WASHINGTON, April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democratic National
 Committee Chairman Howard Dean today announced the six members of the
 senior leadership team for the 2008 Democratic National Convention
 Committee (DNCC). This talented group of professionals brings extensive
 experience representative of the commitment to excellence, inclusion and
 accessibility that will be a hallmark of the 2008 Denver Convention.
     "We are excited about being in Denver for the 2008 convention, where in
 17 months we will nominate the next president of the United States," said
 Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "I am very proud to
 announce the members of our convention leadership team who, as a whole, are
 representative of the talent, experience and diversity that characterizes
 the Democratic Party. This team will be on the ground working closely with
 our partners in Denver to actively engage all communities in new and
 creative ways to showcase our party's nominee and the issues that will lead
 the Democrats to victory in 2008."
     Governor Dean will formally kick-off the 2008 Denver Convention with a
 community celebration Thursday. He will be joined by Denver Mayor John
 Hickenlooper, Denver 2008 Host Committee President Elbra Wedgeworth and the
 DNCC senior leadership team members.
     The leadership team is headed by Leah Daughtry who will serve as Chief
 Executive Officer of the 2008 Convention. Daughtry is currently the Chief
 of Staff at the DNC, managing day-to-day strategy and operations. Among her
 many accomplishments, Daughtry served at the U.S. Department of Labor as
 Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management during the Clinton
 Administration. In that capacity, she oversaw the development of the
 Department's management programs and policies, including responsibility for
 the Department's $35 billion budget. Throughout her career, Daughtry has
 been widely recognized as bringing sound, principled management and
 leadership practices to organizations with which she has worked.
     Daughtry will be joined by the following outstanding members of the
 DNCC Denver 2008 senior management team:
     Leah Daughtry, CEO
     Peggy Cusack, Chief of Staff
     Susana Carbajal, General Counsel
     Jenni Engebretsen, Deputy CEO for Public Affairs
     Sky Gallegos, Deputy CEO for Intergovernmental Relations
     Cameron Moody, Deputy CEO for Operations
     Jim McMullen, Deputy CEO for Administration and Finance
 
     Leah Daughtry, Chief Executive Officer
     The Reverend Leah D. Daughtry is currently Chief of Staff of the
 Democratic National Committee and leads the DNC's outreach to faith
 communities. Daughtry held various senior posts at the United States
 Department of Labor during the Clinton Administration, including Senior
 Advisor to the Secretary, Chief of Staff, and lastly, Acting Assistant
 Secretary for Administration and Management, with oversight for the
     development of the Department's management programs and policies,
 including responsibility for the Department's $35 billion budget. Daughtry
 also served on the Clinton-Gore 1992 Transition Team, as Managing Director
 of the 1992 Democratic National Convention, and as Legislative Assistant to
 U.S. Congressman Edolphus "Ed" Towns.
     Pastor of The House of the Lord Church in Washington, D.C., Reverend
 Daughtry is a member of the Boards of Visitors of The Rockefeller Center at
 Dartmouth College, as well as the Boards of Directors of The House of the
 Lord Churches, and The Randolph Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund. She has
 previously served on the Board of Directors of the National AIDS Action
 Council. Ms. Daughtry has also served as Executive Director of
 MAN-to-man/Sister-to-Sister, a not-for-profit human service agency
 dedicated to enriching and enhancing the lives of families in Brooklyn, New
 York, during which she created a specialized mentoring program for girls
 with HIV-infected mothers.
     Susana Carbajal, General Counsel
     Susana Carbajal is currently an attorney with the Bankruptcy and
 Specialty Litigation Department at the law firm of Brown McCarroll, L.L.P.
 where she specializes in representing secured and unsecured creditors as
 well as debtors in commercial bankruptcy and reorganization cases.
     Prior to practicing law, Carbajal worked in government and politics at
 the national level. Her career began on Capitol Hill where she worked for
 Texas Congressman Ruben Hinojosa. Carbajal also served as associate deputy
 director of the Office of Presidential Personnel where she recruited,
 screened, and recommended diverse, qualified candidates to President
 Clinton for appointments to cabinet departments, agencies, commissions, and
 boards. Carbajal also worked for the 2000 Gore for President campaign.
     Peggy Cusack, Chief of Staff
     Peggy Cusack is currently managing director of the Washington office of
 Rendezvous Consulting Group, a firm that specializes in the production and
 management of large scale, high profile events. Cusack brings more than 15
 years of experience in the special events industry, and her many notable
 accomplishments include eight years as a White House event planner during
 the Clinton/Gore Administration -- an experience that included senior
 management roles on three presidential campaigns, two presidential
 inaugurations, planning committees for the Olympic Games, and two
 Democratic National Conventions. In 2004, Peggy served as a consultant to
 the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign, orchestrating campaign
 operations and logistics for the Democratic National Convention and
 producing the Election Night concert and celebration in Boston. Prior to
 starting Rendezvous Consulting Group, Cusack practiced for several years as
 a litigator in the San Francisco office of the law firm Morgan, Lewis &
 Bockius LLP.
     Jenni Engebretsen, Deputy CEO for Public Affairs
     Jenni R. Engebretsen is currently the Director of Communications for
 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Washington,
 DC-based trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Before
 joining the RIAA, Engebretsen spent eight years working in Democratic
 politics, most recently as a Regional Communications Director for the
 Kerry-Edwards for President campaign, where she was responsible for
 developing campaign communications strategy for top-targeted states
 including Florida and New Hampshire. During the 2004 presidential cycle,
 she also served as Deputy Communications Director for the Democratic
 National Convention in Boston and as Press Secretary for the Edwards for
 President campaign during the primaries. Before that, she worked on Capitol
 Hill in the communications offices of Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and
 Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and in the White House press office during the
 Clinton Administration. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's
 Medill School of Journalism.
     Sky Gallegos, Deputy CEO for Intergovernmental Relations
     Sky Gallegos' work with state and local elected officials spans the
 last 13 years and includes senior positions in government, corporate,
 non-profit and campaign arenas.
     During the Clinton Administration, Gallegos worked directly with the
 nation's state and local elected officials in the Office of
 Intergovernmental Affairs in the White House, and the Democratic National
 Committee. An experienced campaign veteran, Gallegos worked in the last
 three presidential campaign cycles and in off-year and mid-term elections
 in three targeted states for the Democratic National Committee. In 2003,
 Gallegos was the National Political Director for the Edwards for President
 Campaign, during the general election she was the California State Director
 for Kerry/Edwards 04. Gallegos directed the western regional political
 effort for Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 election cycle, implementing
 the political strategy for 12 western states including the successful
 campaigns in California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and Hawaii.
     Gallegos also has experience building and managing coalitions between
 the public and private sectors, helping start and then manage EdVoice, a
 political advocacy organization for public school reform in California. As
 Chief Operating Officer and Political Director, she worked with the CEO to
 build a Board of Directors and Advisory Board which includes business,
 education, political and community leaders from across the state. In its
 first two years, EdVoice had a 99% success rate with the legislation it
 introduced.
     Cameron Moody, Deputy CEO
     Cameron Moody has more than 18 years of experience in project
 management, strategic planning, special event logistics, and transportation
 systems. Until recently, Moody was the Director of Strategic Planning and
 Operations for the American Cancer Society's National Government Relations
 Office. Prior to joining the American Cancer Society, Moody was Deputy CEO
 for Operations for the 2004 Democratic National Convention Committee where
 he oversaw the planning and implementation of Security, Transportation and
 Housing. In this role, he interfaced with the Boston Host Committee, Secret
 Service, Boston Police, Boston Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Boston Fire
 Dept., Boston Police, State Dept. of Transportation and a host of other
 agencies and corporate entities.
     Moody also served as Deputy Director of Operations for the 2004 and
 2000 Democratic National Conventions and Deputy Director of Transportation
 for the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Cameron also worked on the
 2002, 2000 and 1996 Olympics and the 1997 Denver Summit of the Eight (G-8
 Economic Summit). Moody is an engineer by training and has worked in
 automotive and athletic shoe design and development prior to working in
 Special Events.
     Jim McMullen, Deputy CEO for Administration and Finance
     Jim McMullen is currently a Principal with the Council for Excellence
 in Government. Previously McMullen served as a career civil servant for 26
 years at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Prior to his retirement in
 2004, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Strategic Planning
 where he was responsible for the DOL budget which totaled $60 billion and
 17,000 staff. In addition to the budget duties, he directed the strategic
 and performance planning activities of the Department. He was also Deputy
 Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management where in addition to
 budget and planning he directed human resources, information technology,
 space and procurement for the Department. During the tenure of Secretary
 Alexis M. Herman he served as Associate Deputy Secretary where he was the
 principal advisor to the Deputy Secretary on the formulation and
 development of policy positions for the Department. McMullen has twice
 received the President's Rank Award for Meritorious Service and the Philip
 Arnow Award, which is the highest award given to a DOL employee. Subsequent
 to his retirement he was a Principal with SRA International, Inc., which is
 a provider of information technology services and solutions
     Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
 http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any
 candidate or candidate's committee.
     Contact: Dag Vega/Stacie Paxton, 202-863-8148
 
 

SOURCE Democratic National Committee