50 State Strategy Success Story: Organizers in Nebraska

Our 50 State Strategy is putting local organizers on the ground all over the country. Here are two organizers hired recently in Nebraska:

Ian Russell is originally from a small town in western Michigan. He came west in 2003, first working as a field organizer on Howard Dean's presidential campaign in Iowa, then running the Democratic Party's field operations in Lancaster County during the 2004 election cycle.

Ian became statewide Field Director in December, tasked with working with county parties and grassroots activists across Nebraska to rebuild the NDP from the bottom up. He also works with Democratic candidates, helping them set up their campaigns and develop strategic plans.

Before coming to Nebraska, Ian traveled extensively, gaining valuable life experience working as an artist on several archeological digs in the Middle East, as a handyman at an orphanage in Honduras, studying German in Austria, traveling through Europe, and visiting places as diverse as Cuba.

Carmyn Egge is a native of South Dakota. She is a 2003 graduate from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD with majors in Spanish, Government and International Studies. Through a program offered at Augustana, she was able to study in Argentina, Cuba and Guatemala.

Carmyn interned in US Senator Tom Daschle's office in college and worked for his re-election campaign, first in Sioux Falls and then in Watertown.

She will be moving to Nebraska in mid-July to help the Nebraska Democratic Party organize in the state's rapidly-growing Latino community and organize and develop a lasting Democratic infrastructure.