Fitzroy Holt’s soulful music will leave you with hope and recognition. For someone who thinks everyone has been a bastard at some point he is very generous, giving back to organizations for kids with cancer and mental health. Read on to learn more about Fitzroy Holt.
Evan Smith (he/him) is a Gen Z democratic socialist candidate running from southern Maryland running for Delegate. He is the communications director of the Young Democrats of Southern Maryland. A former D2 track athlete, Evan is primarily focusing on public transit and the affordability crisis in his campaign. Should he be elected, he will be the youngest delegate and the only one born in the 21st Century.
From Madrid to Nashville Juana Everett has captured our hearts with her soft Americana vibe, with a little bit of Spanish flair. You wont regret letting her music wash over you and take you along on her journey as you read on to learn more about her, her music, and her volunteer work with World Central Kitchen.
Ericka Kopp (she/her), is a multi-racial (Black, Hispanic, and white) bisexual millennial attorney in suburban Richmond. Ericka has worked in the Richmond Public Defender’s Office and Wrongful Convictions Clinic, getting a wrongfully imprisoned man released. A 2026 Courage Candidate, this ice hockey player is centering her campaign on free universal healthcare (Medicare for All) and free public education from pre-K through post-secondary schooling.
With the rise of online sales and the allure of new trends, it’s easy to fall into the cycle of buying, wearing and discarding clothes. Fast fashion relies on this constant consumption, and it takes a toll on the environment, from resource depletion to overflowing landfills.
Yuh-Line Niou (she/her), is a former New York Assemblywoman who is currently running for State Senate. This queer millennial was the first openly autistic representative in the New York State legislature. Born in Taiwan, she is an anti-poverty advocate and activist who has fought predatory lending and red-lining in New York’s neighborhoods. Yuh-Line has taken progressive stances on many issues, including Medicare for All, Taxing the Rich, the Green New Deal, and Abolishing ICE.
After learning her family history Hilary Giovale made an important decision to do better than her relatives. As a sensitive soul she understands the damage white settlers did to the natives and the blacks that were enslaved along the way. She wants to help others understand this history as well through her book, Becoming a Good Relative. Please read on to learn more about Hilary Giovale and her journey.
Amaris Dordar (she/her) is a younger millennial and Chicana mujer. Born at the very tail end of the millennial generation, she is a first-generation college graduate, having gone to Yale for her Bachelor’s and Harvard for her Master’s. Amaris is an attorney who speaks multiple languages, including Spanish (fluently), as well as Mandarin, Hindi, and Tibetan. A lover of yoga and hiking, she passionate about affordable housing, environmental sustainability, wildfire prevention, LGBTQ+ equality, expanding access to healthcare and mental health services, and creating economic opportunities for working families and small business owners. Exploring Los Angeles’ diverse cultural communities has focused Amaris on practical, community-centered solutions to homelessness and climate resilience across Los Angeles County.
Mai Khoi went from golden album pop star to exile just for standing up for the rights of her people in Vietnam. As Americans we take for granted our right to free speech and to protest. But we now have Mai Khoi helping us to fight to keep that right in America too. Mai Khoi has some of the most incredible rang of a singer I have ever heard. Her songs range from metal banshee to jazz to surreal art. With her new album, Five Years in Exile, just coming out you don’t want to miss it or seeing her live, if you can. But for now, read on to learn more about this absolutely fascinating woman and her art!
America is supposedly the land of opportunity, although it doesn’t feel like that nowadays. But that opportunity is not gone. Shonique Williams (she/her), is a perfect example of that. Raised by a disadvantaged mother on welfare, Shonique was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned while trying to escape an abusive relationship. She fought against her imprisonment and was released after a year. In the aftermath, she founded an advocacy organization to help prevent the same thing that happened to her from happening to others.
This millennial progressive advocate is running on a platform centered on civil rights, with a focus on Black, Brown, and marginalized communities, alongside economic justice and making California more affordable and sustainable for everyday people. Her top priorities include affordability, sustainability, and criminal justice reform, including living wages, affordable housing expansion, Medicare for All, and universal childcare and pre K, but her wide platform includes abolishing ICE, ending mass incarceration, and protecting California’s natural environment.
From milky vocals to lyrics that touch your soul, Danni Nicholls will wrap her music around you with her songs that will inspire your own journey. When Danni isn’t creating music or living through the experiences that inspire her music, she is advocating for kids, the arts, or playing at benefits. To learn more about Danni Nicholls, please read on!
Late last year, voters in California voted to enact a mid-cycle redistricting campaign. This means that California’s US Congressional districts would be re-drawn to enact fairness and balance out Republican power grabs across the country. US Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley was moved from the 3rd District to the 6th District. In California’s election system, the top two candidates in a primary election move forward to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Today, Lauren Babb Tomlinson (she/her), is running for this seat. A millennial mother, Lauren is also a Chief Public Affairs Officer for Planned Parenthood. Lauren’s platform centers on expanding access to healthcare, strengthening protections for women and workers, and preventing price gouging.
After eight years, there is a wholesale changing of state government in California this year. Both the governor and lieutenant governor positions are open, and there is a large group of candidates for both offices. Today we are interviewing Janelle Kellman (she/her), a gay woman who is the former mayor of Sausalito. She is an environmental attorney and the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Center for Sea Rise Solutions. A passionate climate justice warrior, Janelle points out that the Lieutenant Governor sits on the State Lands Commission and the Coastal Commission. The lieutenant governor also sits on the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University Board of Trustees, and the Commission for Economic Development. Through these positions, Janelle plans to use the power of the office to to advance climate resilience, public education, housing, good jobs, and a more equitable economy.
This cycle, we are profiling another candidate, Angela Gonzalez-Torres (she/her), a Chicana millennial and community organizer in Los Angeles. She is running in the Congressional district that represents both Downtown and East Los Angeles. After time working on the Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee, and in the LA Mayor’s office, this district native is now running a grassroots, student-led, community-informed campaign to face the challenges of the highest costs of incarceration, the dirtiest air in Los Angeles County, and the largest number of eviction notices in the city. Angela’s top campaign issues include housing for all, economic dignity and security, healthcare for all, climate action, education and youth empowerment, immigration reform and community advocacy, and a pro-peace foreign policy.
Mexican-American artist Mariel Méndez (MARALOVE) views art as a way to understand the world around her. She utilizes painting, photography, and styling as her means of expression. For her, inspiration can be found within emotion and intuition. Passionate about ocean conservation, she’s worked with organizations like Azul and Kilómetro Uno. To learn more about MARALOVE and her art, read on.
In the 2024 presidential election, South Texas (particularly the Rio Grande Valley), voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, after over 100 years of voting solidly Democratic. The reasons were myriad: overwhelming inflation and a sputtering local economy, Trump’s machismo appealed to young male voters in the region, and widespread exhaustion with decades of illegal immigration. Well, we see what Trump’s presidency has wrought: increasing inflation and a sputtering local economy, a deranged machismo bordering on reckless insanity, and the wholesale deportation of both undocumented and documented immigrants alike (as well as several US citizens) from the Rio Grande Valley.
Esmeralda Cantu-Castle (she/her) is running to change all that. Esmi was first encouraged to run for political office in the aftermath of the brutal murder of her daughter, a Navy Seaman, last year, by a fellow sailor who kept her body for four days before dumping it in the woods behind an elementary school in Norfolk, Virginia. Esmi is passionate about supporting others, particularly workers, families, and veterans. This millennial mom is running to ensure that women in her district are afforded access to contraception and reproductive healthcare. Dismayed at how Elon Musk’s SpaceX corporation has willfully polluted South Texas, she is also running on a strong environmental platform that protects both the land and water of the Rio Grande Valley.
Singaporean singer-songwriter Charlie Lim recently released his new single “Nobody’s Home,” an intensely vulnerable track that offers a taste of his upcoming album “DAYDREAM.” The album is set to release towards the end of this year and touch on themes of regret and responsibility. Beyond music, Lim is an active advocate for cancer, supporting organizations like Singapore’s Children’s Cancer Foundation and Make-A-Wish Singapore. To learn more about Charlie Lim and his upcoming album, read on.
This article is about Caitlyn Gegen (she/her), a Gen-Z graduate of the University of Georgia and resident of Suwanee, and our best fight against Andrew Clyde. Caitlyn’s top three political issues are human rights, affordable living, and universal healthcare. She says, “by human rights, I mean the right to vote, a woman’s right to her own body, and the right to due process. To protect all of these rights, we need representatives who will bring an inclusive approach to policy making, and are willing to improve the democratic institutions in our country.” Caitlyn’s platform includes raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, pushing for universal healthcare, investing in clean energy projects across Georgia, and breaking up corporate monopolies to help small businesses and consumers.
London-based alternative duo Joel X Eleanor is a distinctive collaboration. Their most recent release, a double single release tilted “Garden Plot / Something Strange,” lean into differing ideas about love, creating an addictive push and pull. Beyond music, the two are passionate advocates for animals, contributing monthly donations to organizations like Cats Protection and Dogs Trust. To learn more about Joel X Eleanor and their new music, read on.
Lilliana Young (she/her) is a millennial trans woman who identifies as a Democratic Socialist. Describing herself as “extremely gay”, she does not shy away from the LGBTQ+ label, in a state that is generally not friendly to the LGBTQ+ community. But that is not deterring her. As a member of the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission (BMCHRC), Lilliana is invested in expanding socialist policies in Indiana, from public housing options, to expanding and strengthening state Medicaid, and she has also had success strengthening local protections for LGBTQ+ persons in her hometown of Bloomington. A bass guitarist, she has technical experience as a writer and script editor, trailer editor, music producer, marketing lead and community manager in indie game development. Lilliana is basing her campaign around six main issues: wage and worker’s rights, access to housing, access to health care, strengthening public education, accountability of government and human rights.
Indie-pop artist Will Hyde released his new single, “better without me,” an emotional collaboration with singer-songwriter Stephanie Poetri. The single is a raw reflection of the decision of whether to let go or not in a relationship. Beyond music, Hyde is an avid advocate for mental wellness and even created his own video series titled “Really Mental.” To learn more about Will Hyde and his new music, read on.
We are pleased that this cycle, there are so many young progressive women running for elected office in the Indiana legislature (we have profiled several so far)! This week we are adding Kirsten Root (she/her) to that number. A bisexual Gen-Z social worker, Kirsten wants to restore trust and humanity to government. The values that guide her are service, partnerships, integrity, dignity, competence, and social justice. Kirsten’s platform includes universal healthcare, legalization of marijuana, empowering and protecting marginalized communities, strengthening labor unions, and focusing on prevention and rehabilitation over punitive treatment.
Actress, producer, and filmmaker Brittany McVicker stars as Emma in “Terri Joe: Missionary in Miami,” a film that was just listed in a Variety top 10 list. She’s also slated for a lead role in the upcoming thriller Kill Trip set to release this summer. Beyond the screen, she’s a passionate advocate for the Vasculitis Foundation. To learn more about Brittany McVicker and her upcoming projects, read on.
Indiana is known as one of the most solidly Republican states in the country. But it does not necessarily need to be. Indiana has a long and proud tradition of manufacturing, supported by labor unions who made the state a notable center of steel production, automotive production, pharmaceuticals, and other heavy manufacturing. Indiana is a state with a large working-class population, and in recent years the rights of working-class people have been rolled back by Republican governors and the legislature through weakening of labor unions’ strength (becoming a right-to-work state in 2012), cutting food aid, and cutting access to child care.
Victoria Martz (she/her) is a bisexual millennial criminal defense lawyer who grew up on a farm in rural southeastern Indiana. Her experiences on the farm taught her the value of hard work and the dignity of owning one’s own labor. Victoria’s campaign focuses on workers’ rights, the legalization of marijuana (building tax revenue for the state to expand social programs), and creating public service programs for mental health.
In a time in history when every turn feels bleaker than the next there is a ray of hope emerging to help ride us in this fight to do good and care about each other. The Neighborhood Kids started out as just kids who wanted to make hip hop, but they couldn’t stay quiet to the injustices in the world. Now they are know as, and perfectly named their first album, the “Voice of the Revolution”. And with 233K followers on Instagram alone and millions of views, this generation is listening and ready. We are hungry and tired of the injustice, and there is nothing like a good beat to get us amped up to take on the world. Because if we don’t do it, no one will. Read on to get to know the Neighborhood Kids, their music, and the many nonprofits they work with better.
New York’s progressives are not all concentrated in the city. They exist all over the state, particularly in upstate New York cities like Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Ithaca, and Binghamton. Dan Livingston (he/him), a millennial former city councilmember, dropped out of college during the Iraq War in the early 2000s and hitchhiked across America and Canada for two years. Dan’s despair over the war turned to resolve, and he returned to college and became politically active. He founded a Habitat for Humanity chapter, organized relief trips to hurricane-hit Louisiana and Mississippi, and worked for several organizations which provided meals to the hungry. In later years he protested at the Occupy Wall Street and Standing Rock protests.
On the Binghamton city council, Dan advocated for collective bargaining rights, creating apprenticeship programs in public schools to encourage young people to go into the trades, and he successfully fought back against a privatization scheme at a wastewater treatment plant, keeping the workers there unionized. Today, his platform is fourfold: taxing the rich, providing clean water for all, ensuring affordable housing, and protecting immigrants from ICE. Dan is running on the Working Families Party ticket, and he has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders.