"BootCamp changed my life."

That's the most common phrase I hear from Alumni, and it's something I say myself as a member of the inaugural BootCamp class of 2006.

I will never forget the nervous excitement I felt reading all of the bios of my fellow Bootcampers and scanning the very packed seven-day agenda. What on earth was I getting myself into? In short, one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

This Saturday the 2011 BootCamp Class will arrive in DC for their life-changing week and I am so pleased to be able to introduce them to you.

From artists, activists, data nerds, classroom teachers, and recent college graduates, this year's cohort comes to organizing and new media from a very diverse set of experiences. But one thing is consistent, these are all people to watch. You can meet the entire class and read their bios here.

BootCamp isn't just for the participants though and we want to include everyone in the NOI Community in the fun.

As always, Bootcampers will be in teams running exciting campaigns and pushing the bar higher for other organizers. From July 2-9, teams will be building websites, writing engaging emails, creating an integrated field campaign plan and running a GOTV operation for the final "debate" party on Friday, July 9th. You can not only watch, but engage with the campaigns and the BootCampers throughout the week, which is part of the learning experience that makes BootCamp unique. You'll only receive emails from the teams from July 4-9th while the training is taking place.

Be a part of BootCamp - sign up now to watch the campaigns take shape!

Lola Elfman BootCamp Director Class of 2006

Angelines Alba Lamb has over 15 years experience in the non-profit sector, working as a youth coordinator, a housing rights organizer, and a fundraiser. In her role as a Program Manager for Campaigns and Projects at Slow Food USA, she supports the leaders of Slow Food in their work of creating a good, clean, and fair food system. She was born and raised in the Bronx by a Panamanian mother -- an elementary school teacher -- which explains her love of the Yankees, hip hop, collective bargaining, and carimañolas. She grew up marching for farm workers' rights and against police brutality, learning early on about the power that lies in collective action for social change. Her passion for good food that is grown and harvested in sustainable ways can be traced through her ancestors who stewarded the land of two continents for thousands of years.

Rosa Alvarez is an online organizer for United We Dream, the first and largest DREAM Act network in the country. A DREAMer herself, she understands very well the struggles undocumented youth face on an everyday basis and is committed to advocating for the rights of herself and her peers. Although she is new to the online organizing world, she is a fast learner! Through the online work she does with United We Dream, Rosa helps to stop the deportations of undocumented students across the country and informs the public about the DREAM Act. She also works closely with United We Dream's affiliate online organizers to provide them with the necessary tools and training to mobilize their organizations locally. Through NOI's New Media BootCamp, Rosa hopes to gain a better understanding of how to mobilize people online to take action. She hopes that one day undocumented youth all over the country will have the opportunities they deserve to achieve their dreams. When not working online, Rosa enjoys running and spending time with her loveable dog named Dream.

Sarah Baker hails from Brooklyn, NY where she has been working hard over the past few years to reform the Tammany Hall style local Democratic machine. Along with her colleagues from New Kings Democrats -- a local grassroots political group dedicated to unsexy, but important, process-oriented reforms -- Sarah is part of a vibrant and growing movement in Kings County (a.k.a. Brooklyn) to bring greater accountability, transparency and competency to the largest local Democratic organization east of Chicago.

After honing her skills on borough-wide and city-wide races in 2009, last year Sarah served as Campaign Manager for Lincoln Restler, an insurgent State Committee candidate who beat the local machine's hand-picked hack and caught the attention of the New York Times and the White House. Sarah is looking forward to 2012 & 13 when she hopes to employ the skills she picks up at New Media BootCamp to elect even more progressive candidates to​ local office in NYC.

In the political "off season," Sarah pays the rent by freelancing as a graphic designer at BakerBK.com. When she's not working, Sarah likes to paint, listen to Springsteen, and make Star-Wars-themed movies with her awesome nephews.

Eliza Bates is a Senior Communications Coordinator with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, where she's spent the past two years spearheading communications campaigns in New York and New Jersey. She uses new media in most of her campaigns, including YouTube videos profiling healthcare workers, campaign microsites and Google ads.

She completed her Master of International Affairs with a media and communications concentration at Columbia University where she was one of three people in her class whose parents didn't go to college. While in the Ivory Tower, she gained international experience as an intern with Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand and as a fellow with a Palestinian labor rights organization in Ramallah, Palestine. She reported on the Myanmar cyclone from Bangkok and witnessed the fall of the Palestinian unity government from her small apartment in downtown Ramallah.

When not faced with international or New Jersey crises, Eliza runs and writes. She's a member of Brooklyn Writers Space and is working on a series of short stories that take place in rural Northern California where she was born.

Tameka Bell is the Media Relations Coordinator for the PICO National Network, a group of faith-based community organizers whose issue work includes health care access, immigration reform and foreclosure relief.

Tameka is a Kansas City native, where sadly, she has never run into Dorothy or Toto. She did, however, spend four years as the communications organizer for Communities Creating Opportunity, an affiliate of the PICO National Network. There she transformed the organization's media coverage from a few hits per year to more than 50 credentialed media hits in one year.

She began her career as a newspaper reporter and honestly believes that every person has at least one story to tell. She graduated from the University Of Missouri School Of Journalism when the "world wide web" was considered new media. She is excited to be a part of the NOI boot camp and hopes to turn her love of storytelling, interest in social media and passion for social justice into dynamic wins for the people that make up the PICO National Network.

Abby Blum is a native of New York, but will always have a soft spot in her heart for the Granite State. Currently, she works in the Political Department of the PCCC helping the organization with their endorsement process and guiding campaigns in the early stages of the election cycle. After graduating from Middlebury College, she organized in the northern suburbs of New York City, and throughout the upper Hudson Valley. After working on several campaigns in her hometown and surrounding areas, she set off to New Hampshire to serve as Annie Kuster's Field Director in her race for NH's Second Congressional Seat. She experienced the joy of working for a bold progressive candidate, managed a staff of 10, and won a competitive primary by 42 points. Abby is a true believer of bringing offline and online organizing together to win campaigns.

Allie Carter is a fellow with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. She started her career in online communications managing social networking outreach for Avaaz.org, and interned with Greenpeace USA's Online Organizing team. She also worked in the new media department at the Alliance for Climate Protection. She is passionate about progressive politics, and is always looking to learn more about the best practices in new media.

Allie spent her time in undergrad studying cultural politics, organizing and competing in Model United Nations conferences, and working for SCOUT BANANA, a student-run non-profit supporting health care projects in Africa. Her other interests include all things Michigan, traveling, and Reddit.

Emily Dalton is a born and raised Wisconsinite, and currently finds herself in the middle of a movement that has captured the nation. She is the new media coordinator and regional field desk for the We are Wisconsin campaign, and finds inspiration every day from her family and the people who serve to better Wisconsin and its future. She has chosen to embrace Wisconsin's progressive tradition by getting her start in politics and public service with former Senator Russ Feingold. After working and learning from the best team of field organizers and #feinnerds, she hopes to mix her passion for organizing with her love of new media and communications. When she's not checking the #wiunion newsfeed, she loves to read food blogs, play tennis, hit the dance floor, and put on her running shoes to see the very best of what the world has to offer.

Courtney Darrow is the Development and New Media Coordinator for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina in 2007, Courtney has worked with SACE to launch a rebranded website, dynamic blog, and full array of social networking tools. Whether it is facilitating SACE's monthly webinar series, creating video testimonials or sending out action alerts and eNewsletters, Courtney continues to help create opportunities for individuals to understand their personal relationship with energy production and consumption. In 2009, Courtney took leadership roles at SACE, spearheading the civic engagement program and serving as the organizational representative for Blueprint North Carolina and ISSI Florida. In 2011, she was asked participate in the development of SACE's diversity committee and staff training, an internal work-team committed to the principal that, clean, safe and healthy communities should be a right for all, not a privilege reserved for few.

Courtney began organizing as facilitator of Broward County's GLBT Youth Group in 1999 and further developed as a student organizer with VOX, Planned Parenthood on Campus. Courtney's personal commitment to environmental and social stewardship is what fuels her to work everyday. Courtney also has a passion for good food, good laughs and Chinese history. Outside of the office, Courtney can be found volunteering for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, kayaking on the Natahala, or spending time with her friends and family.

Caroline Dean is a college student who first became interested in politics while interning on the Ned Lamont for Senate campaign. Since then she has developed an interest in good government issues, helping to write legislation that would apply disclosure laws to independent expenditures for the first time in Rhode Island and advocating for full, public financing of elections in Rhode Island.

Michael Dixon got his start in LGBT and AIDS activism with ACTUP-NY, and 20+ years later, has most recently been a State Lead and organizer with GetEQUAL-DC. In between he was trained as an AIDS Information Specialist by the Centers for Disease Control, served on the Board of GLYNY (Gay & Lesbian Youth of New York), was President of the Gay & Lesbian Union of New York University, Co-President of The Ten Percent Society at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Co-President of The Student AIDS Coalition at NYU, and threw monthly parties for inmates with AIDS at Rikers Island Prison. Prior to his LGBT and AIDS work, Michael worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee part-time for over five years, and was asked by the House Majority Whip at the age of 19 to join him on the Hill as Special Assistant to the Majority Whip - a job which gave him direct contact with Members of Congress daily. Michael recently spent 15 years assisting attorneys in Manhattan. He is looking forward to continuing to challenge Americans at every level of politics, business, and religion to be more inclusive, to challenge their own stereotypes and prejudices, and to do the right thing.

Travis Donoho is the organizing director for Education Austin, an affiliate of both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association which organizes and represents Austin Independent School District employees. Despite a Texas state law prohibiting collective bargaining for public school employees, Education Austin has 3,500 members (equaling one-third of the workforce) and is the elected consultation agent for district employees.

First elected a local union officer in 1977, Travis has worked as an organizer, lobbyist, and/or organizing director for the Communications Workers of America in Texas and Oklahoma and seven years for AFT/NEA in Austin. He has organized workers as diverse as Austin school teachers, Texas child protective service workers, graduate teaching assistants at universities, and Oklahoma correctional officers. After participating in the 1999 protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization, he served as executive director of the Texas Fair Trade Coalition during the Congressional debate over most favored nation trade status for China.

​ A native Texan and a 30-year Austin resident, Travis is as proud of Austin's music scene as he is embarrassed by his state's governor.

Ben Dotson is a passionate political organizer, digital evangelist and Tennessean by way of Michigan. He has experience in both advocacy and electoral campaigns and has worked or volunteered for candidates from the bottom of the ticket to the top in a variety of capacities- such as new media, field, speechwriting and copywriting. He has been trained by the Michigan Democratic Party, the Human Rights Campaign, Democracy for America, Campus Progress and Democratic GAIN.

An advocate for youth empowerment in the political process, Ben nurtured his political career as Co-President of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Central Michigan University (CMU), as an Advocacy Co-Chair for the College Democrats at CMU and on the Detroit Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign. While at CMU, he worked tirelessly to empower those around him by organizing leadership trainings, trips to national political conferences and on-campus educational events. An active public speaker, he has given guest lectures and participated in panel discussions at several Michigan universities dealing with topics as diverse as the history of the LGBT rights movement, coming out, race and military privatization. He graduated from CMU in 2010 with a BA in Political Science and Music.

He is passionate about using online organizing to build bridges, break down barriers and give all Americans a voice in their democracy. He is an inveterate foodie and loves a good book.

Audrey Edmonds is an online communications specialist living outside of Washington, D.C.

Her interest in advocacy started in 2005 when she was elected Undergraduate Senator at the University of Maryland and continued with a press internship with Maryland's District 21.

Her technology chops have come a long way in six short years. Bringing extensive online organizing, analytics, web, and video experience, Audrey recently helped organize a 15,000-member strong public education rally in Annapolis.

Her roles have included online communications specialist at the Maryland State Education Association, social media volunteer with Educators for Governor O'Malley, and Mashable's Top Environmentalist on Twitter at EarthShare, a nationwide network of nonprofits.

She is passionate about working to move people and communities forward, and believes that technology is the easiest part of the equation.

Malinda Frevert is no stranger to fighting uphill battles. She currently serves as the News Director of BOLD Nebraska, the Cornhusker state's most outspoken progressive group. Most of her time is spent writing for the blog, managing the organization's social media presence and rankling some of Nebraska's top conservatives. Malinda just earned her degree in political communication (with a minor in French) at Nebraska Wesleyan University this spring. Malinda spends her spare time outside work hunting down new vegetarian recipes and reading hipster blogs on Tumblr. Her mantra for life comes from French film director Jean-Luc Godard who said, "It's not where you take things from-it's where you take them to."

Ian Gardiner is the Multimedia Specialist for National People's Action, a non-profit advocacy organization. Ian has a wide range of experience within new media and visual communications, and prides himself on producing creative, relevant and engaging work for progressive causes. Whether through designing​ and building campaign micro-sites, integrating impactful social media strategies, creating powerful imagery and marketing materials, or producing, shooting and editing short promotional videos, Ian enjoys the challenge of visualizing ideas that compel people to take action. When he's not on a computer, Ian loves playing soccer, backpacking and sailing. Ian lives and works in Oakland, California. http://iangardiner.org/

Carl Gibson is a 24 year-old musician/actor/poet/journalist-turned-activist from Lexington, Kentucky. From 2009 to 2010, Gibson worked as the state capitol reporter for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, the state's NPR and PBS affiliate network in Jackson, Mississippi, contributing to local and national coverage of the Mississippi Legislature and the BP gulf oil spill.

In July of 2010, Gibson was fired from his post after speaking out against MPB's censorship of the nationally-syndicated NPR program, Fresh Air. Between July and February, he worked 10 different part-time jobs- from moving furniture to canvassing for local political campaigns, substitute teaching, nude modeling for art classes and nightclub security. In December 2010 he founded his own PR firm, The Gibson Group.

In February 2011, Gibson co-founded US Uncut, a grassroots protest movement against corporate tax cheats and budget cuts. US Uncut has since carried out over 300 actions against corporate tax cheats nationwide, and garnered international media attention. Check out http://www.USuncut.org or send an email to usuncut@gmail.com to get involved!

Anne Gregerson has taught for 7 years in Edmonds, Washington and is a National Board Certified Teacher. In her first few years of teaching she became involved with the Local and State Teacher Unions. She represents her building at monthly meetings, represents elementary teachers on the bargaining team and most recently attended her third Washington State Representative Assembly. During the last legislative session she organized local National Board Certified Teachers to lobby for National Board Teacher Incentives. In addition she has assisted/volunteered on a few local city council and legislative campaigns.

Michael Gregor oversees media relations, online communication, and publication development at Equality Michigan, based in Detroit. Equality Michigan is working to achieve statewide nondiscrimination protection for gay and transgender citizens. Before joining the organization, Michael served as an independent communications consultant and as the Executive Director at Kalamazoo Collective Housing. He is devoted to empowering others to take action and develop critical analysis around social, political, and economic issues.

Michael has been working in social justice and community development organizations for over a decade. In Kalamazoo, he served the communication needs of a dozen nonprofit organizations while growing a small affordable housing cooperative into a viable neighborhood organization. He has worked with One Kalamazoo, ACORN, Energy Action, the Sierra Student Coalition, Clean Water Action, North American Students of Cooperation, and a variety of other grassroots organizations. Michael is a graduate of the Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University.

Jose Gutierrez is a 2011 Purdue University graduate currently based in Chicago, IL. He double majored in Political Science and International Studies, and minored in Philosop​hy. Along with being selected to be the university's 2011 Graduation Commencement Speaker, he was also the President of Pi Sigma Alpha (the nation's only Political Science honor's society) and an active political contributor on campus and in his community. While studying abroad one summer, he took the opportunity to backpack through Spain, and attributes his love of siestas and Spanish cuisine to said experience.

Being the son of recent immigrants, he has always been driven to protecting immigrant rights. He is committed to enlightening the masses about the nature of immigrant-U.S. relations. During his undergraduate tenure at Purdue, he organized a screening of 9500 Liberty (a documentary about how anti-immigrant legislation racially divided a community in Virginia). The film received school-wide acclaim and was hailed as an extreme success, as there were over 100 people in attendence. After the film, many students, faculty, and community members were inspired to stop the anti-immigrant law, SB 590, from passing through the Indiana state Congress, so he formed a movement called "Liberty Indiana."

While he misses writing twenty-page research papers, late-night study sessions, and 8 AM classes, he is eager to apply the wealth of knowledge he has acquired in immigration, Political Science, and International Studies (among other topics) into the "real world." He believes we must be the change we see in others, and is committed to making a difference -- one person at a time.​

Mark Hanis is the co-founder & board member of United to End Genocide (formerly the Genocide Intervention Network & Save Darfur Coalition). End Genocide's mission is to empower the public, private and citizen sector with the tools to prevent and stop genocide and mass atrocities.

He is the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors and was raised in Quito, Ecuador. From February - August 2003, Mark worked for the Office of the Prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He has received several fellowships, including: Ashoka (2008), Draper Richards (2006), and Echoing Green (2006). Mark is a graduate from Swarthmore College with a degree in Political Science and Public Policy.

Lorraine Hirakawa is an English teacher, education advocate, and member the Washington Education Association Leadership Action Network among other organizations. She currently resides in Puyallup, WA, just south of Seattle. Her online organizing experience includes organizing local National Board Certified teachers and other Washington Education Association members for email and phone calling campaigns and organizing lobbying efforts by classroom teachers in support of National Board Certification, the National Writing Project, and other literacy and education issues. She currently works as a senior high English teacher. When not teaching, Lorraine works with students on community service opportunities and spends time with her family. She is committed to advocating for quality public education.

Andrea Hong started organizing as a part of the national student movement to protect civilians in Sudan, Congo and Burma. She founded a chapter at her college and continued to gain experience in grassroots organizing as STAND's Northeast Regional Outreach Coordinator in 2009. During 2010-11, she was STAND's National Student Director and mobilized hundreds of chapters to lobby officials and bring attention to the Sudanese referendum as well as the conflict in Libya. She spent summers working with women's co-ops in Ecuador and at the Korean Bar Association. Her abroad experiences include studying in South Korea and Oxford University. She currently interns at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and recently graduated from Smith College with degrees in Government and East Asian Studies. Though she just moved to D.C., the possibility of expanding her skillset while working on progressive projects has encouraged her to park here for a while-not to mention the happy hours and backyard bbq's. ​

It was over a year ago that Jessi Jaramillo told her story, the story of her family, their American Dream, and a continuing struggle with the faulty U.S. immigration system to a room full of strangers. It was in fact, her first time telling that story to anyone and it compelled her to encourage others to do the same. That cold January day in Ithaca, New York kicked-off what would be a whirlwind six months with the campaign to Reform Immigration for America.

As a grassroots organizer in upstate New York, Jessi supported leaders across the state and led an effort in organizing numerous actions in order to push for comprehensive immigration legislation. Though it was her first bout in community organizing, she assures it is not her last. "It was the most amazing experience I've had yet. I met amazing and committed leaders across the state that gave me strength and humility and allowed me to be a part of something so much bigger than I could ever imagine."

Soon after her time with the campaign ended, Jessi decided to go back to school. Currently she is working to finish a Political Science, B.A. at Binghamton University. She also runs a small farm with her family, works part-time as a technology trainer for a local library, just started as a new media intern at Binghamton University, and writes about immigration, farming and things that matter at her personal blog [blacksheepsays.com]. Though most of her media experience has been within non-profit organizations, she is looking forward to NOI's BootCamp and some serious new media strategizing on a social justice campaign in the near future.

For more of Jessi's insights, follow her on twitter @JessiJJ.

Elizabeth Jenkins is a NYC artist, activist, and troublemaker who tweets at @elizaJ. She currently plans and implements new media projects for @32BJ_SEIU campaign communications. In 2008, she was Director of Data and Technology for @Change2Win. She has worked in New York, China, St Louis, New Orleans, Michigan, and Washington, DC.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethjenkins

Maren Johnson teaches science at Chimacum High School, where she has taught for thirteen years. She is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT).

Long involved in her local union, Maren became more politically active this year. She worked with the Washington Education Association and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to successfully lobby the state legislature to modify high stakes science assessment. She testified before house and senate education committees, and met with legislators to advocate for this issue. She also was a Local Area Network leader for National Board Certification. She organized a house party for NBCTs to meet their legislator, and encouraged NBCTs to attend town hall meetings and visit the state capitol.

In her classroom, Maren teaches biotechnology; she works with colleagues to use social media for professional development in an innovative Professional Learning Community. She is on the state's Science Assessment Leadership Team, and is on the Board of Directors for Education Northwest, a non-profit educational research organization chartered by the Department of Education-it provides technical assistance to education institutions in a five state region. Mother of two, she likes to run.

Maren is committed to making outstanding science education happen in her school and state!

On The Web: http://marenjohnson.wordpress.com​​ @maren_johnson​

Inspired by Berkeley's history of student activism and outraged by proposals to increase tuition for middle class University of California students, Sonia Khan began organizing. Using social media, she helped spearhead the effort to rally thousands of Berkeley and UC students to stand up for public education. As a student fundraiser, Sonia single-handedly raised enough in two months to help save a scholarship program for first-generation students and keep an undergraduate research program from being eliminated.

Shortly after graduating, Sonia moved to Las Vegas to re-elect Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She became a top organizer in Nevada, managing the field operation for a conservative-leaning Assembly District and mobilizing the growing Asian American Pacific Islander community. Sonia currently works for the Majority Leader as a Press Intern at the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Center. While she enjoys being on Capitol Hill and ridiculing the GOP on a daily basis, she misses the hustle of the campaign trail.

Sonia was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. As the daughter of a German mother and an Indian father, Sonia appreciates industriousness and diverse cultures - not to mention good curry and a crisp Hefeweizen (preferably at the same time). When she's not re-learning Hindi and reading German publications, Sonia loves watching the Daily Show, reading fashion blogs, listening to electronic music, and enjoying the Washington nightlife.

Kelli Klein was born and raised in lovely Madison, Wisconsin. Like many young people, Kelli became really involved in politics in 2008 while working for Advancing Wisconsin to make sure progressives candidates would be elected to different levels of government in the very purple state that she calls home. Since then, Kelli has pursued politics in several different ways, including work in two separate federal offices and a year and a half stint working on Senator Feingold's campaign. Kelli currently works in the Federal Office of Senator Herb Kohl on IRS and Education issues for the people of Wisconsin. While she loves helping the people of Wisconsin, she is excited to return to the campaign trail and continue to fight for progressive candidates and causes. Although the majority of her experience is with field, she looks forward to learning the new media skills and tools that shape the political atmosphere, and very much looks forward to putting all of her new knowledge to use in the near future. When not translating IRS publications or protesting the never-ending Wisconsin budget battle, she enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee, volleyball and catching up on all of the political blogs-especially Ezra Klein's Wonkbook.

Jordan Krueger is an experienced ​community builder who got his start in 1994 by founding an online fiction club that still survives today. He has been an ardent LGBT activist since his teens, acting as president of both his high school and college Gay-Straight Alliances. After graduating from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, he was board co-chair of the 2007 Little Rock Capital Pride which fundraised over $10,000 and had the largest attendance of any pride event in Little Rock to date. After the passage of Proposition 8 in California, Jordan co-founded Equality Network, fundraising over $15,000 in 2009 while bringing together movement leaders for the widely-praised "Teach-in for Equality." In late 2010 he founded the Los Angeles Diaper Bank and was instrumental in securing a grant of 25,000 diapers as part of Huggies' "Every Little Bottom" program. Jordan is the voice behind the @equalitynetwork Twitter account and has been a member of the "Young Leaders" contingent of Torie Osborn​'s California State Assembly campaign since she announced her candidacy. Jordan and his partner Hank currently reside in Los Angeles with their dog Baxter, a Humane Society rescue.​

Frankie Mastrangelo coordinates online advocacy efforts for the American Association of People with Disabilities, the nation's largest cross-disability membership organization, in Washington, DC.

For the past five years, she has organized online and offline campaigns centered on various social justice issues including gender equality, worker's rights, and disability justice.

Considering herself a "self-taught online activist", she seeks to apply the sophisticated know-how and wisdom learned at NOI's New Media Boot Camp towards meaningfully advancing AAPD's efforts to politicize and mobilize the disability community.

Frankie believes that effective online organizing through a skillful use of new media is vital for the disability movement's growth. If AAPD is to cultivate the leadership necessary to push our movement forward, we need to step up our New Media skills!

When she is not fighting the good fight, there is a good chance Frankie is either at a queer dance night or eating pizza.

She is excited to meet and learn from her fellow progressive advocates at Boot Camp!

Rory McCarron is a community builder and organizer currently based in Tampa, FL. He has spent time on the ground in every battleground state and organized on a local and national level. He has managed a mayoral campaign, developed a youth engagement plan for a state representatives race, worked to develop institutional relationships and field programs for a presidential campaign and worked with different issue advocacy groups to help stem the foreclosure crisis. In the 2010 cycle Rory oversaw a team of 25 field organizers in three different races across the country in his role as Executive Director of HRC Legacy PAC, an organization dedicated to fighting for middle class values. In January of 2011, he left HRC Legacy PAC to found Civic Minded Young America where he has worked tirelessly to make it easier for young progressive activists to connect online and offline. He is committed to creating a better, more sustainable future and working to find new ways to move people to create real change.

Celso Mireles is a DREAM Act advocate and entrepreneur based in Phoenix, Arizona. He was a founding member of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition and has led actions advocating for the passage of the Dream Act. He has fasted with friends on the Arizona capitol when SB1070 passed and has fasted for 9 days in front of Senator McCain's office for his support of the Dream Act. He has also appeared in national immigration forums such as the one hosted by MSNBC in November 2010 and will be featured in a documentary shown in all Latin America. In Phoenix, he owns a computer repair/online consulting company called Computer Dude Services. He also teaches guitar and is starting a DJ business.

Harold Moore is a hard charging political professional from Chicago, IL. From his start serving as canvass director for Congressman Brad Ellsworth (IN-08) in 2007 Harold's responsibilities have grown with every position from Lead Organizer on the election campaign of Alderman Pat Dowell, Statewide Organizer for Rock the Vote's Rock the Caucus Program, Deputy GOTV DIrector for Obama for America's Missouri Primary effort and Field Director for Congressman Jon Barrow (GA-12)'s re-election effort. Since then Harold has diversified his portfolio, working with religious organizations devoted to civic engagement and with candidates as a consultant on outreach, data management and strategy. Harold's goal in attending the New Organizing Institute's New Media Bootcamp is to become better prepared for his long term goal of managing the winning campaigns of candidates for Federal office. While he has worked extensively for Democratic causes and ​candidates, Harold is passionate about civic engagement, left or right. He is a proud former mentee of the 100 Black Men of America's mentoring program and volunteers for the Mikva Challenge, a program dedicated to preparing the next generation of social gadfly's. When he's not being a political geek Harold can be found running, traveling, taking part in DIY projects or enjoying quality whiskey.

Jessica Pace is a grassroots online organizer who recently moved from St. Louis, MO to Los Angeles, CA. She spent two years as the Data and Communications Organizer at Missouri Jobs with Justice and worked for America Votes in Missouri in 2008. Last December she earned her Master's in Public Policy Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. Currently, Jessica is working with an organization on civil engagement and social media to change tax policies that are currently crippling California. She plans to spend the rest of her life building powerful and strategic grassroots movements around economic justice issues. When she is not focused on organizing around worker's rights and economic justice or being a data geek she is working with friends to build safe spaces for Queer Women & Transgender People of Color in Los Angeles.

Michelle Reyf pretended to shape politics in high school as a debater. She then studied it at Dartmouth as a Government and Anthropology double-major.* Michelle finally made it a reality as part of the New Media team of J Street, the political home of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. She now leads the online outreach to J Street's forty local chapters, as well as implements national advocacy, donation, and issue communications.

* Michelle likens double-majoring in Government and Anthropology to a mullet: business in the front (top-down understanding of U.S. politics), party in the back (bottom-up exploration of how people relate to their governments). She wishes to create permutations of current online organizing that feature informed insights into both the political and the personal.

When she isn't trying to open up the conversation in national politics and the American Jewish community on the two-state solution, Michelle does yoga, reads theory, and eats almond butter out of the jar.

Wiley Runnestrand is currently Congressman Tim Ryan's campaign manager and is based out of Youngstown, Ohio. He has worked to promote and streamline local progressive efforts in the area. During the 2010 election cycle, he worked to secure Congressman Ryan's reelection efforts and support other candidates in their election efforts through the Ohio coordinated campaign. His main long term interest is bridging the gap between the Democratic Party and Christianity.

Liz Salmi is a new media communicator and organizer for one of California's largest public employee unions. With an extensive background in marketing, web and graphic design, she is passionate about using her "nerd skills" to tell the story of, and inspire action from, working people.

At New Media Bootcamp, Liz is looking to recharge a 100-year-old movement and involve the next generation in labor organizing.

When she's not fighting for workers she fights cancer. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2008, Liz has endured multiple brain surgeries, two years of chemotherapy and re-learned how to walk. Her diagnosis gives her special insight to the world of disease and the right to health care. Liz volunteers with the National Brain Tumor Society patient support network​ (www.braintumor.org).

Liz writes a successful cancer blog at www.thelizarmy.com.

Sam Schoenburg grew up in Springfield, Illinois, and is currently a student at Yale University. After graduating high school, Sam interned in the field department for Barack Obama's early caucus effort in Des Moines, Iowa, returning to Des Moines to finish out the caucuses after completing his first semester of college. Sam then took time off from school to organize for Obama for America in Newport News, Virginia. After the campaign, Sam spent a summer organizing progressive teachers in favor of comprehensive education reform in advance of contract negotiations in the New Haven, Connecticut, public schools. Sam has devoted much of his extracurricular time while at school to leading a student-run public policy think tank on campus and to being an active member of the College Democrats.

Sam has also worked passionately in the struggle for LGBT equality, interning at the organization Freedom To Marry during the summer of 2010 and helping to found an LGBT political action group at Yale called Fierce Advocates. Sam currently interns for Fairness West Virginia, the statewide LGBT advocacy group. When not working, Sam loves to play acoustic guitar and quote The West Wing. He's thrilled to learn how better to create change and cause trouble.

Will Sharry is a recent graduate from Skidmore College with an intense passion for the progressive agenda. As an intern last summer at America's Voice, a non-profit that advocates for comprehensive immigration reform, Will worked with DREAM Act students to push their cause in the halls of congress and combated Arizona's misguided crackdown on undocumented immigrants. More recently, he completed his thesis on Oklahoma's punitive immigration law, HB1804.

Having attended and worked at summer camp for years, Will has always enjoyed helping others build strong character and values and hopes to take that same desire into politics.

Originally from Massachusetts, Will is a huge Boston sports fan and is wicked pumped about the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup!

Kyle Shelly is a issue advocate and political organzier originally from New Orleans, LA and currently residing in Baton Rouge, LA. Kyle's organizing experience started as a Regional Field Organzier for Louisiana Victory 2008, the field efforts for the re-election campaign of Sen. Mary Landrieu. Kyle's passion for organizing came about while working towards health care reform as a organizer for Change That Works Louisiana. Kyle has also worked with SEIU Local 21 in Louisiana and currently works as a Associate Consultant of Govenrmental Relations for New Orleans-based Vertical Horizon Management. Kyle is currently Vice-President of Political Affairs Young Democrats of Louisiana and a member of The Louisiana Movement, a diverse coalition of grassroots organizers and organizations working to effect real progressive change in Louisiana.

A blooming progressive activist stuck in a conservative Kansas upbringing, Morgan Shoaff has always been the odd ball of her family. In college, she was a determined advocate on issues ranging from the DREAM Act to women's fair pay to youth suicide prevention. She held leadership positions in her Student Labor Action Project and Campus Progress chapters - both organizations winning national awards for demonstrations surrounding the injustices placed on farmworkers in the corporate food industry.

With a degree in Integrated Marketing Communication, you can currently find Morgan happily working at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in Washington, DC. There, she assists on the strategy and implementation of PPFA's national online advocacy and fundraising program, working with a growing list of more than one million constituents. She was at the front and center of health care reform and the most recent "I Stand with Planned Parenthood" online campaign - even living on the "Stand with Planned Parenthood" big pink bus for three weeks, live blogging from supporter rallies in 28 cities and 17 states (www.istandwithplannedparenthood.blogspot.com). She is ecstatic to join the NOI New Media BootCamp class of 2011 and knows it will take her online skill set to the next level in preparation of the 2012 election season and battles ahead.

When she's not living on a pink bus and fighting against (constant and terrible) attacks on women, you will most likely find Morgan jumping around at concerts, riding her bicycle, or on a mission to find the world's most delicious beer/iced coffee.

On October 19^th, 2009, Kristiane Skolmen found herself tweeted by Glen Beck, and knew that she was onto something. A member of communications teams with surreptitious titles like "digital ninja" and "Jedi council", she wields web analytics to influence the media cycle with progressive, climate-based perspectives. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Kristiane has been a community organizer since 2006 when she co-founded the largest network of students and schools in Washington and Oregon devoted to addressing climate change through local and regional campaigns. Since then she has organized nationally on a range of issues and strategies-from serving as a youth leader for the Sierra Student Coalition, to training mountaintop removal activists in Appalachia, and implementing successful direct actions for Avaaz. Her work in communications for many organizations has resulted in photography, videography, and writing features in over 300 national and international media outlets including NPR and Nettavisen (Norwegian). She is highly excited to be mentoring teams of community organizers this summer, and is developing an online campaign to engage a broader community of progressive-thinkers for training programs in her region. Having witnessed the power of collective action time and time again, Kristiane lives everyday knowing that we are the solution.

Randall Smith is the online organizer with Corporate Accountability International, a grassroots organization that wages campaigns to protect people from corporate abuses. ​

Randall first began to organize in junior high school when he recruited his friends to walk-out of 5th period in protest of Operation Desert Storm.

In the 20 years since, Randall has trained col​lege students across the US how to use creative actions to hold corporations accountable, organized tenants to protect affordable housing and worked with immigrants organizing to defend and expand their human rights in the borderlands of Arizona.​

When he's not organizing this summer, Randall will be canning a pantry full of veggies from his garden, kayaking the whitewater rivers of New England and reading books about parenting.

Teri Staudinger is a 21-year veteran teacher and a union activist. She has a Master's degree in Education and is National Board Certified. Growing up with strong union values, she became involved in the teacher's union her first year of teaching. Throughout the years she has held several elected positions in the union; from building representative to her current position as Washington Education Association-Southeast Council President, and a member of the WEA board of directors. She is also the President-elect of Kennewick Education Association, and will begin serving in that capacity later this summer.

Teri enjoys being politically active and staying informed. As the president of the SE council, she uses social media on a daily basis to organize and inform union members. She has lobbied state legislators on several occasions, testified before hearing committees, and was a ​spokesperson against one of the state initiatives for the editorial board for the local newspaper. She plans to be very involved in the 2012 election- including the governor's race- and is anxious to learn new methods of campaigning.

Emilio Vicente has been living in the US for the past 14 years. He is passionate about social justice, especially for the humane treatment of immigrants in this country. He has been on a gap year for the past year, focusing on the DREAM Act and other immigration bills. As a DREAMer he understands the unique opportunities that have been given to him and seeks to contribute back to his community. His fight for immigrant's rights has taken him to live in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Washington State, to work and learn alongside other organizers who are as passionate as he is. This fall he will be a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, planning to major in Political Science and Public Policy. When he is not organizing he likes to read, go for a run, listen to music, and hang out with friends.

Matt Wall is a political activist and organizer from Boston, MA. He started getting involved in political organizing as a volunteer on a variety of state and local campaigns during his college years. After graduating from Boston University, Matt took a job as a field director on a race for state representative. While this race did not end with quite the outcome Matt had been hoping for, it proved to be a valuable experience. Soon after, he joined the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and began working to get progressive candidates elected in the 2010 general election cycle and beyond. Recently, Matt has also been trying to people in his neighborhood to come together and organize a volunteer group dedicated to making a difference at a local level. Matt hopes to learn valuable new media skills and to​ meet some great people at this year's BootCamp in Washington DC.

Kyle Weidleman is a proud liberal and card-carrying union member. Interested and involved in electoral politics since before he could vote, Kyle was a volunteer for the Stark County Democratic Party. During the 2008 presidential election season, he jumped at the chance to learn firsthand about political communications both with NBC News and in the press shop for Senator Joe Lieberman. After moving permanently to DC, Kyle backed up his progressive and communications bona fides as acting communications director for 21^st Century Democrats and later as a communications consultant for the Democratically-affiliated Lone Star Project. Kyle recently started with AFSCME's political action department, where he helps with strategic communications in battleground states including Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and beyond. He only recently stopped working in the food service industry, where he learned more about wine lists than redistricting. A native Ohioan with union blood in his veins, Kyle loves heated political discussions with friends and family - including that odd libertarian friend or two.

Betty Yu is the National Organizer at the Center for Media Justice. At CMJ, she coordinates the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) where she manages our national media justice network of over 100 grassroots community organizations, coordinates nine regional chapters and curates the media justice learning community. With over 15 years of community organizing, media activist, and filmmaking experience-Betty has presented at dozens of local and national conferences on issues ranging from economic and racial justice organizing to media policy, grassroots media activism, and media making 101.

Prior to joining CMJ, Betty was the Director of Community Outreach & Media Services at Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). Betty has additionally worked as a labor organizer for the Chinese Staff and Workers' Association, an immigrant rights workers center in New York City's Chinatown. She is also a co-founder of National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS), a 15 year old multi-racial workers center. Betty recently joined the boards of Deep Dish TV and Third World Newsreel, two media organizations that nationally distributes radical videos and films. She was a semi-finalist of the National Brick "Do Something" Award, the recipient of the NYC Union Square Award for grassroots activism, and a 2007-2010 fellow of the National Rockwood Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy.

She has appeared on news outlets including ABC, FOX, CW, WB, NY1, and has been featured in such publications as the New York Daily News, the Financial Times, Stress magazine, Brooklyn Bridge, and City Limits. She co-wrote the Media Justice Fund's "Scenario Study on the Future of Community Access Television" and is a regular contributor to the Community Media Review. When she is not working Betty can usually be found talking about her love of Brooklyn (born and raised), working on her creative projects, or finishing her MFA in Integrated Media Arts.