Chairman Katie Todd
Katie Todd grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine with a degree in biology. In college, she served as a Student Government representative and a member of the Field Hockey team, while volunteering as a tutor at a local elementary school and for Republican candidates in her free time. She studied abroad in Botswana, which left her with a passion for global health issues and a greater understanding of and appreciation for America’s leadership in the world. Katie currently works for a global health advocacy organization, a bipartisan group which advocates for U.S. leadership and support in the fight against malaria.
Katie served as Vice Chair of Events for the DC Young Republicans before being elected Chair, and is a member of the Republican Women’s Federal Forum.
National Committeeman Stephen Jackson
Politicking from an early age, Stephen Jackson handed out sample ballots, stuffed envelopes, and pounded in yard signs for Republican candidates before entering elementary school. In more recent times, he worked in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and volunteered for national and local candidates. Currently, Stephen is Director of Policy for The Ripon Society, a centrist Republican public policy organization.
Originally from Fairfax, VA, Stephen knows the capital area summer well enough to make an annual exodus to Bailey Island, ME. Prior to entering politics, he studied to be an orchestral double bassist and graduated with a degree in music performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Not completely giving up music, Stephen plays double bass in a local DC indie/folk band called Orchard Wall.
National Committeewoman Laura Chambers
Laura Chambers grew up in small-town North Alabama near the famed Rocket City of Huntsville, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, and the most Ph.D’s per capita in the nation.
After working for a small defense contractor and graduating from the University of Alabama-Huntsville in 2008, Laura took her first political job as press secretary for a top-tier congressional race in her home district of AL-5. Although this traditionally “Dixiecrat” stronghold would not produce a Republican congressman until 2010, Laura made her way to the District of Columbia in December 2008 where she landed in a Republican office on Capitol Hill.
Since that time, she has remained a conservative and GOP activist as a Heritage Foundation Congressional Fellow and Vice-Chair of Events for the DC Young Republicans over the last year. She has volunteered on numerous campaigns, including the memorable Scott Brown special election and the DCYR’s on Tour deployments.
Executive Vice Chair (Currently Vacant)
A special election to fill the post of Executive Vice Chair will be held in June. Details on the coming election will be available at the DCYRs’ upcoming meetings, and through our email newsletter, the “DCYR Scene”.
Vice Chair of Finance Dustin Deberry
Dustin DeBerry has been a member of the DCYRs since 2007 and has served as the Vice Chair of Finance for the DCYRs since October 2010. In this role Dustin is responsible for the collection, disbursement, and accurate and transparent accounting of DCYR funds ensuring that the funds raised through membership dues, events, and from our supporters are used in the most effective manner possible.
Originally from North Carolina, Dustin moved to DC in 2008, after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a B.A. in Public and International Affairs as well as a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration accounting.
Currently he is the Director of Donor Relations at the Institute for Energy Research. In this role he helps oversee communications and outreach to IER’s growing base of donors. He also assists in managing the financial and day-to-day activities of IER.
Vice Chair of Membership Katie Poedtke
Katie Poedtke has lived and worked on Capitol Hill since July 2010, and is currently a Legislative Assistant for a Republican House member, focusing on Energy, Natural Resources, Government Oversight and Reform, and Judicial Branch issues.
Katie is also an experienced conservative activist and former President of the Fordham University College Republicans. In this role, she organized numerous educational issue campaigns and widely attended guest speaker events featuring high profile conservatives such as Newt Gingrich, Steve Forbes, and Andrew Breitbart.
In April of 2010, the Young America’s Foundation named Katie one of the top young conservative activists in the country. She was honored to speak about her experiences as a youth activist to a crowd of more than 5,000 at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference. In October of 2010, Katie was one of three young conservatives feted for their “exemplary conduct and service” by the New York Young Republican Club, receiving their annual award for Outstanding Leadership. She has appeared on the Glenn Beck program, C-SPAN, NPR, and iheartradio.
Most recently, Katie travelled to Ottawa, Canada for the Manning Centre for Building Democracy’s 2012 Networking Conference, where she was the keynote presented on a panel about effective strategies for youth activism.
Also while a student at Fordham, Katie completed both research and press internships at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, where she developed a passion for urban issues and the unique public policy challenges faced by American cities.
Vice Chair of Communications
James has been a member of the DCYRs since June of 2011, and serving first as Newsletter Editor, and eventually Interim Director of Communications beginning in November 2011. During that time, James has established and oversees a new core “Communications Team”, which manages all DCYR Web and Media presence. The team of six maintains and constantly works to improve: this website (DCYRs.com), The DCYR “Scene” E-Newsletter (reaching, on a bi-weekly basis, nearly 1,500 young Conservatives and Republicans in the Greater Washington DC Area), and all DCYR social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and more.
James graduated from LeTourneau University in Longview, TX, in 2010 with a B.S. in Psychology, and Minors in History and Political Science. At LeTourneau, James was heavily involved in the student government, holding offices in several major campus organizations including terms first as Student Body Vice President, and later as Student Body President. Through these positions, James accumulated considerable experience in research, leadership, and organizational development.
Professionally, James serves as Executive Director of Judicial Action Group, where he orchestrates and executes the day-to-day operations of Judicial Action Group. His first involvement with judicial projects dates back to 2005 when he served as an administrative assistant for a coalition of organizations lobbying in support of the now current U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He served in a similar capacity during the confirmation hearings of Associate Justice Samuel Alito.
Vice Chair of Events Jen Stello
Jen Stello grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia and graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia before moving to Washington, DC in 2008. She quickly became active in the local party and was turned on to the DC Young Republicans shortly thereafter joining the events committee at her third meeting. Professionally, Jen works in an administrative capacity at a local small business in DC however she spends most of her energies volunteering her time in her community and with political organizations like the YRs.
An active volunteer and Ward 1 Chairman for the DC GOP, Jen was inducted as a member of the DC Republican Committee in 2010 and has been on the Lincoln-Douglass Dinner planning committee for both the 2011 and 2012 dinners and coordinated the silent auction for 2012. Lucky to live in a great neighborhood just south of the U street corridor, she’s an active member of her community attending ANC, PSA, and Neighborhood Association meetings and was elected in November 2011 as secretary of the Westminster Neighborhood Association.
Jen Stello has been a member of the DC Young Republicans since 2009
