“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Campaign and Organizing
My campaign and organizing work is grounded in building durable student power, strengthening grassroots infrastructure, and translating values into action across campus, local, and statewide spaces. I have worked across candidate campaigns, party organizing, and student-led political organizations, with a consistent focus on communications, coalition-building, and youth engagement.
I began much of my campaign work with Rhodesia Ransom for State Assembly, where I served as a communications and social media leader. In this role, I supported the development and execution of a digital strategy that centered community storytelling, accessibility, and local issues. I worked closely with campaign leadership to plan content, manage messaging timelines, and translate policy priorities into clear, engaging communications. This experience deepened my understanding of how campaigns operate at the local level and how narrative, consistency, and trust-building shape voter engagement.
At the statewide level, I worked with the California Democratic Party as a Youth Vote and Organizing Intern, where I supported efforts to mobilize young voters across California. My work focused on coordinating outreach initiatives, supporting targeted campaigns, and leveraging digital tools to increase youth participation. Through this role, I gained hands-on experience with large-scale voter engagement strategies and learned how statewide infrastructure supports local organizing on the ground.
On campus, my organizing has been deeply rooted in student leadership and political education. With College Democrats of UC Riverside, I have served in multiple leadership roles, including Political Director, Vice President of External Affairs, President (during the 2024 Presidential Election), and later Co-President.
In these positions, I helped grow the organization as both a political home and a community space—leading recruitment, organizing issue-based programming, coordinating with campaigns and elected officials, and fostering student leadership development. My work emphasized inclusivity, political learning, and empowering students to see themselves as active participants in democratic processes.
I also served as Principal Coordinator for Students for Harris–Walz at UC Riverside. In this role, I focused on building internal structure, supporting organizers, coordinating communications, and creating opportunities for student engagement during a high-stakes election cycle. The role reinforced my commitment to mentorship, sustainable organizing, and creating entry points for students new to political work.
Beyond campus, I have been engaged with California College Democrats, where I have supported policy development, endorsements coordination, and student advocacy efforts across the state. This work strengthened my ability to operate within statewide coalitions, balance diverse campus perspectives, and help shape youth-driven political priorities.
Across all of these experiences, my approach to organizing has remained consistent: center students and community, build systems that last beyond a single election, and treat political work as both strategic and relational. Whether working on a local campaign, within a party structure, or alongside student organizers, I aim to create spaces where people feel informed, empowered, and connected to collective action.
Joseph Anastacio 