Erik the Red

Name:	Erik the Red
Location:	Green Bay, WI

My personal volunteering highlight:

When I was working for President Obama's campaign in North Dakota, I was very active in recruiting volunteers and engaging in direct voter contact. There is not one discrete event that I would consider inspirational. Rather, I considered my entire time in North Dakota to be inspirational. Most of the people I spoke with regarding President Obama were courteous, polite, and interested in having a discussion regarding important social and economics problems and how the presidential candidates would handle each issue. Surprisingly, very few North Dakotoans I spoke with were apathetic about politics; indeed, most seemed to be re-energized by the pre-Reagan promise that government can be there to help its citizens. That atmosphere of hopefullness in the middle of a conservative state was very reassuring and inspirational.

More about my volunteering with DFA:

I am not active in Democracy for America, but I was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Governor Dean's 2004 presidential bid. I was a volunteer and then intern in Wisconsin, Iowa, and New Hampshire. It was one of the most thrilling times in my life.

More about my volunteering with progressive organizations:

I am active in the Democratic Party of Brown County. I volunteer at party functions and assist the state party when they hold functions in our County. Overall, I just help out when the county chairman needs help.

More about my work on current campaigns and issues:

I have been volunteering my time, calling various U.S. Senate offices to lobby for the Employee Free Choice Act and for a robust public option in health care reform.

What motivates me:

An innate desire to help those less fortunate than me has always been my biggest motivator. This desire to help others came from my mother, my maternal grandparents, and my church priest (a firebrand liberal Episcopalian). Nothing gets me more upset than systemic injustice and economic inequality enshrined into our society.

How I try to motivate others:

Several friends in my community have been encouraging me to re-start the now-defunct Fort Howard Neighborhood Association, with the intent that it may bring our neighborhood closer together - I might do this. Most of my recent motivation work was done while working for the Obama campaign in North Dakota and on other political campaigns. I still correspond with some of my best volunteers, who became good friends.

Where I see myself in five years:

If I am not mayor of Green Bay, I see myself attending law school in the San Francisco area and becoming active in community and progressive issue/candidate groups there.

My suggested bumper sticker slogan for the Stand with Dr. Dean campaign:

Public Option - Keep Insurers Honest!