Silicon Valley Democratic Club (SVDC)™
formerly known as the Santa Clara County Democratic Club (SCCDC)
About The ClubEstablished in 1981, Silicon Valley Democratic Club (SVDC) is a progressive organization dedicated to informing voters, encouraging citizen involvement in the political process, and promoting Democratic Party values and candidates. We draw our membership from all over Santa Clara County and it includes many current and former elected officials. | General MeetingsWe regularly hold monthly General Meetings via Zoom on the third Monday of the month from 7:00 - 9:00 PM, which are open to the public and typically feature a guest speaker. See the list schedule below and visit our EVENTS page for more information about our next meeting. We look forward to seeing you there! |
General Meetings (open to the public)General Meetings are typically held on the 3rd Monday of each month with program from 7-9pm via Zoom, and are open to the public.
| Executive Board Meetings (open to club members only)E-board meetings are typically held on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 7pm via Zoom, and are open to all current club members in good standing. Agenda's for Executive Board Meetings will be posted in the Board Meeting Events.
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The SVDC Executive Board
The SVDC Executive Board, elected by the membership annually at the November General Meeting for a one year term, includes Club Officers and Members at Large. The Executive Board meets monthly and meetings are open only to SVDC members. To contact an individual board member, simply click on their name in the listing below.
2023 Executive Board
Raven Malone • President
reimagine community safety. While she lost her race, as a queer, Black women, she recognizes the importance of continuing to fight for social justice and bring voices of queer and people of color to the forefront so she continues to do so through local political organizations. She was born and raised in Mobile, AL and, while the bay area is more progressive than her hometown, she's determined to continue pushing the bay to the left and getting the voices of the working class in front of the elite. Sousan Manteghi • Vice President  Sousan is a wife, a mother, an activist , and an American by choice. She holds the ideals to protect women’s rights, human rights, the secular state, and cultural pluralism. She supports a woman’s right to choose and access to contraception as the right of women everywhere to take control of their own reproductive future. As a community activists, her experience includes CADEM- Delegate, SCCDP- Elected Delegate- Active Member, South County Dem. Club –SCDC Past President, BAIAD (Past President & current E-Board member), DAWN- member, AAUW- member, Tahirih Justice Center - Member, and Order of the Eastern Star- member. Life experiences have fortified her belief in social and economic justice. Vinod Menon • Recording Secretary  Vinod is a Semiconductor Industry Executive, who is serving as the Executive Vice-President Engineering at a Santa Clara-based global semiconductor company. He volunteers every weekend, as an inspirational mentor to empower jobseekers and entrepreneurs. He joined SVDC in December 2016, served on the SVDC Executive Board as an At-large member during 2018, and as the SVDC Secretary since January 2019. He has walked precincts in Sunnyvale neighborhoods for now Congressman Ro Khanna and has held various elected Student Government roles.
Kristen Lyn • Treasurer .jpg) Almost 20 years experience in professional accounting. More than 10 years of supervisory experience and budget development responsibility. Worked in Deloitte for 4 years and helped 4 IPO companies for years afterwards. Kristen is a Cupertino School Board Trustee, CUSD designated representative for SSC School Boards Association, Treasurer for Asian Pacific Islander School Board Members Association and CFO for Shin Shin Educational Foundation. Kristen is working to assist with club financial structure and planning.Michele Dauber • Parliamentarian/At-Large Board Member Pete Dailey • At-Large Board Member
| Mariam Ghazvini • At-Large Board Member She is a Professional Mentor very passionate about the achievement and status of women. For many years she has been involved in helping women succeed in many areas of their lives including Women’s Penitentiaries and WIC (Women in Community). In addition, she has been an activist with voter registration and part of Indivisibles since 2017. Prior to that she phone banked for Obama and other candidates. Recently, she has been very active in 2018 election and 2020 election by card-writing and phone banking. Tomara Hall • At Large Board Member 
Tomara Hall is an Afro-Latina from the central valley. She moved to San Jose in 2014 when she began her career as a Special Education Teacher. Tomara founded TEYA (Teachers Empowering Youth Activists) in July 2020 with other BIPOC and allied teachers to build anti-racist classrooms and schools. She has advocated for more education funding in higher education as a Governmental Affairs Administrator for the Associated Students, and politically engaged the community as a Campus Organizer with Mi Familia Vota. As a Policy & Advocacy Fellow, she helped develop parent education programs with Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco. As an Equity Leader in her school district, Tomara utilizes her position to empower students, parents and community members. After having run for SJUSD School board in November 2020, she joined the San Jose Unified Equity Coalition. For two years, Tomara has worked with SJUEC to end school policing. Tomara is an active member of the Race Equity & Community Safety and Organizing committees of Sacred Heart Community Service. She currently serves as President of Afro UPRIS, the Black Democrats Club of Santa Clara County, and is a member for the Alliance of Black Educators of Santa Clara County.
Mara Privitt • At Large Board Member
Mara currently works for a San Jose City Council office as the first point of contact for constituent concerns. She previously co-owned/operated a small bean to bar chocolate company for over a decade. Her past employment history has spanned real est ate, income tax, and property management. Her sense of accomplishment across all of these industries has come from solving client problems and ensuring that people who might be overlooked, feel heard. Mara is a proud queer woman of color, a compassionate champion of her children and a lover of food. She can be found haunting craft & antique stores looking for gifts for friends or adding to her collection of vintage cookbooks. When she is not working, or spending time with her family, you can find her in the kitchen whipping up something delicious! Angelica Ramos-Allen • At Large Board Member Angelica Ramos-Allen has spent the past decade as a political consultant, an activist for women's rights, and an advocate for policies to support and protect children. She has been a Fellow with the Children's Defense Fund and holds a J.D. from Whittier Law School. She currently is a staffer for Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. |
Raven is a Project Manager with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Electrical Engineering. She previously ran for City Council to create better infrastructure, advocate for housing as a human right, and 
Michele Dauber is currently an At-large member of the SVDC Executive Board. She is a constitutional scholar and Professor of Law at Stanford. She is also a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser, and chairs the SVDC Fundraising committee. She is a member of the SVDC Endorsement Committee and the SVDC Bylaws Task Force. Michele’s husband Ken is a member of the Palo Alto School Board.
Pete retired to spend more time with his family and to pursue philanthropic and civic engagement. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Lassen Park Foundation, and serves on the Board for Mountain View Los Altos Girls Softball. Pete previously served on the Board for Los Altos Mountain View PONY baseball and has been volunteering as a coach in youth sports for many years. He has been involved in organizing and fundraising for several national campaigns and has also worked as the treasurer for a local campaign. Pete is a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for Los Altos. His political values reflect his upbringing by a single mom who was a leader in the Teachers’ Union, and his experience as an undergraduate at Berkeley.
Dr. Mariam Ghazvini holds an Ed.D degree from USC, a Master’s degree in Counseling from Santa Clara University, and a Master’s degree in Education from San Jose State University. She is a Professional Mentor, Coach, and Distinguished Toastmaster. Her favorite areas of research and teaching include Successful Approaches to Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Management Tactics, and Human Resources Management. Her experience includes retail, high tech and non-profits. A proud immigrant, Dr. Ghazvini wants to contribute to her community specifically to women's and immigrant’s issues by giving them the best opportunity to succeed through her own experiences and education.
Mara has lived in Santa Clara County for most of her adult life, originally hailing from beautiful Denver, Colorado. She has a background in administration, entrepreneurship, and public service; as well as grassroot activism as a co-founder of Orchard City Indivisible. Through her activism work, she has participated on projects that span a myriad of her interests, such as women’s health, LGBT+ programs, and services for underserved communities.
2022 Outgoing Executive Board Members
Please join us in appreciation for the service of the following members of the board in 2022.
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BylawsThe SVDC Bylaws is the foundational document of the Silicon Valley Democratic Club--the rules and regulations enacted by our club to provide a framework for the operation and management of SVDC. Our bylaws also include our club Credo and Code of Conduct. | Policies & ProceduresThe SVDC Policies & Procedures report is intended to document policies approved by the E-Board which do not modify the Bylaws and remain in effect until superseded by a more recent policy. This report is always a work in progress.
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