Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Breana Zwart

Breanna Zwart

Budget and Finance Committee Consultant, City of San Diego, Councilmember Tony Young

Breanna Zwart has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She is currently working for the City of San Diego as the Budget and Finance Committee Consultant. Breanna has a diverse background in political science, drama, and education.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Attorney, Brown & Winters

Elizabeth Taylor is an environmental attorney with the firm Brown & Winters where she represents California public entities as well as environmental non-profit organizations. She manages the firm’s pro bono legal program and specializes in coastal resources and Clean Water Act cases. Elizabeth began her legal career as a fellow with the United States Marine Mammal Commission where she worked on domestic and international marine policy issues. Prior to law school she worked as a marine biologist for various NGOs in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Australia. Elizabeth graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. She received her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School, with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law. Elizabeth currently chairs the Encinitas Environmental Advisory Commission.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Elizabeth Newman

Elizabeth Newman

Labor to Neighbor Field Organizer, San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council

Elizabeth Newman is the Labor to Neighbor Field Organizer for the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. She is from both Minnesota and Colorado, where she grew up snowboarding and singing. She graduated with her B.A. from Macalester College, in St. Paul, MN in 2007, majoring in Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. There she developed her real passion for social justice and equal rights. Her first major political action was when she joined 50 other students and activists on a 24-hour bus to Washington, D.C. to join the 2004 March for Women’s Lives. After college, she worked to elect Senator Al Franken as the Volunteer Coordinator and then the Political Coordinator for his campaign; among the many things she learned, she was thrilled to find out that both she and Al love the Minnesota State Fair. Outside of the office, Elizabeth enjoys cooking and hiking with her dog.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Vivian Moreno

Vivian Moreno

Broker Buyer, Industrial Metal Supply

Born and raised in San Diego, Vivian Moreno attended and earned her Bachelor’s Degree at UCSD in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations.

Vivian is a Broker Buyer at Industrial Metal Supply a top leading Metal distribution facility that provides alloy needs for the South Western region of the U.S. She is a certified Internal Auditor for the International Organization for Standardization.

Devoted to her community Ms. Moreno is currently an Assistant Director for Hermanitas, a one-on-one non-profit Latina mentorship program of MANA de San Diego. Vivian also has been mentoring a young lady from San Diego County (15 yrs old) for the past three years in the program. She was awarded 2009 MANA Member of the Year. Vivian was also one of the pull of nominated individuals for best Individual Volunteer Efforts in the 1st Annual Classy Award by Stay Classy San Diego. She is also an active member of the San Diego Young Democrats. Vivian was a volunteer for Council President Benjamin Hueso in his campaign for city councilmember in district 8.

In her leisure time, Vivian finds pleasure in reading, traveling, and giving back to her community. She is very found of the unknown and has a deep appreciation for diversity. Vivian is a passionate sports enthusiast who enjoys running, practices yoga and always cheers for her San Diego Chargers and Padres.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Carlos Mejia

Carlos Mejia

Political Organizer, AFSCME Council 36 –Local 127

Carlos Mejia is the Political Organizer for AFSCME Council 36 –Local 127, the public employees Union that represents the blue-collar workers of the City of San Diego. Prior to working at AFSCME, Carlos served as an intern at the Bi-National Center for Human Rights in Tijuana, Mexico, investigating and recording human rights violations in the Tijuana Border Region. He is a graduate of San Diego State University, with a dual degree in Political Science & International Security and Conflict Resolution. Carlos is also a State delegate to the California Democratic Party as well as an alternate for the Democratic Party’s 78th Assembly District.

He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of operations for the San Diego Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration Committee, an organization committed to preserving the legacy, principles, and values of Cesar E Chavez through education and civic activism. Carlos is also a co-chair of Fiesta Del Sol a free two-day street festival celebrating the history, diverse cultures, and engagement of the people of San Diego. It is an event focused on creating positive change by empowering our communities. As a co-chair of Fiesta Del Sol, Carlos is a member of the executive board of Justice Overcoming Boundaries, an organization whose mission it is to invest in the development of community leaders so that they may address issues that affect them, their families and their communities.

Carlos is also a proud Brother of Nu Alpha Kappa Fraternity inc. at San Diego State University. He lives in the College Area neighborhood of San Diego.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Alex Hunsucker

Alex Hunsucker

Senior Product Manager, Eventful.com

Alex Hunsucker is a Senior Product Manager at Eventful.com. He has worked at Eventful since 2006 developing Internet products, building strategic business relationships and leading a technical team in the event and social media space. In early 2007, he launched Eventful Politics, a unique social media platform enabling voters to discover, share, and create grassroots political events. The end result enabled millions of voters to engage directly with candidates and influence their campaign schedules.

Since the election, Alex has focusing on user engagement and discovery in the event and live entertainment space, most recently developing Eventful Movies. He continues to work at the intersection of politics and technology, consulting for various campaigns and organizations, as well as giving presentations and participating on related panels.

Previously, Alex worked on several state and local political races in Virginia before moving to San Diego in 2006. He holds a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and attended the Graduate Program in International Studies at Old Dominion University.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.

Meet the 2010 NLC Fellows: Aaron Frieberg

Aaron Frieberg

Associate, Latham & Watkins

I have been intermittently involved in San Diego politics for about eight years. This includes working on the mayoral campaign for Donna Frye, Howard Wayne’s campaign for Assembly in 2001, and more recently the recall campaign in Oceanside this winter. Much of this work was in affiliation with UNITE/HERE, a hotel employees union, and I look forward to continued partnership with them.

The last three years I have pursued a law degree at UCLA. In October of 2010, I will take a position as an associate attorney at Latham & Watkins’ downtown San Diego office. At Latham, I will likely work in the firm’s project finance practice group - we represent creditors that make loans to developers building large energy projects (wind energy farms, power plants, etc). In the meantime, I will be working with local city council campaigns. I also hope to become more involved in advocating for the development and financing of more mass transit in the San Diego region.

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's inaugural fellowship class.