council, a citizen advisory council lead by constituents interested in informing the state budget and legislative action. After Speaker Bass termed out, Darryn continued his work with constituent-volunteers by joining Assemblymember Steven Bradford’s staff, and forming the 51st Assembly District’s Citizen’s Advisory Council, where he monitors California’s budget & legislation, and report its implications to various communities, organizations, and constituents groups.

As a graduate student, Darryn expanded his skills in offering services to marginalized groups by forming FETCH (Fostering Education through Community Health).  Darryn developed relationships between the university and community based organizations in an effort to increase support for students exiting the foster care system. As a direct result of this work, UCLA successfully identified and met the key needs for students exiting the foster care system: such as year-round housing, financial aid, mentorship and counseling.

In addition to his work with the state, Darryn serves on the Board of California Greenworks, Inc., a non-profit organization formed to promote environmental protection, community revitalization and economic development throughout southern California urban communities. Through collaborative efforts with community groups and other non-profit organizations, California Greenworks establishes partnerships that are fundamental to effective development and successful implementation of locally-driven community programs and projects.

Darryn, a native Angeleno, currently resides in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a Masters of  Education in Higher Education & Organizational Change from UCLA. Darryn is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and is President of the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD).


Hannah Linkenhoker, Board Member
Hannah Linkenhoker is serving her first year on the LACYD board as an at-large board member.  She currently works as a political consultant at Noah Mamet & Associates, where she takes the lead managing the company’s greentech portfolio and non-profit clients.  Her time is also spent fundraising for Democrats across the country, including the re-election campaign of President Obama and many Senate, House and local Democrats.  Prior to joining Noah Mamet & Associates, Hannah worked and volunteered on a number of Democratic campaigns, including Hillary Clinton for President in 2008, and most recently worked as Southern California Campaign Manager for Assemblyman Pedro Nava’s campaign for CA Attorney General.  

Hannah graduated with a B.A. from the University of San Francisco in 2009, majoring in Political Science, and minoring in Legal Studies and Middle East Studies.  While at USF, Hannah served two years as Vice President of the Politics Society/Pi Sigma Alpha, was a member of the Leo T. McCarthy Center of Public Service, and graduated Cum Laude.

During her years at USF, Hannah spent time working as a mediator for San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris’ Office of Consumer Protection.  She also spent a semester studying abroad in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled through Eastern Europe and the Balkans.  Immediately after graduation, Hannah moved to Sacramento to work for then Speaker of the California Assembly Karen Bass as a legislative analyst.

A native of Hamilton, Montana, Hannah has lived in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles for the last two years and spends her free time hiking, traveling, and volunteering for a number of organizations in addition to LACYD, including YMCA Youth & Government, Urban Compass, and the LA Food Bank.  Hannah also currently sits on the USF Alumni SoCal Regional Council and serves as a mentor to current USF students. 


Max Freedman, Board Member
Max Freedman is currently serving his first term as an At-Large Board member for the Los Angeles County Young Democrats. 

Max first became involved in politics while attending the University of Southern California, where he majored in Political Science and Psychology. During his time at USC, Max worked at the Unruh Institute of Politics, an institute that focuses on getting students more involved in the political sphere by hosting a wide range of different discussions, seminars and events. These events often coincide with major political events, such as the 2008 election of Barack Obama, but weekly roundtable discussions focusing on pertinent political issues of the time are also regularly held. While working at the Unruh Institute, Max discovered his love for politics and became involved in a number of political organizations both on campus and off, such as the USC College Democrats and the LACYD. 

After school, Max worked on the successful campaign to elect Janice Hahn to Congress in a special election. He ran the North Office located in Marina Del Rey, an area that was instrumental in assuring Congresswoman Hahn's victory. He is currently a consultant with Burnside & Associates, a field consulting firm specializing in grassroots field operations, turnout programs, ground-based vote-by-mail programs and coalition building. 

Max was born and raised in Southern California and lives in Los Angeles. 


Steve Ferguson, Board Member
No bio submitted.