Steering Committee

Chair

Drew Nesmith

Drew Nesmith is committed to solving climate change & mitigation and providing a more just world. Drew has three years of experience as a member of the Political Workers Guild Steering Committee and is committed to state capacity, especially legislative staff capacity and good governance. He is determined to make Legislative and Political Campaign Work provide a living and sustainable compensation package to compete with the Private sector. 

Drew is originally from Arkansas, where he lived and saw the effects of unjust racial and labor laws on working class Americans. He believes government exists to provide for the building blocks of life, provide a welfare state, essential industry, and the pursuit of happiness. After working in the U.S. Senate, and Clinton Foundation, Drew has worked as a Legislative Aide in the Colorado Legislature the past three years while attaining his Masters in Environmental Policy. Drew views public sector unions, sectoral bargaining, and codetermination as essential policies to achieve these goals. When he isn’t working on land use, housing, and climate policy, you can find Drew unwinding by hiking in the mountains with his dog Pruitt, enjoying a neighborhood cafe, or watching Premier League.

Vice-Chair

Isabela Fe Martinez

PWG is the first union Isabela has ever been part of and she was excited to become a member last year and even more excited to serve this year as the Vice Chair alongside a dedicated steering committee. As a legislative aide, Bela enjoys working on policy that advocates for language accessibility, immigrant rights, and climate resiliency! While she doesn't believe that meaningful change will be made on a federal level to address our environmental and political situation, she is grateful to work with advocates to ensure dignity for everybody on a local level.

​

Having worked on two campaigns before, she is a bit pushy and lucky to have had positive experiences and good pay but has known others who needed a contract, a union, and the financial stability to tell their candidate to kick rocks. She’s excited to take that experience and serve as chair of the PWG campaign certification committee and see good campaigns and staff win. 

​

Isabela hopes that she can be a part of improving members' ability to participate in amplifying our needs collectively and to be someone people trust to be represented in grievances and negotiations. PWG is working with our candidates and elected leaders for the bare minimum of a living wage for our labor and to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace. Many of our democratic leaders continue to campaign on the values of supporting families and working-class individuals and she hopes that PWG can work with them to ensure they are practicing what they legislate. In her free time, she enjoys watching basketball (esp the Nuggets) and spending time with her family and friends.

Secretary-Treasurer

Hailey Shea McMoore

Hailey Shea McMoore is committed to advancing progressive policies in Colorado. With a decade of organizing experience, Hailey first joined a union in 2014 as an AFT member. Unions have saved her job, made her wages more livable and ensured fair treatment during pregnancy and maternity leave. As a member of the steering committee she looks forward to professionalizing campaign and aide work, as well as elevating the union’s profile in the Colorado organizing landscape.

Hailey started her career as a teacher and was pulled into politics through student advocacy work. After serving as Chief of Staff for Representative Jennifer Bacon for three legislative sessions, Hailey has stepped away from formal, paid work to be a stay at home mom to her newborn baby. Her commitment to making the “world as it should be” a reality is what drives her work. When she needs to refill her cup, you can find Hailey reading nonfiction, going for a jog, doing paper crafts or dancing to Beyonce!

Steering Committee Member

Amanda Alvarado

Amanda Alvarado is from Henderson, Colorado. Amanda's maternal grandparents were involved in the United Farmworkers' Movement in Brighton, Colorado as they grew up working in the fields. She always had a strong inclination to stand up for herself and others because of values that were passed down generations. This is what motivated Amanda to join the Political Workers Guild. She envisions the Guild being for legislative members with a steering committee that listens to concerns and finds out how to address them. 

Steering Committee Member

Emma Menchaca-Chavez

Emma Menchaca-Chavez was born and raised in Denver, CO. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and as a queer person, Emma saw injustice in every facet of her life. Emma’s activism started in her school district in 2017,  when she learned about the systemic injustice students and faculty of color faced in Denver Public Schools. Through her work in her school district she learned the power of coalition building and grassroots organizing. 

Emma received her Bachelor's Degree from Regis University, earning a degree in Politics and Peace and Justice with a minor in Spanish. She started her public policy journey in 2021 through the CLLARO Capitol Fellowship, interning for the office of Governor Polis. Emma just completed her second legislative session as an aide for Senate Assistant Majority Leader Faith Winter. Emma believes legislative aides are the backbone of Colorado’s political institution and should be compensated accordingly. Along with that she is passionate about increasing the representation of black and brown people in the aide corps and every corner of Colorado politics.

Steering Committee Member

Langston Mayo

Langston brought a wealth of knowledge into his first session as an aide and within PWG. With a Bachelor in Communications Studies and Philosophy. A Masters in Conflict & Dispute Resolution, Langston strives to apply his passion for building and maintaining healthy workplace relationships within both roles, as an aide and a member of PWG.

The reason for joining the Steering Committee comes from the desire to be in the most optimal position to be in service to the aide core. Being able to assist with facilitating difficult conversations both internally and externally to the guild is a responsibility he embraces fully. Trust, camaraderie, and security are three areas of focus Langston wants to lean into further while in this position to build a stronger guild.

When not consumed by legislative or labor duties, Langston can be found consuming all things TV & Film related. 

Steering Committee Member

Nick Bongiardina

Nick Bongiardina (Bongi for short) is a climate policy wonk who wants to build an equitable future with a safe planet to live on. He joined PWG in 2022 as a campaign staffer, but was a member of CWA as a graduate student at CU Boulder.

He started out studying engineering to work on technology to address the climate crisis, but realized that the real bottleneck to solving the problems we face is to be part of the policymaking process. The gains that PWG has made for the aide position and campaign workers are the reason he’s able to be a legislative aide at all, and he joined the Steering Committee to pay that service forward. He also believes in building up capacity in government to solve problems, and he sees professionalizing the aide corps aide.

As a former (and intermittent) campaign worker, he also believes that all campaign staffers should be paid a living wage and be treated with respect by the candidates that they work for.