Our Mission

NextGen America’s mission is to empower young voters to engage in the political process and ensure our government is responsive to the largest and most diverse generation in American history.

Who We Are

In 2013, Tom Steyer founded NextGen America (formerly NextGen Climate) because he believed that young people had the power to determine a new, brighter direction for our country on every single major issue that matters.

Today, NextGen America is the nation’s largest youth voter organization, mobilizing millions of young people each year to support progressive candidates up and down the ballot. We are a multi-issue and multi-racial organization that works each election cycle to get millions of young people to the polls and win on the issues that matter to them.

We have registered over 1.4 million young people to vote. In the 2020 election cycle, we spoke to over 10.5 million young voters and got 4.6 million of them to the polls, leading to the largest youth voter turnout in our nation’s history.

At NextGen, we know it’s always taken the courage and imagination of young people to make our country tackle the biggest challenges we face. Our nation needs that courage again to solve climate change, racial injustice, runaway inequality and to save democracy itself.

Senior Leadership

Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez

President & Executive Director

Cristina has spent the last two decades founding and leading some of the country’s most creative and successful social justice organizations, addressing issues ranging from income inequality and workers’ rights to climate change and voting rights. In 2020, she was a progressive U.S. Senate candidate in Texas, and brings deep experience mobilizing young people of diverse backgrounds to engage and lead in the democratic process. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Keith Yetter

Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel

Keith manages our administrative teams, including our finance, legal, HR, and operations departments. Before joining NextGen, he was an attorney at a large national law firm. He lives in San Francisco.

Kate Lyon

Managing Director & Executive Vice President

Kate manages NextGen’s day-to-day operations and key strategic initiatives to ensure we accomplish our goals, plan for the future, and meet our deadlines. Prior to joining NextGen, Kate was on the campaign trail for more than a decade and most recently served as a strategist with one of the country’s leading political communications firms. She also worked on the Hill and in government relations for nonprofits focused on reproductive rights. Kate is a certified copyeditor and licensed attorney. She lives in Washington, DC.

Harry Johnson, II

Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

Harry is a national public and political affairs executive, serial entrepreneur, fundraiser, and community builder. A North Carolina native, Harry formerly held a number of senior political roles with multiple gubernatorial campaigns and campaigns for U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate. He also led federal government affairs for Dream Corps, Green For All. Harry is based in Washington, DC.

Antonio Arellano

Vice President, Communications

Antonio serves as the Vice President of Communications at NextGen America where he oversees the implementation of a national strategy to increase the progressive power of young Americans in politics. As a multimedia and communications expert, his culturally competent campaigns have contributed to the empowerment and mobilization of youth-led movements at the state and national levels. Antonio is based in Texas.

David Sanchez

Vice President of Campaign Strategy

David manages our program team strategy and campaigns, including our states program, distributed organizing, and data departments. Before joining NextGen, he managed multiple statewide and national campaigns and programs. He is based in Austin, TX.

Victoria Yang Souza

Vice President, Development

Victoria leads NextGen’s fundraising efforts, and previously consulted for various organizations including the Obama Foundation. She led fundraising for Senator John Kerry’s (D-MA) re-election campaign in 2008, and oversaw the fundraising operation at the Democratic National Committee during the 2004 Presidential campaign. She lives in Boston.

Risi Vera

Vice President, Finance

Risi has been with NextGen since 2013 and currently oversees the finance and accounting operations of the organization, ensuring accuracy and integrity of internal and external reporting. Before joining NextGen, Risi worked for several fortune 500 companies. She lives in Los Altos, California.

Staff Highlights

Adrian Arellano

he/him/his

Special Projects Manager

"After several years of working in democracy-building in West Africa and Latin America, I realized that our own democracy is failing. We need to solve our own problems before we can solve others' problems."

Adrian manages inter-departmental projects and strategic campaigns with NextGen, ensuring project execution, departmental coordination, problem solving, and financial management. Prior to joining NextGen, Adrian worked in the field of international affairs, including stints at the National Democratic Institute, the Elliott School of International Affairs and the US Peace Corps. He loves Korean food and lives in Long Beach, California.

Gillian Payne

she/they

Data Associate

"Today, we as young people are faced with a plethora of existential crises. NextGen is doing the work to help address these crises and create systemic change for us and for the generations to follow."

Gillian is a Wisconsinite who has lived in Milwaukee for almost 6 years. She got her start in progressive advocacy in high school when she organized a weekly volunteer group. Gillian graduated with a Bachelors in Economics and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in May of 2020. Since graduation, they have gone on to work as an organizer and data analyst for multiple organizations and campaigns. She loves to knit and is an avid tent camper.

Bethanie Olivan

she/her/hers

Distributed Organizing Manager

"I joined the team at NextGen to empower young people both at and beyond the ballot box. Focusing on the youth vote allows for creativity and innovation in our outreach."

Bethanie manages our national peer-to-peer text team, building the infrastructure and volunteer power to further advocacy actions and get out the vote in NextGen’s key states. Most recently, she was the Digital Organizing Director for the Biden Coordinated Campaign in Texas. Before that, she worked as the Digital Organizing Manager for both the Texas Democratic Party and Julián Castro’s presidential campaign. She loves baking macarons and is based in Austin, Texas.

Carleigh Fernandez