Lauren K Questionnaire
Please describe your past and current involvement in DSA. This may include your involvement in the metro D.C. chapter, another chapter, and/or work at the national level.
I am currently the Treasurer for our chapter, seeking a second term. In my work in the Finance Committee and as Treasurer I have:
- Created the chapter’s first line-item budget, and spending tracking mechanisms, which we almost met exactly in 2021.
- Provided our chapter with projections on how much money we are expected to have on hand, months and years out.
- Opened our Merchandise Store and begun using it to fundraise for our chapter
Since beginning organizing with DSA in 2020, I have also been involved in structure building and mobilization within the chapter, helping to build out the current structure of the Administrative Committee. I am currently involved with the Mobilization Commission, and a proud co-sponsor of BA4: Amend MDC DSA Bylaws to create a Member Engagement Committee.
I am also on the national Growth & Development Organizer Training Subcommittee and am developing a series of finance and resource-management based trainings for chapters across the country. I often speak with other DSA chapters about how they can build up structures and processes around financial management and chapter administration.
Why do you believe that you are a good fit for this position?
I truly love being Metro DC DSA’s treasurer, and I think I have done a good job at it so far. It is a job that takes at minimum 5 hours of my time per week doing things like:
- Reimbursing members for their campaign expenditures
- Keeping track of and managing the merchandise store
- Taking care of our regulatory and reporting requirements
- Preparing finance reports for Steering and General Body meetings
To me, a good Steering member will show up reliably, take on work when it needs to get done (even if it isn’t something that’s not your primary interest), and approach every question with openness and good faith. I have tried to model this as a Steering member, as well as direct and managing my own inter-chapter conflicts in a non-hostile and direct manner.
What do you hope to accomplish for the chapter if elected to this position?
I will have three primary goals for the 2022 term. First, I plan to building out the Finance Committee so that it is less reliant on the Treasurer’s personal availability, build out dedicated and intentional fundraising for the chapter, and help us move towards democratic decisionmaking on potential big chapter spends, like a staff or office space.
Second, I will hopefully work with the new Member Engagement Committee to help build its structures so that we can bring more of our members in to build out a holistic program for recruiting, training, and developing members across the chapter, with a strong focus on diversity and representation.
Finally, I plan to get more involved with the Queer Section and Northern Virginia branch to respond to the growing number of threats on the transgendered community in Virginia and throughout the region. As a queer woman and trans spouse, I am deeply passionate that our chapter needs to be more active in this space as a bulwark against very dangerous new state leadership, and a growing trend of hatred and violence directed at our community.
I am very excited to serve you all for another year. Being on the Steering Committee has been both one of the most challenging, but also one of the most joyful experiences of my life. We have built a phenomenal community doing critical work together that is changing the landscape of Metro DC. I can’t wait to see what 2022 brings for us!