We Touch Grass (And Here’s Why)

Meet Eddie, the National Coalitions Director at the Democratic National Committee.

When people ask me what the DNC’s Coalitions team is, I tell them three words: We touch grass.

In national politics, it’s far too easy to get stuck inside the beltway, buried in polls, press releases, and spreadsheets. But our democracy isn’t saved inside office rooms or fancy social events in Washington, D.C. It’s protected at kitchen tables in Milwaukee, community centers in South Los Angeles and East Las Vegas, local unions in Pennsylvania, and in Tribal nations.

My name is Eddie Taveras, and as the National Coalitions Director at the Democratic National Committee, my core belief is simple: Our party is only as strong as our relationship with everyday people.

The Coalitions team, pictured from left to right: Jenny, Katie, Eddie, Aryan, and Asia.

As a Dominican New Yorker raised on a proud immigrant lineage, I was taught early on that leadership starts with kindness, honesty, and a clear commitment to serving others. That ethos guides everything our team does. We are a small but mighty group of six (Atoyia, Aryan, Asia, Jenny, and Katie), serving as the in-house advocates for communities across America.

We exist to ensure the DNC remains deeply rooted in the needs, wants, and lived experiences of everyday voters — especially those who have been historically marginalized. We don’t just show up to ask for votes every two or four years; we are here to support building durable, year-round organizing infrastructure. Every single day, we bring people’s stories, their joy, their hardship, and their dreams unapologetically to the highest tables in national politics.

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What It Looks Like To “Touch Grass”

Eddie presenting during a NextWave Regional Bootcamp in Charlotte, NC.

Living up to the high expectations of our movement takes relentless, intentional presence in the communities we represent. In the second quarter of this year alone, our six-person team doubled down on reaching everyday people where they live, work, and organize.

We didn’t just step up our pace; we doubled the amount of partner engagements from quarter one to quarter two this year, speaking to youth, seniors, women, LGBTQ, interfaith, and other groups. We surged community contact to 5,000+ during the same time period.

These are real people and communities we are engaging with and reaching across the country who, in turn, not only mobilize but also provide us with perspective on what we are doing right and what we need to be doing. Whether bringing together hundreds of voters online or sitting down in intimate regional forums, our events are designed to turn shared values into collective action from constituencies that represent and/or intersect with rural, Black, Latino, Native, AAPI, disability, and other communities.

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Elevating Real Stories To Protect Democracy

Aryan staffing a AANHPI Community Event in Las Vegas, NV

Democracy isn’t an abstract ideal; it’s personal. When rights are under attack, real people feel the burden. That is why our team is relentlessly focused on elevating storyteller voices — like Branisha during our Weekend of Action, or Santiago during Immigrant Heritage Month — whose daily experiences with healthcare, housing, food prices, and dignity shape how the Democratic Party organizes and communicates.

We are in the business of people; what we do must be rooted in the human experience of everyday working people. When Chair Martin travels the country, recently to Arizona, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania, we make sure those visits aren’t photo ops or meetings with people with fancy titles. They are deep, targeted conversations with tribal members, local labor advocates, and grassroots organizers.

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Why Your Grassroots Support Matters

We are a small team of six, but our reach is massive because of you!

Every single event, organizer bootcamp (like our NextWave Regional Bootcamps training the next generation of campaign leaders), voter protection hotline, When We Count Fellow, and community rights and registration clinic happens because grassroots donors back this vision. Your contributions directly fund the pipeline that turns a local conversation in a church basement into national party policy and victory at the ballot box.

As we prepare for the critical midterm elections, the threats to our voting rights and freedoms are real. But so is our power when we stand together. Expanding our work into more rural counties, supporting multi-ethnic coalitions, and training hundreds more field organizers requires resources on the ground today — not days before the election.

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Join Us at the Table

Chair Ken Martin at a community event in San Xavier, NV.

We are fighting every day to make sure the Democratic Party remains the political home for working people, marginalized communities, and everyone striving for a better future.

If you believe in a party grounded in real community relationships, authentic storytelling, and year-round organizing, please consider making a contribution to the DNC today. Your support ensures our team can keep organizing, keep listening, and keep bringing everyday voices straight to the center of our democracy.

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