Atima Omara

Atima Omara is an award-winning leader in politics and the progressive movement. With over a decade of experience, she has worked in politics and progressive non-profits engaging youth, women, and people of color in the political process and related progressive causes. An experienced political strategist, Atima was the first President Emeritus of the Young Democrats of America, Democratic National Commitee (DNC) member from Virginia, and Chair of the Planned Parenthood Metro Washington Action Fund Board of Directors. She has worked for a Governor and as staff on over 9 federal, state, and local Democratic campaigns in Virginia and across the country. Her multi-faceted political experience includes campaign management, field organizing, fundraising, and paid communications for coordinated campaigns and independent expenditures. Additionally, Atima has done cross-movement work with labor unions, women’s rights organizations, youth- and civil-rights organizations with a focus on political advocacy and engagement. Atima was the first African American and fifth woman President of the Young Democrats of America (YDA) in its 83-year history. She served as President from 2013-2015, the nation’s largest youth partisan organization. As President, Atima not only worked to engage young people in the political process in all fifty states but marked her tenure with membership growth, streamlined operations, and increased work with allied progressive organizations. Atima has traveled across the US and to Canada to speak on Democratic politics, Millenial vote and activism and women’s rights. Atima has also appeared a number of times as a political commentator on Fox News Channel (FNC) and Fox Business (FBN), MSNBC, CNN, PBS’ To the Contrary, Sky News, NPR, & CSPAN. She has been quoted in the Washington Post, American Prospect and many state and local news outlets and her writings on progressive topics have been featured in American Prospect, Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Root, The Hill, Ebony Magazine, Ms. & Rewire to name a few For her work, Atima has received frequent recognition including being listed as one of Ebony Magazine’s 2013 “Power 100”, and Jet Magazine’s 2013 “40 under 40”. Atima was also featured in Essence Magazine in their November 2013 list of “Ten Things We’re Talking About”. She was awarded the Young Women of Achievement Award in Leadership from the DC’s Women’s Information Network and the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women’s “Women of Vision Award in Government”. She was the Virginia Young Democrats’ Female of the Year in 2004. She received her BA from the University of Virginia and her Masters in Public Administration from George Mason University