Stew Henderson, Chair

Stew Henderson is a husband, father, musician, former elected official, small business owner, and current state employee who has spent his adult life in the struggle for social justice.  He and his wife, Kathy Cox, met in the Peace Corps in West Africa in 1981.  A professional mediator and expert in organizational change, Stew helps people bridge differences and come together to solve problems in new and creative ways.  His goal as party Chair is to move our community forward by building a broad coalition – united by the values we share – to elect responsible leaders, and then hold those leaders accountable for real results. 

Liberty Ryder, Vice Chair - PCOs and Membership

Liberty is a lifelong resident of Thurston County, currently living in Lacey with her husband, Lacey Council Member Andy Ryder and their two children, Jesse (17) and Josie (6). This is her second term on the Thurston County Democrats Executive Committee as Vice Chair. She is a small business owner who cares deeply about this community and sees her time on the executive committee as a chance to give back and make a difference in Thurston County.

K.D. Chapman-See, Vice Chair - Campaigns

K.D. is serving her first term on the TCD Executive Committee after several years of involvement with TCD. She cut her political teeth in the 2004 New Hampshire presidential primary and has been active in campaigns at the local, state and federal levels ever since. K.D. grew up in Tenino and moved back to Thurston County motivated by a desire to make a positive difference in this community after spending college and her early career in Chicago and New York. She spends her days working with the legislature and lives in Olympia with her husband, Carl, and their lovable mutt.

Seamus Walsh, Secretary

Seamus is a lifelong resident of Thurston County, minus occasional excursions to go to college (BA in Political Science from Western Washington University) or to elect Democrats in other states (North Carolina and Oregon in 2008). He has been an activist, organizer, and rabble-rouser for social justice, equal rights, peace, the environment, civil liberties, and workers' rights for as long as he can remember. Seamus is currently a lobbyist for the Washington Public Employees Association and lives in Olympia with his sweetheart and their cats and chickens.

Christine Garst, Treasurer

A native of Binghamton, NY, Christine received her B.S in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and M.A. in Education from George Washington University.  She has worked for U.S. Congressman Tom Harkin, PrePress (London, England), the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits (Minneapolis) and currently The Nonprofit Center (Tacoma).

She met her husband of 38 years, Sam, campaigning for anti-war candidates in 1970.  They have two children, Matthew, 30, in Rosemount, MN, and Jo, 26, of Seattle, and two granddaughters, Nya (9) and Anna (7).

Christine has served in many capacities in Democratic politics, including PCO, County Chair, Member-at-Large and Secretary of Thurston County Democrats, and Campaign Treasurer.

Elizabeth Shepard, State Committee Woman

Born in Caracus, Venezuela and married 40 years Elizabeth has two children.  She has held executive positions on pre-school board, PTA's, and middle and high school site councils continuously from 1985 through high 2001 while her children were in school.   Elizabeth helped pass her first piece of legislation in college; a county wide air pollution standard in Ventura County California. She became active locally starting as a PCO during the John Kerry Campaign.  Have since held positions with the Thurston County Democrats including LD-22 State Committee Woman, LD-22 Vice Chair. Thurston County 1st Vice Chair before becoming Thurston County State Committee Woman.

Roger Erskine, State Committee Man

Born in Minnesota, Roger and Mary have 6 children, 13 grandsons, and 1 great grandson.  Roger taught HS political science and economics before working for the Teachers Union. As Political Director in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania he managed 2 Gov candidate campaigns, and numerous legislative campaigns.  Working as Manager for Organizing at NEA, he helped build membership to 2.8 million, organized the Teacher Union Reform Network.  His work in Seattle led business leaders to lable him "The most outstanding urban education leader in America".  Roger Chairs the Center for Ethical Leadership, lectures and serves on several education related Boards, and is VP of Washington Public Campaigns.  He serves on the Wa. State Democratic Central Committee, is the Chair of the Elections Committee and is VP of the Labor Caucus.

Cheryl Selby, Committee Member at Large - Fundraising

Cheryl moved with her young family to Olympia in 1994 and jumped into the community through her job at the Olympia Parks Department and volunteer efforts with the Olympia School District.  In addition to her many board positions over the years and another stint with the City of Olympia managing a public safety program, she currently serves on the Olympia Downtown Association and runs a small womens clothing store called Vivala.  She hopes to raise a lot of money for the Thurston County Democrats and have a blast doing it.

Mizanur Rahman, Committee Member at Large - Burger Booth

Mizanur has been living in Thurston County for the past 25 years. He has been involved with local Democratic politics over a decade and has been a three term PCO for Lacey 18. He has a Bachelors and Masters in Sociology. He also has a professional degree in culinary and has been in food services for the last 30 years and has been working for the Military Club Systems in Fort Lewis for the last 15 years as an Executive Chef.

Mizanur is a native of Bangladesh but has been living in America for the last 30 years. Mizanur is married and has two sons. The oldest son graduated from college and the youngest is still attending college.

Dylan Carlson, Chair 22nd LD

Dylan was first elected Chair of the 22nd LD Democrats in December 2008 after serving as a regional field director on Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign.  At the time of his election, he was the youngest local party Chair in Washington State.

In 2010, Dylan was recognized with the WA State Democrats' Warren G Magnusen "Maggie" Award for "Rising Star of the Year."  

He enjoys snow skiing, backpacking, and alpine mountaineering.  He lives and works in Olympia, WA.