Meet Our Management Team

The Young Democrats of Washington is led by the President, with several Vice Presidents who each lead a Department. They all serve on the Executive Board, along with our National Committee representatives, and WSDCC Representative.

President

Spencer Lively

Spencer Lively (he/him, they/them) is a first-generation Senior at the University of Washington where they study Political Economy and French. In the beautiful Skagit Valley, they and their sister were raised in poverty by their single mother. They received no support for their ADHD and almost dropped out of high school as a result. All of these experiences and intersectional identities gave them a passion for improving broken things and the Young Democrats of Skagit County gave them the tools to do so. They now serve as the President of the Young Democrats of Washington because they believe, at their core, that if we’re not at the table advocating for ourselves, no one else will.

In other spaces, you can find Spencer lobbying the legislature on issues of higher education as the Director of Legislative Affairs within the Associated Students of the University of Washington and Vice President of Legislative Affairs within the Washington Student Association, as well as representing the 40th District Democrats in the Washington State Democratic Central Committee.

You can reach Spencer here.

Vice Presidents

LaKecia Farmer, Executive Vice President

LaKecia just recently joined Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods’ Strategic Initiatives Team doing outreach and policy. She served in Seattle City Councilmember O’Brien’s office after being the Data and Campaign Manager for Win/Win, a network dedicated to advancing social, racial, and economic equity throughout Washington State. Previously, she studied Philosophy and Political Science at Washington State University where she served as Vice President of the student body. There, LaKecia focused on community relations, equity in housing, and sexual violence advocacy. At the age of 20, she ran for Pullman City Council to further the relations between the Pullman community and the University.

LaKecia works to develop and empower young people throughout Washington State. She has served as the President of the Young Democrats of Washington and served on the Institute for a Democratic Future board. Outside of work, LaKecia enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest and cheering on women’s rugby.

You can reach LaKecia here.

Mike DeVine, Vice President of Operations

Mike DeVine (he/him) is a web developer based out of Kirkland. A native of Long Island, NY, he is often confused by the strange, friendly ways of the West Coast. Mike was raised in the suburbs along with his younger siblings, attended Suffolk County Community College after high school, and later transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in New Media Interactive Development.

Mike worked for years with various government entities during his time living in Arlington, VA, but was only driven to take political action after the 2016 presidential election scared the complete hell out of him. He joined the Young Democrats because he believes that the problems our society faces are systemic, long-term, and will require a generational effort by individuals driven to secure a future for themselves, and for those who come after.

Mike also currently serves as YDWA’s Tech Director and chair of Nerd Caucus, is an elected Precinct Committee Officer (PCO), is the At-Large Director East for the King County Young Democrats, and is KCYD’s Representative and Tech Committee Chair for the 45th District Democrats.

When he’s not laboring over a hot MacBook, Mike enjoys playing and collecting retro video games, watching the Yankees, Mariners, and Padres, and playing badminton. He is also lucky enough to be cat-dad to Tails, the undisputed Best Cat of Washington State.

You can reach Mike here.

Kurt Price, Vice President of Membership Engagement

You can reach Kurt here.

Matthew Lang, Vice President of Government Affairs

You can reach Matthew here.

Hannah Oliver, Vice President of Communications

You can reach Hannah here.

Party Affairs

The Party Affairs Department is lead by the Executive Vice President, who manages the relationships with the Democratic Party at all levels. All members of this department serve on the YDWA Executive Board.

Capri Holden, National Committee Representative

Capri Holden is a legal assistant with a degree in Biology. Capri loves to travel and spent 2 years living in the gorgeous progressive country of New Zealand. Capri also happens to be the Young Democrats of America Pacific Region Director, keeping us connected with our Pacific team of Alaska, Hawaii, California, Idaho, and she is working diligently to bring back Young Democrat chapters in Oregon and Montana.

You can reach Capri here.

Arne Nelson, National Committee Representative

You can reach Arne here.

Payton Swinford, WSDCC Representative

You can reach Payton here.