Board
Lindsay Hopkins, Chair
Jamison Power, Vice Chair
Jamison Power currently serves as Vice Chair of the Orange County Young Democrats and as a delegate to the Democratic Party for the 68th Assembly District. Jamison received a B.A. in political science from UC Irvine in 2003. While at UC Irvine, he was instrumental in the founding of the Young Democrats at UC Irvine and served as the club’s Co-Chair. He also founded the Irvine Progressive student newspaper. After graduating college, Jamison was accepted into the Jesse Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program. He worked in the office of Assembly Member Rudy Bermudez (D-Norwalk) for two years, before leaving to attend law school. Jamison received his Juris Doctorate from the UCLA School of Law in 2008, and currently practices as an attorney at Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. in Costa Mesa.
Heather McDonald, Communications Director
Andrea McLean, Finance Director
Julie Meigs, Publicity Director
Julie Meigs has been a member of OCYD since college and is excited to be getting more involved as the Publicity Director. Julie attended Chapman University and earned a degree in Psychology. During her time at Chapman, Julie helped found the Chapman Democrats and later became President of the organization. Under her leadership, and with the help of her amazing board, the Chapman Democrats received the Chapter of the Year award from OCYD and was recognized as an Awesome Club by The Margin magazine. In 2008 Julie was named Woman of the Year by the California Young Democrats. In her professional life, Julie is the Grassroots Political Coordinator for Planned Parenthood in Orange County. In her spare time Julie likes going on nature walks (calling them hikes wouldn’t be totally honest), going to the Irvine Farmers Market, and spending time in the Orange Plaza.
Nick Anas, Political Director
Nick is an Orange County native raised in La Habra. He became politically active during the 2008 Democratic Primaries while attending the University of California Santa Barbara, where he received a BA in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations in June 2008.
After moving back to Orange County in September 2008 he volunteered and became a Canvass Director for the California Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in Santa Ana. After the election he interned for the Democratic Party of Orange County. Nick was elected OCYD Political Director in April 2009 and currently is the Assistant Campaign Manager for the Beth Krom for Congress Campaign.
Jose Angel Vargas, Outreach Director
Jose first became politically active in Las Vegas, NV where he worked vigorously on Senator Obama’s Presidential Campaign in 2008. He attended the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he was active through the Political Science Club and NMUN. After graduating with a BA in Political Science he moved back to his home town of La Habra where he immediately signed up with the Democratic Party of Orange County as an intern. After a few months, Jose was elected as Outreach Director for the Orange County Young Democrats and is the liaison to outside organizations and clubs whose members have the potential to join our group. Politics is his biggest passion since beginning college and continues to become involved within the local community in Orange County. Immigration reform, international affairs and campaign management are just some of the areas of interest that he wishes to pursue in the future.
Jason Bensley, Immediate Past Chair
Jason Bensley became active in the Orange County Young Democrats during the fall of 2005. He was elected Vice-Chair of the organization in 2006 and was elected as the Chair in 2007. His term as Chair ended in April of 2009. Jason is a history major at California State Fullerton and will graduate in December of 2009. He works for the city of Newport Beach at the Mariners Branch of the Newport Beach Public Library. Jason served eight years in the US Army, splitting his time between the Army Reserve and the California National Guard. He was mobilized and deployed to Iraq with his Army Reserve unit in early 2003. Jason was also called upon by the state of California during the summer of 2008 to help with wildfires in the northern part of the state. He has been active with VoteVets.org since 2007 and has lobbied Congress on their behalf. In 2008 he appeared in a television commercial which aired in Virginia.
