Lindsay Kavanaugh, Executive Director

Lindsay Kavanaugh joined the Alaska Democratic Party in 2019 after more than a decade and a half working on Capitol Hill and on various political campaigns. A native of Colorado, Lindsay graduated from Colorado State University with a major in political science and interned with the state Senate president before relocating to Washington, DC. From 2009-2014 she served as a Senior Advisor on National Security and Appropriations for former U.S. Senator Mark Begich (AK), where she successfully fought to keep fighter jets at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks. It was during this time she became determined that Alaska would one day be home.

She most recently served as a subcommittee staff lead on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), where she formulated strategies to promote national security policies consistent with democratic values and was responsible for overseeing HASC subcommittee member hearings, briefings, communications, and drafting policy for the National Defense Authorization Bill. She also conducted rigorous oversight of more than $50 billion in Department of Defense appropriations, including IT, cybersecurity, science and technology, intelligence, counterterrorism, and Special Operations Command programs.

Erin Barker, Data Director/Political Coordinator

Erin grew up in Anchorage, where her interest in politics was piqued at Steller Secondary School. Her career has revolved around research, data analysis, and the management information systems that facilitate data-driven decision-making. She worked for public health, education, and business organizations in Boston, San Francisco, and Singapore before returning to Alaska in 2017. She attended the Arena Academy (campaign boot camp) in Texas on the Data Director Track in 2019. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in library and information science from Simmons University. 

Shayla Freirich, Communications Director

From working on various local, state, and federal campaigns to forestry, Shayla Freirich joins the Party with a unique background and perspective conducive to electing Democrats up and down the ticket in the state of Alaska. Her experience includes serving as a government relations intern in Washington D.C. to working on public policy in the Oregon State Legislature. A former President of the Young Democrats of Oregon, Shayla increased grassroots political participation of the youth by lessening the rural-urban divide.

Shayla has strong family roots in our state. Her grandparents, who worked in public education, raised her mom in Juneau. After hearing stories about her mom’s adventures growing up in America’s Last Frontier, she knew Alaska would one day be her home.