Today, DNC Chair Ken Martin announced the new slate of the Democratic National Committee’s senior leadership team along with three new DNC Associate Chairs. Roger Lau has been named Executive Director of the DNC, Libby Schneider has been named Deputy Executive Director, and Jessica Wright has been named Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Staff to the Chair. Rep. Joyce Beatty, Shasti Conrad, and Stuart Appelbaum will serve as DNC Associate Chairs. 

“The DNC is thrilled to announce a new slate of leaders whose depth and breadth of experience will support the Democratic Party in holding the Trump administration accountable and fighting for working families,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “At such a critical moment, we are excited to have experienced, aggressive operatives who are ready to roll up their sleeves and defend Democratic values up and down the ballot.” 

“The DNC is laser-focused on equipping Democrats across the country with the tools they need to win, and I am honored to support Chair Martin in this critical work,” said DNC Executive Director Roger Lau. “When we’re in the opposition party, the work of the DNC is more important than ever. This team will leverage the vast infrastructure that we’ve built within the DNC and our state parties while meeting this moment by deepening our partnerships, strengthening grassroots organizing, and turbocharging messaging to win elections.” 

DNC EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Roger Lau previously served as Deputy Executive Director at the DNC since 2021. Born and raised in New York City, Lau is a campaign veteran, working on several campaigns for U.S. Senate and House races in New England, as Deputy State Director in John Kerry’s Senate office, Campaign Manager for Kerry’s 2008 reelection campaign, and in the Commerce Department during the Obama administration.

In 2012, Lau began working on Elizabeth Warren’s first campaign for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts as Political Director. After helping her become the first woman to serve in the Senate from Massachusetts, Lau served as her State Director and was tapped to lead her 2018 reelection effort. In 2019, he was named Senator Warren’s presidential campaign manager, joining Faiz Shakir from the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign as the first Asian Americans to manage an American presidential campaign. 

Libby Schneider most recently served as the Chief of Staff of the DNC and has been at the DNC since 2019. Schneider’s previous roles at the DNC include Senior Advisor and National Rural Political Director, and she led efforts to support 2023 races including the successful Virginia legislative races and Kentucky gubernatorial election. Prior to joining the committee, Schneider served in the Senate as a Special Advisor to Senator Kent Conrad and in the office of Senator Heidi Heitkamp and later as her Senate campaign manager. Schneider has deep experience with political campaigns having worked on congressional, statewide, and presidential races. Schneider was born in North Dakota and has a deep commitment to reaching voters everywhere. 

Jessica Wright most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the State Department where she advised Secretary Antony Blinken on management and workforce issues and shaped the development and implementation of priority internal management policies. Previously, she served in the Obama administration as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling at the White House. Wright also has experience in local government, non-profit management, and campaigns.

DNC ASSOCIATE CHAIRS 

Rep. Joyce Beatty has proudly represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District since 2013. In the 118th Congress, Beatty serves on the exclusive House Committee on Financial Services as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. In the 117th Congress, Beatty served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Prior to her service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Beatty was senior vice president of outreach and engagement at The Ohio State University and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for five terms.

Shasti Conrad is Chair of the Washington State Democrats, the first woman of color and youngest person to serve in her role. Adopted from Calcutta by a single mom and raised in rural Oregon, Conrad is also the first South Asian woman to lead a state party organization anywhere in the country and the first AAPI Chair in the contiguous 48 states. Prior to leading the Washington Democrats, Conrad served as a staffer and consultant on four presidential campaigns and worked in the Obama White House’s Office of Public Engagement and for President Obama’s Senior Advisor. Conrad graduated from Seattle University and received her Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton.

Stuart Appelbaum serves as President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Under his leadership, the union has pursued an aggressive organizing agenda; and has secured contracts that have raised industry standards. He is also Executive Vice President of the 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW); and he is a Vice President of the National AFL-CIO. Globally, he is the President of UNI Global Commerce (a federation representing 160 unions and 4 million workers worldwide involved in commerce). Throughout his life, Appelbaum has been involved in the Democratic Party; believing that working people must be engaged politically, and that the Democratic Party is their natural home. He chairs the Democratic National Committee’s Labor Council and has served as co-chair of the party’s Resolutions Committee and as a member of the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee and its Executive Committee.