Peter DeBaugh

Office of Kathy Manning - NC 6th

November 9, 2022

Dear Kathy Manning,

My experience in state and local political organizing, my work leading teams of volunteers and tracking their data, and working
through a pandemic remotely, educating university students on effective organizing, as well as my experiences in my Master’s
Degree give me the tools necessary to be an effective Constituent Services Liaison.

Working for the North Carolina Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign during the 2020 Presidential cycle I gained experience
organizing digitally on a state and local level. I interacted with a diverse group of volunteers every day, training them to interact
with both voters and campaign surrogates. I maintained those relationships throughout the campaign, coordinating over 30 active
volunteers. I planned events for my volunteers, kept them informed on campaign best practices, and made a weekly newsletter for
my volunteers so they were kept up to date with our strategies and goals.

During my time with the non-profit NCPIRG Students, I worked remotely with students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill to train them and help build campaign plans and execute strategies on four main campaigns throughout the semester. I had to
work hard to cultivate a strong team culture within the organization and keep students motivated. When I started working we had
about ten very strong core members who worked on the campaigns and I was able to expand that base out to about forty students
who became part of the core team and were highly involved. Our Break Free From Plastics campaign worked towards eliminating
the use of single-use plastics on campus. We gathered petition signatures from students, worked with the student government, and
partnered with other student-run organizations to build broad support for banning single-use plastics on campus, and worked with
university administrators to work towards eliminating single-use plastics on campus. Our Textbook Affordability campaign is
designed to reduce the cost of textbooks and help to promote the use of Open Educational Resources for professors to use rather
than traditional textbooks. The students gathered faculty pledge signatures to transition to lower-cost class resources. Our
COVID-19 quick hits campaign is designed to combat misinformation surrounding the pandemic. The New Voters Project is
critically important on college campuses, and we helped partner with other campus groups to get new voters registered and informed
on voting and elections. I worked with the students on taking their ideas from concept to concrete and working towards drafting
legislation that the university could use to change their policies. My favorite part about working with the students was teaching them
organizing skills and developing their sense of ownership within the group. I firmly believe that it was my job as an organizer to
give them the information, tools, and skills necessary to succeed and be more of a guiding force from the background. I wanted the
students to do most of the ground work. I wanted to empower my students to achieve the goals they set for themselves.

In my role as a Recruitment Director for the Fund for the Public Interest, I graded applications, handled interviews, and cultivated
leads. I learned about all the campaigns our canvassing offices were running as well as learned how to fundraise and build
connections with donors. I was in charge of our weekly newsletter that went out to new staff hires and highlighted our campaigns
and current staff.

As a campaign consultant with Campaign Connections, I learned quickly how to come up with creative and innovative solutions
without being told every step of the process. Working on candidate campaign plans was a trial by fire for me and my first real taste
of generating content and products for clients that was not specifically laid out for me. I learned to be a self-starter and learned
when the right time to ask questions was and when to ask for help. That job sparked my overall interest in politics and gave me the
fire for making change in my community.

At the Healthcare Leadership Council, I was an administrative intern, but my working role included so much more than answering
phones and creating spreadsheets. I learned so much about healthcare during the summer of 2019: I went to policy meetings,
attended committee hearings on Capitol Hill, and prepped our CEO for meetings with coalition members. I learned how to manage
my time while at work, and how to dissect policy briefs and memos. I got a taste of the fast-paced Washington D.C. work style and
loved it.

Now, finishing up as a Masters Student at Appalachian State University (graduation in December 2022), I am a Graduate Assistant
for two professors. I am responsible for grading undergraduate material, as well as helping the professors with their research. I
have regularly scheduled check-ins with the professors and have time sensitive goals that need to be met in order to keep their
classes and research on schedule. I also served as my program’s Senator in our Graduate Student Government Association. I
attended regular meetings, contributed to forming and passing legislation, and represented the interests of my fellow cohort to the
Student Government Association. I have gained experience leading groups in my classes on research projects, have become a better
presenter and public speaker through the classes I have taken, and have gained skills in policy and data analysis. My main focus in
graduate school has been issues with voting and the state and health of democracy in the United States.

I grew up in the Winston-Salem area and feel strongly about serving my community. I know the challenges that face my home
community and understand the diversity that makes our district so unique. I would love the chance to serve my home and make the
district stronger and a leader in the state of North Carolina.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Sincerely,
Peter DeBaugh