DNC Delegate Candidate Bios
We have invited all approved candidates for DNC delegate to submit a brief bio and a photo, which we will post here. We will be electing 4 males and 3 females at our convention on April 20.
Female DNC Delegate Candidates
Ariona Miller, Durham
Ariona Miller (she/her/hers) is a low-income student from Kansas. At the young age of 12, Ariona entered the political scene after being recognized by the Kansas League of Municipalities for her essay titled "If I Were Mayor." She fully plunged into local politics after addressing her city council about local issues and became the youngest moderator of local government events in her county’s history. At 14, Ari came out as queer in her rural community and quickly became aware of the issues surrounding the LGBTQ community. In response, she established a Gender & Sexuality Alliance in her high school. Her activism led her to serve on the GLSEN National Student Council and address the Department of Education at a White House Roundtable about issues facing queer students in public schools. Ari also worked alongside her county Democratic Party to bring visibility to issues surrounding youth and/or LGBTQ individuals in rural communities. She currently attends Duke University, where she plans to major in public policy, minor in journalism, and obtain a Child Policy Research certificate. In Durham, she interns for the Durham Democrats and serves on the Precinct 2 executive committee, where she strategizes voter registration and outreach efforts. She conducts child and family welfare policy research as an intern at the National Conference of State Legislatures, a passion she found after getting emancipated from her parents at 15. She is proud to serve as the CEO of Here N Queer, a nonprofit organization that provides education, advocacy, and resources for the LGBTQ community. Ariona wants to pursue a career in politics to help uplift marginalized voices who've been excluded from politics. She also wants to practice child welfare and public interest law to work toward reforming child and social welfare programs, providing incentives for social work, and reexamining modern emancipation.
Bonnie Bevan, Orange
Bonnie Schaefer Bevan is a native of Alamance county. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and worked as a CPA in estate administration for a decade in Raleigh before her two daughters were born. After moving to Chapel Hill, she founded the Southern Neighbor Monthly with her husband and ran it as publisher for twelve years before the Daily Tar Heel took over its publication. She is a founding board member of the Chelsea independent cinema and a Kings Mill precinct chair.
Brenda Pollard, Durham
DNC delegate for Biden, Hillary Clinton, Obama • NCDP: member, Courtesy Committee; former member at large • NFDW: Women in Blue, Legislative Committee, Nominating Committee • DWNC: Woman of the Year, former third vice president, former treasurer • DCDP: former first vice chair, former third vice chair, former interim secretary • Democratic Women of Durham County: member and former president • Appointments by Governors Hunt, Easley, Perdue, and Cooper: NC Banking Commission, NC Board of Architecture, NC Museum of National Sciences, Advisory Commission • former executive assistant to NC Secretary of State,Thad Eure and NC Commissioner of Insurance Jim Long • Order of the Long Leaf Pine: Governor Bev Perdue
As the president of the Senior Democrats of Durham County, I am focused on the important issues of Social Security and Medicare. I am serving as the NC Senior Democrats representative for CD4. We are engaged across the state and passionate about our issues. I want to assist President Biden to keep America as a beacon of light for those seeking a better life. North Carolina must become a BLUE state, if we want to win this election for Biden/Harris. I support our Young Democrats and want to be sure they have the resources they need to bring on a victory. As a lifelong Democrat and a native of North Carolina, I have seen the changes and the impact our state has been making toward a better future for all. We have listened to our rural and urban neighbors to learn and become more involved in a North Carolina pathway to progress. Again, I am eager and excited to become a DNC Delegate for Biden/Harris in Chicago in August 2024. I am asking for your vote.
Diana Robinson, Orange
I am a lifelong Democrat and a dedicated volunteer. I first identified as a Democrat in 3rd grade and wanted to be a US senator. While that didn’t happen, I have supported candidates and the Democratic Party behind the scenes for many years.
I currently serve as your CD4 chair, working hard to support our counties, maintain our communications channels, and elect Democrats across the state and district. I am also vice chair of Eno Precinct and a member of the SEC, NCDPʻs Native American Caucus, and Democratic Women. I previously served as third vice chair for Orange County, where I managed communications and designed popular doorhangers using candidate illustrations.
In Hays County, Texas, where I moved in 2015, I helped reorganize the Democratic Party there, flipping that red county to blue in 2018 and 2020 with our voter education and GOTV efforts. I was the founding chair of the Kyle/Buda-Area Democrats, which became a leading force in the county. The Texas Democratic Party selected me to be one of the state’s presidential electors in 2020.
Prior to that, I lived in Durham for 20+ years and raised my family there. In the early/mid-2000s, I was active with the Durham Democrats and served as an SEC member, precinct chair, and party officer. I was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats of NC in 2004 and founding president of the Durham County Progressive Democrats.
Iʻm a proud graduate of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication and alumna of UNCʻs Carolina Indian Circle. I’m managing editor of Alert Diver magazine and a writer/editor/designer. I’m also a cancer warrior and current survivor.
As a continuation of my leadership and service to the Democratic Party, I would be honored to represent CD4 as a DNC delegate and ask for your vote.
Gina Marie Santore, Durham
I’m Gina Marie Santore, a proud Democrat of Durham County. Throughout a 35-year career, I’ve served Democratic elected officials in every level of government. I served as political director of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council for a union electrician who is now a member of Congress. I’ve been elected as municipal party chair and Durham County Democratic Party secretary, and have served multiple terms on the NCDP State Executive Committee. I have hosted events for many notable Democrats including President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, and President Joe Biden.
In 2016, I watched from the convention floor in Philadelphia as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted our party’s historic nomination as our first female presidential nominee. As a 2020 delegate, I was proud to support Joe Biden as he sought the highest office in the land. Okay, the convention didn’t happen due to covid but we watched on TV.
I’m honored to be selected by the Biden-Harris campaign to seek your selection as a 2024 DNC Delegate. With your support, I’ll report to Chicago in August 2024 to nominate President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee once again. I understand the work of a delegate, and I will proudly represent North Carolina and CD-04 with integrity and character.
I HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE to serve the Democratic National Committee/our party as a 2024 DNC Delegate. VOTE GMS of DURHAM for DNC! Thank you in advance for your consideration. To learn more about me, click here: https://poplme.co/hash/KdIZDwBZ/1/s
Madison Kilgore, Durham
Bio to come
Marian "Cassie" Rice, Orange
A Raleigh native, Cassie grew up engaged in the political process. After many years of volunteering on campaigns from town council to presidential, her first paid campaign was working for Rep. David Price's 2008 reelection. She was then hired to work in Rep. Price's official office, where she worked for the next eight years.
Cassie is the recipient of a master's degree in political science from UNC and a master's degree in European studies from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
Cassie currently serves as the chair of the Orange County Democratic Party and the president of the NC Association of County Chairs. In her role with the NC Association of County Chairs, she serves as a NCDP state officer, representing the chairs across North Carolina on the NCDP board.
Cassie also serves on the executive team for the NC Women for Biden-Harris statewide group and is working on coordinating folks across the state to plug into their local communities to turn NC blue in November!
Nina Morley Daye, Orange
During this election, there is a need to focus on the small towns and rural areas of our country. I helped form and currently help lead the hard working N2N-ROC (Neighbor to Neighbor Rural Organizing Committee) of the Orange County Democratic Party. We focus on building relationships among Democrats, crafting salient messages, sponsoring events and organizing in red-leaning areas of our county. We are happy to share any of our resources with other rural and small towns. I want to serve as a Biden delegate to build relationships so we can connect with other groups and people working to reach rural and small town voters. It’s time to take back and pay attention to these voters who feel left behind.
I grew up in Fayetteville, NC, and attended Appalachian State University. I moved to Orange County in August 1981 to teach at Orange High School, where I taught many different students in a variety of science classes for over 34 years (NBCT, 2006, 2016 AYA physics). Even as a retired teacher, I continue to serve as a lead mentor for the award-winning FIRST Robotics Competition Team 587: The Hedgehogs from Orange and Cedar Ridge High Schools.
Male DNC Delegate Candidates
Aidan Hennessy, Durham
Hi. My name is Aidan Hennessy, and I am Precinct 51 chair with the Durham County Democratic Party. I am asking for you to please vote for me to be one of Congressional District 4’s male delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer for the following reasons.
I like to canvass not just during presidential election years but during midterm and municipal elections years too. Midterm and municipal election years are sometimes referred to as off-year elections. I do not regard them as off-year elections. They are elections that we must vote in to keep our democracy going.
I organized multiple canvasses within my precinct during the 2022 midterms and the 2023 municipal elections. Volunteers, myself included, knocked on over 500 doors within my precinct during the fall 2022 election cycle. Whenever someone answered a door I knocked on, I said that democracy was on the ballot and that voting Democratic for state Supreme Court was a vote against gerrymandering. Subsequently, Cheri Beasley outperformed President Biden in my precinct by 4.6 points.
During the 2023 municipal elections, I organized canvasses within my precinct where we reached out to newly registered Democrats in our precinct to encourage them to vote in the municipal races. Some of these people were 18-year-olds who had just reached voting age. And some of these people were residents who had moved in from out of the area. We reached out to these voters with the idea that if we could encourage them to vote in the municipal races, we could encourage them to vote in this critical presidential election year.
If you are looking for our congressional district to be represented by someone who does voter outreach during presidential, midterm and municipal elections, please vote for me as one of our district’s delegates.
Christian DeJesus, Orange
Hello, I’m Christian DeJesus, and I would love to be a delegate for the DNC Convention in 2024. I am a political science major and have been studying at North Carolina Central University since January 2023. I’ve been living in Chapel Hill since I was 4 years old, and I have always had an interest in politics since I was 7. One of the major events that shaped my interest in politics was when Barack Obama became president. I’ve been involved in several political campaigns over the past three years, such as the campaign to elect Barbara Foushee as mayor of Carrboro in 2023 and the campaign to elect Jonah Garson for NC House in 2022.
I am currently an organizer for the Orange County Democratic Party, where I participate in get-out-the-vote efforts such as canvassing and social media outreach. Also, I have been the vice chair for the Colonial Heights Precinct since 2021. As vice chair, I provide ways to engage new voters and low-turnout voters. Lastly, I bring political issues to the forefront and come up with ways to provide solutions to address those issues to increase voter turnout. I assist the county party by knocking on doors and using social media to achieve these goals. Furthermore, I help find ways to mobilize young voters in Orange County to come out to vote and increase political engagement by getting young people involved in any way possible.
Devin Freeman, Durham
Devin Freeman is a North Carolina Central University senior studying political science. He is passionate about understanding the intersections of law and public policy. He has experience in these related fields by interning for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the US House of Representatives, and the African American Mayors Association, and more. Devin’s goal is to make marginalized people civically active so that they become civically engaged in building political power for communities.
On campus Devin served as class president, vice chair for Young Durham Democrats, and a Democratic precinct chair. He has won several awards such as the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Law and Public Policy Fellowship, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, Harvard PPLC Fellowship, Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society and more. Devin has been accepted into the Master’s in Public Administration program at Cornell and hopes to pursue a Juris Doctorate at Harvard and then shortly enter politics. Devin is from Kernersville, North Carolina.
If Devin is selected as a delegate to represent NC at the Democratic National Convention, he will help elect Joe Biden as the party's nominee for President, adopt the party platform, and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process. Vote Devin Freeman for moving forward unto the change we believe in!
Hart Edmonds, Orange
Growing up in Fayetteville, I learned the meaning of service from family, church, and community. From the WW2 veterans in my church I learned about their sacrifices to defend democracy. Yet that fight for democracy continues in our nation. As the oldest child of a single-parent working mother, I learned firsthand the inequities that women face in providing for their families. Nevertheless, my mother's chief lesson was this: "Never give up! Never, ever give up!" Early on I learned that communities can face or ignore challenges to the original sin of racism. When our public schools were integrated in the late 1960s, I saw firsthand that a community could make progress in overcoming racial bias and division. And yet that fight continues in North Carolina at every level.
As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, I experienced a call to ministry, which combined a progressive faith with a progressive politics. I know the false religion of White Christian Nationalism is a bold lie. It is a distortion of the best of religion, and we Democrats must learn how to confront that lie.
My own education in servant leadership deepened when I left NC after seminary to become director of an urban ministry program in Baltimore. You could say I entered a rigorous postgraduate education in learning the skills of community organizing in Baltimore. Taking the best of a faith grounded in justice and compassion, while joining anyone committed to a just and generous society became the core of my life.
As a pastor of nearly 40 years, I count the blessings of life, and I know what I've always known. My three adult sons and now their own children and my wife, Cheryl, also an ordained pastor, are the passions of my life. I seek avenues of service to make a better world for them.
Richard Kohn, Durham
I’m Dick Kohn, running for delegate to the convention. You could tell from the accent: born and raised in Chicago in a Democrat family, my father a civil-rights lawyer, my favorite aunt—a bacteriologist drafted into the Public Health Service in 1942—settled in Raleigh, worked for the state as a lab inspector, then a professor at Central. My first paying job was as a city worker for the original Mayor Richard Daley.
I moved to Carolina in ’91 and Durham in ’92 to teach military history at UNC. Retired in ’11 but still researching, writing, and speaking professionally as much as I can. A short professional bio is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZd67UluhbHWcK3h5Iih5F8bRjrAVLOa7MnRZJIbhME/edit ; full CV at https://history.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/804/2018/08/Kohn-Curriculum-Vitae.pdf ; and an eighteen-minute video of a speech I gave by Zoom to our convention in 2022 at https://drive.google.com/file/d/15yVlhx_fnqNHKpKdXH4yvil86FfkL0Lj/view. Yeah, I’m an old guy, running in the category of old white male.
But I’ll represent you—ALL of you—and work my tail off. The reason I care so much is that this election will define our future for a generation at least: our friends, loved ones, children and grandchildren! As an historian of our politics and national security, I can tell you that national conventions can be unpredictable, and I think I can, with my understanding of our politics and my speaking ability, be helpful to our delegation and its leadership. I want to make certain that our ticket—Biden and Harris—comes out of that convention with a united party, able and willing—energized—to help our Dems all up and down the ticket, here and nationwide—win. And with a big enough majority to put government on the side of the people, ALL the people, of this great nation.
William "Drew" Marsh III, Durham
William A. “Drew” Marsh III is a Durham native and the son of the late civil rights attorney and former general counsel of the AME Church, William A. Marsh Jr. He is a graduate of Hillside High School, Hampton Institute (now Hampton University, an HBCU), and the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill. Judge Marsh (retired) is currently the senior deputy general counsel for the NC Department of Transportation, where he serves as primary counsel to the NC Division of Motor Vehicles. Before appointment by Gov. Michael Easley as a judge in 2007, Judge Marsh served as assistant legal counsel to Gov. James B. Hunt from 1983 to 1985.
After a short period in private practice in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., he served as assistant Corporation Counsel (Assistant Attorney General) for the District of Columbia as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division from 1987 to 1992. He returned to North Carolina in 1993 and practiced with his father in the firm of Marsh & Marsh. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar as well as the North Carolina Bar and is a past President of the Durham County Bar Association and 14th Judicial District Bar.
Judge “Drew,” as he is affectionately known, is married to Sonja (“Sahn-Jah”) Marsh for approaching 32 years. They have three adult children: Andrew Marsh IV, Kylie, and Nicholas. He enjoys travel, all spectator sports, especially college basketball, movies and when he can get to warmer climes, scuba diving. He describes his golf handicap as “severe.”