Who are We

Who We Are

People for Bernie is a collective formed before Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for President. We are committed to progressive principles and seek to use social media and good organizing to marry the best of movement politics, electoral organizing and cultural strategies. Our core team overlaps significantly with a number of excellent allies and partners, including Ready for Warren, National Nurses Union, Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution, African Americans for Bernie, Feminists for Bernie, Latinos for Bernie, Socialists for Bernie, Asian Americans for Bernie, Arab Americans for Bernie, Jews for Bernie, Bernie Sanders Democrats, LGBT for Bernie, Women for Justice, Millennials for Revolution, Labor for Our Revolution, & The People’s Summit Network.

As of this writing (Dec. 2016) we generated billions of digital impressions in support of Bernie Sanders, his allies, and movements we support (#NoDAPL, #BlackLivesMatter, Climate Justice, #TPP, Robin Hood Tax, and so many more…) This translates into money, volunteers, cultural influence, coalition building, votes, and direct action. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and look forward to more resistance, more victories, and more solidarity in the years ahead.

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Meet the Team

Charles LenchnerCo-Founder (People For Bernie)

Charles Lenchner is a political and digital marketing consultant and the Executive Director of Organizing 2.0. He is co-founder of People for Bernie, an independent effort in support of Bernie Sanders that began in April 2015. Previously, he was a founder of Ready for Warren, digital director for the Zephyr Teachout campaign, and digital director of the Working Families Party. Charles lives in Brooklyn with his partner and two sectarian communist cats.

Winnie WongCo-Founder and Internet MOM of #FeelTheBern (People For Bernie)

Winnie Wong is a radical media maker, internet activist and founding organizer of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy.
In the Spring of 2014, she helped to launch Ready For Warren. In the Spring of 2015, she co-founded People For Bernie 2016, and created the viral political hashtag: #FeelTheBern. As a professional concern troll, she is never NOT theorizing the cultural hegemony.

Katherine BrezlerNational Digital Director (People For Bernie)

For the last decade she has been working on education policy improvement projects. Most recently she was part of nation wide organizing for the opt out movement. From early anti-war demonstrations to single payer health care organizing Katherine has worked tirelessly to advocate for the 99% and she joins this team’s leadership to organize a nation wide movement both online and offline.

Moumita AhmedNational Organizer (Millennials For Bernie, People For Bernie)

Moumita is a 25 year old political activist, community organizer, nature lover, and dirt-worshiper. She has experience in field organizing and volunteer coordinating for Campaigns throughout NY State and worked on Zephyr Teachout’s campaign for Governor. Moumita is the lead organizer for Millennials for Bernie and is also the National Grassroots Coordinator for People For Bernie.

Caleb-Michael FilesDigital Organizer (People For Bernie)

Caleb-Michael is a strategist working on Social and Digital Strategy. Caleb-Michael resides in Astoria, New York by way of Knob Noster, Missouri. A Socialist at heart he is stoked to be able to give back by working to elect Bernie.

Jenni SiriCo-Founder (Women For Bernie)

Jenni Siri is a freelance graphic artist with a BFA in Visual Communications. She is a political activist with primary interests in women’s rights, environmentalism and getting money out of politics. Jenni is a co-founder, organizer and artistic director for Women for Bernie Sanders.

Maximilian CotterillOrganizer (People For Bernie)

Max is a rising senior at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) majoring in Political Science- Public Policy and History. He began his activist career during high school joining Mark Takano’s 1st successful campaign in Congress. Since then, Max has engaged in advancing progress through a variety of of means; serving as a Delegate to the CA Democratic Party, member of the San Diego Central Committee, founder of a youth-centric Super PAC, and grassroots organizing of students against the creeping privatization of public education. Max aims to continues CCD’s long legacy of electing Democrats across the state– but more importantly aims to effectively advocate and ensure that elected Democrats stay true to our progressive values.

Stan WilliamsLead Organizer, African Americans For Bernie, People For Bernie

Stan Williams is a organizing director for the Organization of Staff Analyst Union in New York City. He is a logistics and support specialist, providing assistance to many movements notably Occupy Wall Street and Millions March NYC, the largest Civil Rights action this decade.

Patricia BrooksMedia Consultant, People for Bernie

Patricia Brooks has been pitching the media on progressive issues on a daily-basis for over twelve years. During her career, she has earned coverage in nearly every major national print, television, radio and online outlet, and she has facilitated front page articles for multiple clients in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. She has worked on over 100 media relations campaigns and offered strategic communications consultancy for dozens of non-profit clients including ActionAid USA, The Wilderness Society, and Potomac Conservancy. She focuses on issues such as economic justice, criminal justice system reform, access to mental health care, climate change, food security, and racial and gender equality.

She lives in Washington DC with her husband, Stefan, but grew up in Avon Lake, Ohio, the daughter/ granddaughter of United Auto Workers Employees at the local Ford Motor Company.

Joe NewlinTechnology Director, People for Bernie

Joe Newlin is a digital strategist and online organizer, and the founder and principal of vsbly, a boutique strategic communications agency based in Los Angeles and Chicago. He helps labor unions, political campaigns, and nonprofits organize through social media, he writes code for experimental art & music, and he can’t remember how many Twitter accounts he has, but @newlinla is one of them.