Yawntreshia Coleman, community organizer and President of the Birmingham Young Democrats (BYD), has been selected for the Congressional Black Caucus Institute Political “Boot Camp” July 19-27, 2014. Coleman was nominated by Congresswoman Terri Sewell.
“I am very proud of the Birmingham Young Democrats and the hard work that they put in throughout the year to help elect Democrats and grow our party. I am very excited that their president, Yawntreshia Coleman, will represent Alabama’s 7th District at this year’s CBC Boot Camp,” Sewell said. “I know that Yawntreshia will bring the knowledge and skills she learns in Washington back home to make a change for the better in our district and to encourage more young people to get involved in the political process”.
“I am very appreciative of this opportunity,” Yawntreshia Coleman said. “I can’t wait to get back from D.C. and share what I have learned. Everything I learn will definitely help us with our goal of training young democrats to manage campaigns and run for public office in the future”.
The Political Training “Boot Camp” Program is an initiative of the CBC Institute designed to generate a pool of minority professionals who are well-qualified with regard to public and private sector policy and the conduct of political campaigns and issue advocacy.
The Minority Affairs Chair of the Birmingham Young Democrats, Prince Cleveland stated, “This is a tremendous opportunity not only for Yawntreshia, but for Birmingham Young Democrats as a whole. The training and knowledge she will bring back to Birmingham will help BYD in our mission to maintain a vibrant youth movement within the party.”
Coleman also hopes this training helps her build the capacity to turnout the vote for democratic nominees in the November general election. Additionally, she wants to lead successful issue advocacy campaigns and feels this experience will further equip her with the knowledge and skills to be instrumental in improving Alabama public policy.
Alabama Young Democrats (AYD) President Sam Gerard stated, “It is an amazing opportunity that some of our most important AYD players can attend this kind of rigorous political training session. The next decade of political progress in Alabama is dependent on people like Yawntreshia who attend these kinds of programs and bring that invaluable experience back to the ground level to make Alabama as politically competitive as possible”.
The CBCI Political Leadership “Boot Camp” is a highly-acclaimed nine-day intensive program. It is designed to help participants develop the expertise to become the leaders, strategists, and key staff members who will conduct successful candidate and issue campaigns or lead public and private sector policy work.
