MARQUITA SANDERS
Marquita Sanders is the founder of Sanders Strategies. She is widely respected as a skilled organizer, execution driver, and troubleshooter.
She has dedicated nearly two decades to advancing civic power and designing creative, scalable strategies across government, campaigns, and advocacy.
Most recently, Marquita served as Director of States at the Democratic National Committee, where she managed the DNC’s relationships with state parties nationwide and led a team responsible for coordination with the White House and elected officials.
Her leadership has spanned federal and state government roles, national campaigns, and cross-sector initiatives focused on equity and impact.
Marquita previously served in the Executive Chamber of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as Assistant Secretary for Scheduling and Operations, and later as Director of Operations and Engagement at the New York State Department of Financial Services, helping launch the inaugural State Office of Financial Inclusion and Empowerment (SOFIE).
On the campaign trail, Marquita was a senior executive on Senator Cory Booker’s presidential campaign, leading candidate travel, event production, and daily scheduling operations. She began her political journey organizing in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 2008 Obama primary, later serving in both Obama-Biden administrations and playing a pivotal role on the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee, where she led the recruitment and training of over 16,000 volunteers for official inaugural events in Washington, D.C.
Now based in Orlando, Florida with her beloved dog Ollie, Marquita continues to travel frequently, lending her expertise to leaders and organizations across the country who are committed to making change that matters.
Liam Kahn has over a decade of experience in campaigning, political affairs, government relations, and advocacy. From electoral politics to ballot initiatives, public relations and coalition building, Liam has done it all.
His interest in politics began at a young age. After he dropped out of high school and completed his education by achieving his GED, he became the youngest Deputy Town Supervisor in the history of Woodstock, New York, being sworn in exactly one month after turning 18.
Since then he has worked on a bevy of projects, from the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria, fundraising for Juan Figueroa, who became the first Puerto Rican American elected Sheriff in New York history.
Later becoming National Campaign Manager and then Executive Director for Drag Out The Vote where he designed the Drag Ambassador Program and recruited 300+ drag artists to serve as digital organizers.
He most recently served as the Democratic National Committee’s LGBTQ Director, successfully working with the Harris for President Campaign to increase LGBTQ+ vote share for the Democratic ticket by 15% and created and executed the DNC’s first ever LGBTQ+ exclusive media buy.
Damika Sanders holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. She began her career at Valencia College in 2007 as a part‑time lab instructor and tutor. Alongside teaching, she worked on technical projects such as developing a procedure to test gyroscope accuracy and designing a system to detect and adjust the flaps on a Wittman Tailwind aircraft.
Prior to her work at Sanders Strategies, Damika was the Director of the LSAMP program, a National Science Foundation initiative that supports underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida.
DAMIKA SANDERS
Damika's work exemplifies her commitment to diversity and access in higher education. She uses her engineering background and personal experiences to help people from underrepresented groups find their paths into STEM, and she believes that diversity and access are the cornerstones of developing sound, equitable organizations and successful programs.
Outside of her professional work, Damika is a long‑distance runner and triathlete; she enjoys drawing, kayaking and archery, and has volunteered for over a decade with the U.S. Dream Academy mentoring middle‑school students.