Influencers With A Voice
Angel Wong is a product of her mother’s belief that education of all kinds is a gift that should not be taken for granted. Wong is a singer-songwriter with a talent for lyricism and finding the bright side of any of her own life experiences. She fights strongly for the education of children who can’t access it, and expresses her values through her personal music.
Hawaii is known for being one of the most progressive states in the country, but even there, progressives have had to fight their way into the state legislature to ensure equitable representation of all groups and to push progressive policies to move Hawaii forward and better the lives of everyone who lives there.
One such representative is Tina Grandinetti (she/her), a millennial environmental justice activist completing her first term as a Hawaii state representative. After fighting for tenants’ rights against large-scale developers, Tina wrote her doctoral thesis on Hawaii’s housing crisis, which she works on solving every day in the House. Tina is passionate about supporting working families, preventing displacement and gentrification, and is refusing to accept corporate PAC or lobbyist money in her race.
Masia One has spent a lot of her life feeling like a “3rd culture kid” and, now as an established and successful indepedent musician, she has learned to embrace all aspects of her heritage and celebrate her culture through her passion and lyricism. She discusses what it has been like for her making music over decades of her life, the feeling of collaborating on musical pursuits and how women in this industry can and should learn to advocate for themselves and their needs.
This year, Iowa is a swing state! Democrats have the probability of picking up three of the state’s four US Congressional seats, as well as the US Senate seat where there is an election. The Republican party has a supermajority in the Iowa House of Representatives by a single seat: if Democrats win at least 34 seats (they currently hold 33), they will break the Republican supermajority!
One of these Democrats is Elinor Levin (she/her), a queer millennial former teacher who is running for her third term in the Iowa House. Motivated to run for office by legislative attacks on queer people, Elinor is a fighter for numerous causes in the House. An environmentalist since the second grade, and a vegetarian since age 12, Elinor serves on the Environmental Protection committee and is the ranking member on the Natural Resources committee. Elinor supports healthcare for everyone, water/air/soil rights, sustainable energy, and the body autonomy rights of women.
Tiffany Koyama Lane (she/her) got her start as a teacher at Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland, which is where she earned the moniker Teacher Tiffany which she uses to this day. Teacher Tiffany is running for re-election to Portland’s city council. This millennial democratic socialist is the first city council Vice President in Portland’s history, as well as the first Asian-American woman member on council. Tiffany is passionate about environmental justice as social justice, strong labor contacts, safe streets, and healthy communities.
Sarah Louise is a UK-based songwriter specializing in contemporary pop. Through her music, she has found a way to support charities such as Cancer Research UK and Sands, as well as organizations like St Helena Hospice, The Royal British Legion, and Chain, while performing at numerous fundraising and community events and forging a path of humanitarian aid through song.
To break the supermajority, one Democratic candidate who needs to win is Bride Rose Sweeney (she/her/hers), a current state representative representing West Cleveland and its western suburbs. First elected at age 25, this millennial has been in office for eight years and was the youngest Democratic member in the House during her first term. In 2022, she received an award from the Ohio Election Officials Association as a leading voice for democracy and voting rights. Bride is most passionate about funding schools fairly, eliminating political corruption, and investing in public transportation.
As the founder of the viral site Plants With Krystal, Krystal Duran has dedicated herself to more than just content creation; she has built a community where plants are not merely decor but living beings that grow alongside us, they are companions from the moment a seed germinates through maturity, and through the love and grief that accompany life. She has cultivated a philosophy of life rooted in love and growth, shaping both how she lives and how she connects with others, by that, she channels the wisdom plants have given her into serving her community, supporting causes such as youth and children with special needs, as well as Food Finders and local food-access initiatives.
Storey Littleton is a singer-songwriter with big ambitions of uplifting female artists and providing them with resources and venues to succeed. Her Lilith Scare event is an invention of her and her team that supports charities associated with reproductive rights, immigrants rights, and more.
In June of this year, Claire Valdez, a Democratic Socialist, won the nomination for US Representative from Brooklyn. The neighborhood of Fort Greene helped her triumph in her primary. This progressive neighborhood also falls in the State Assembly district of Phara Souffrant Forrest (she/her), another democratic socialist in the New York State House. This millennial won her seat in the fall of 2020, after she joined the Crown Heights Tenants Union because her landlord was going to convert her rent-stabilized apartment into luxury condos. A maternal health nurse, Phara is currently 9 months pregnant with her second child, and she is running on a campaign of single-payer healthcare, with her highest priority being black maternal health. Phara sums up her campaign, “I fight for tenants, immigrants, workers, and everyone who is left out of our capitalist system.”
The strength of the Democratic Party in Georgia is mostly thanks to the large population of politically-engaged African American citizens, mostly concentrated in the Atlanta metro area. Specifically, Black women, like Stacy Abrams, Nikki Merritt, and Kim Jackson are the strength of the Georgia Democratic Party. Merritt’s and Jackson’s Senate colleague Sonya Halpern (she/her) is running for re-election. After graduating from college, Sonya moved to New York to start her business career, steadily climbing the ladder. In 2011, President Obama named her to the the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC, making her the chair of the committee three years later. Sonya works to strengthen her community and constituency by advocating for affordable healthcare, consumer protection, and providing pathways to employment for underserved youth.
Joz has quite a few accomplishments over 15 years under her belt, including being the first Chapter Director of Sierra Club San Gorgonio (serving San Bernardino and Riverside Counties), where she advances environmental justice, climate action, and the protection of our public health and natural spaces; National Field Director, Progressive Turnout Project, overseeing voter engagement efforts in key battleground states; National Field Director, Corazón Latino, focusing on public health, environmental protection, and Latino community empowerment; State Director, Mi Familia Vota (Nevada), where she led civic engagement, voter registration, and immigration justice campaigns; and National Campaigner, MoveOn.org, where she championed bold policy change, rapid-response organizing, and digital advocacy.
Forget them Wendy are a musical duo that prioritizes their collaborative efforts in their song writing and dedicates their advocacy to those with disabilities. We get to deep dive with them on their songwriting inspirations, how the two of them met, and what fans can expect from their upcoming album.
Four years ago, we wrote up a profile on the candidate for this district. In 2022, that candidate was Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. At that time, Brian Romero (he/him) was her chief of staff. This year, Jessica decided to run for New York Senate and won her primary in June, and at the same time, Brian ran for Jessica’s Assembly seat, likewise winning the Democratic primary in June.
Brian is a queer Colombian-American millennial and former social worker, psychotherapist, DEI consultant, and social justice activist. Brian has deep roots in his community and is uniquely attuned to the needs of the residents who will be his constituents. Brian’s campaign is held up by three pillars: making the rich pay their fair share, addressing affordability, and protecting our immigrant communities.
In a very special interview, we spoke to humanitarian, physician, activist and proud first-generation American Doctor Sarah Raza. She discusses topics close to her heart like the war in Iran, the importance of mental and physical health, stories and daily tasks from her highly demanding job as a physician in Los Angeles and more. She encourages everyone to be aware and involved in their political climate both locally and on a larger scale, and reminds people that there are always ways, big or small, you can provide support and assistance to those in need.
Caroline Cotter is passionate advocate for her local community and women everywhere. Whether it’s performing small shows for the Cook County Jail in Chicago or working closely with New Hope Midcoast, she uses her passion for songwriting and storytelling to continuously uplift those around her. Make sure to look out for her upcoming album “The Answer” this October.
Jaelynn Scott (she/her) a trans rights activist and transplant from Mississippi, is a democratic socialist and if elected would be one of two serving in the Washington legislature. Jaelynn won over 88% of the vote in her Democratic primary last month and if she wins in the general election in November will be the first trans state representative in Washington’s history and the first Black openly trans state lawmaker elected in the country. Ironically, this fall she will be on the ballot with a conservative-backed initiative to bar transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports. This ordained Buddhist minister is most passionate about investing in Black and Brown communities, LGBTQ+ rights, taxing the rich, universal housing, universal healthcare, protecting the environment, and fighting for the working class.
Bella Lam is a Tennessee girl through and through. She takes inspiration from her hometown, her parents and her favorite country music singers to create songs like “Bootfirst” and “Take It Out on My Guitar” that encapsulate all the powerful emotion country artists wrote about before her. She gives back to her community through charity shows and events, and makes sure she never forgets where she came from!
Jeff Saenz has not let the accident that left him without either of his hands stop him from being the artist he knows he can be. From playing the festival fundraiser for children of Parkland Hospital’s burn unit to training himself to work, write and type with his stylus, he has turned his story into one of perseverance and success. His band Baby Snakes & The Electric Co. is releasing new music now and you can stream at the links below. Read on to learn more!
Renae Geerlings has truly done it all. Acting, producing, writing, both for print and the screen, and now, she’s adding podcasting to her extensive resume with MANE AF. She co-hosts this podcast with her husband and fellow actor Tyler Mane, as they delve into topics ranging from the fast-paced world of Hollywood to parenting adult children. She advocates passionately for animal rights as well as human trafficking awareness, which is a present theme behind her and Mane’s graphic novel, THE LAST SPARTAN.
In the city of Santa Ana, Councilwoman Jessie Lopez (she/her) is running as a Democrat for State Assembly against her fellow councilmember David Penaloza, also a Democrat. A Latina millennial, Jessie got her start in public service as a volunteer with the Public Law Center and as a campaigner against sexual assaults occurring on and around her college campus, before being elected to the Santa Ana City Council in 2020. Jessie is most passionate about and is centering her campaign around affordable housing, Medicare for All, protecting and fully funding public schools, investing in young people, abolishing ICE, advancing environmental justice, expanding economic opportunity, and creating meaningful police accountability.
The road from evangelical megachurch clergy to trans progressive election candidate is an unlikely journey, but it does happen! Joanna Whaley (she/her) is a former pastor at a Michigan evangelical megachurch, but actively undergoing “conversion therapy” for 15 years, during most of her time serving there. Joanna transitioned in 2022 and was forced to leave her church, but has become an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and outspoken critic of Christian nationalism, a world she was immersed in for most of her early millenial adult life.
Joanna was motivated to run after lots of encouragement from local leaders and community members, due to the fact that her current state representative, Tullio Liberati, was one of eight Democrats to vote last year for a Republican measure that would ban trans girls from school sports. Though Tullio is retiring at the end of his term, his older brother Frank decided to run to replace him. It did not turn out well for the Liberati brothers though, as Joanna defeated Frank by almost 25 percentage points. The core of Joanna’s platform is to get utilities in check, pass, single payer healthcare in the state of Michigan, and protect civil rights and freedom for all people. If elected in November, she will become the first trans woman elected to the Michigan legislature, quite a stunning turnaround from the current representation in her district.
Rachel Bochner has been growing, learning and evolving a whole life, as we all do. Her upcoming debut album “I Guess A Sure Thing Couldn’t Go Down Gently” drops on September 25 and details heartbreak, self-discovery and exploring her queer identity and the freedom that comes with that. Bochner wants her queer fans to feel heard and loved by her music, and she raises money and spreads community through her work with The Wild Honey Pie.
The Democratic Socialists are on the rise all over the country, including (unsurprisingly) progressive Oregon. In the Portland area, an anesthesiologist named Dr. Tammy Carpenter (she/her) is an unapologetic Democratic Socialists, having joined in 2016 during the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. Over her 20 years as an anesthesiologist she witnessed patients seeking treatment who couldn’t afford healthcare deductibles or healthcare plans themselves, watching patients drowning in debt. One of the three pillars of her campaign is universal healthcare, as well as taxing the rich and funding the people.
Hawaii is known for being one of the most progressive states in the country, but even there, progressives have had to fight their way into the state legislature to ensure equitable representation of all groups and to push progressive policies to move Hawaii forward and better the lives of everyone who lives there.
One such representative is Kim Coco Iwamoto (s/he, hir, hirs), the first transgender legislator in Hawaii’s history. After two terms on Hawaii’s Board of Education, she ran five consecutive elections before finally unseating Hawaii’s powerful House Speaker, Scott Saiki, who she challenged twice before. A Sansei, hir Japanese grandparents and great-grandparents worked on sugar cane plantations on the island of Kauai and cantaloupe farms in Imperial Valley, California. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and has a BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a juris doctor from the University of New Mexico. This accomplished surfer is passionate about increasing the gas tax to fund free public transportation across the state and imposing a tax on seasonal homes to help fund rent subsidies to make housing more affordable for the working class.
Ashanti Martinez (he/him) is a gay Afro-Latino millennial representative in Maryland’s House of Delegates. Active in politics from his early teenage years, Ashanti comes from a working-class family in Prince George’s County, a majority-Black county outside of Washington, DC. Ashanti attended Howard University, and is passionate about LGBTQ rights, universal healthcare, gun control, and the environment.
Darius Oon is branching out on his own in the music industry. After a childhood of playing guitar and piano and listening to The Beatles with his parents, he’s been a proud member of a number of bands before releasing his first single as a solo artist this past June. Taking inspiration from Djo and Wallows, he describes his sound as having a certain “nostalgic quality.” Oon is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and cancer research, and has worked closely with many organizations that support these causes.
Alonna Berry (she/her), shows a way that Democrats can win over voters in rural areas. This Black millennial is constantly meeting with local leaders and constituents in her district, while always remaining true to her progressive principles, including advocating for protecting reproductive freedom, defending LGBTQ+ Delawareans, advancing racial equity, modernizing public education, expanding affordable housing, strengthening common sense gun safety laws, addressing climate change, and ensuring healthcare is accessible regardless of income or ZIP code. As Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice, Alonna works to advance restorative justice, reduce barriers to opportunity, and strengthen communities across Delaware.
Today we are profiling a Rhode Island Senator who has been championing progressive laws since her election in 2020. Meghan Kallman (she/her), is a triple-sociology major who after college went to work for Amnesty International. Five years before entering state government, she co-founded Conceivable Future, a nonprofit organization that advocates for climate and reproductive justice. This millennial community organizer is also a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and is an avid trumpeter (see photo below). She is most passionate about social, environmental, and economic justice.
At the state level, in the 16th District of the Maine House of Representatives, Nina Milliken (she/her) is the incumbent running for re-election. This millennial single mom of three, while serving the people in her district, is simultaneously working on her Master’s Degree. Nina has made the abolition of the carceral state her signature issue in the legislature.