As the daughter of Mexican immigrants who grew up in a small town in western North Carolina, Vikki says “the personal has always been political.” She first got involved in political organizing as a college student at UNC, advocating for in-state tuition for undocumented students.

Now living in Raleigh with her husband Bill (who is an educator), Vikki is a public policy analyst at a multi-issue advocacy organization for children. “I love being able to take part in shaping public policies in our state and building a state where every family can thrive,” she says.

Check out this Q&A with Vikki, and then sign up to join her for an upcoming virtual phone bank!

A sophomore at Duke and a leader of Swing NC Duke, Thomas has volunteered with FLIP NC about 10 times, both as a phone banker and as a phone bank captain. He grew up in Maryland around politics – his father worked for President Obama at the USDA for eight years. But this election marks the first time Thomas has been super involved in voter outreach. “With so much at stake, I felt like I had to do my part and help out,” he says.

Read this Q&A with Thomas and then sign up to join him for an upcoming virtual phone bank – he co-leads the “College Edition” phone banks, designed to reach registered voters ages 17 to 22 in competitive NC House districts across the state.

A clinical psychologist, Irene lives in Durham with her husband, two daughters, one dog, and 19 chickens.

She had incredibly inspiring high school teachers who first got her “politically activated.” “That activism has looked different at different points of my life,” she says. Right now, in addition to canvassing with FLIP NC, Irene volunteers with the PTA at her daughter’s elementary school. She is a board member of the Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill, chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and an advisory committee member for Jewish Family Services.

Check out this Q&A with Irene and then sign up to join her at an upcoming canvass in Alamance County or Wake County! Remember, knocking doors is the most important and effective action you can take in this critical election year.

Llogan was involved with her Indivisible chapter in Columbus, Ohio when it was forming and had a positive experience. She wanted to stay engaged when she moved to North Carolina – so she became a FLIP NC volunteer!

She has now canvassed with us about six times and says that on the days she knocks doors, she literally sleeps better knowing she did her part to make a small difference.

Read on to learn more about Llogan and her thoughts on the upcoming election.

Reid discovered FLIP NC when his friend (and now his fellow Alamance Leadership Team member) Marshall Botvinick posted glowingly about our organization on social media. Having worked with Marshall before through Environment NC and the Human Rights Campaign, Reid trusted Marshall’s recommendation.

A Durham resident, Reid works as a program coordinator at UNC Family Medicine and is also a musician. He and his partner, Maria Albani, have a houseful of cats and dogs, lovingly referred to as “the zoo.”

Reid has been interested in political and social concerns throughout his adult life. He focused on Africana Studies in college and became more aware of “the history of race in America and how politicians used racism to divide and undercut popular, important liberal policies.” Frustrated at how big money in politics teamed with misinformation in conservative media to divide the nation, he became active in politics.

Read on to learn more about Reid and what’s motivating him this election cycle. And click here to sign up for our Dec. 8 super canvass so you can join Reid in the fight to restore democracy to our state.

Herb and Jo Ann – a retired newspaper editor and retired English teacher living in Durham – got connected to FLIP NC through fellow grassroots group Neighbors on Call. Over two-plus years, they have been loyal to our door-knocking mission, canvassing about 15 times.  

“During our working years, we did not have time to be engaged politically,” Herb says. “Now, thanks to retirement, we feel an obligation to get others involved and aware.”

In addition to volunteering for many political and voting rights groups, they spend a lot of time with friends, attending cultural activities, and traveling, including frequent trips to New York to visit their daughter and grandson.

Read on to learn more about why this couple is part of the army of volunteers working to break the GOP majority in the N.C. General Assembly in 2020. And click here to sign up for our Dec. 8 super canvass so you can join Herb and Jo Ann in the fight to restore democracy to our state.

Marshall discovered FLIP NC through Durham for Organizing Action meetings following the 2016 election. He’s canvassed with FLIP NC nearly 10 times and is heartened by how eager people are to talk about current political events. He offers this advice to his fellow canvassers: “Listen to what the other person is telling you and respond to them on a personal level.”

Marshall is part of FLIP NC’s new four-person Alamance Leadership Team. Click here to sign up for an upcoming Alamance canvass! House District 63 in this county is one of the most flippable districts in North Carolina. In 2018, Dems fell short of flipping this seat by about 300 votes, and it will become an even better target for Democrats in 2020.

Read on to learn more about why Marshall is fired up for the 2020 election.

Katy discovered FLIP NC through “Pod Save America” (thanks, Lovett!). She learned about Indivisible during an episode of the podcast, went to Indivisible’s website, and that led her to our chapter. She has canvassed with FLIP NC about a dozen times. Her top canvassing tip? “Relax, be yourself, and have fun.” (Check out this video – Katy and her fellow FLIPsters demonstrate how easy canvassing is!)

Katy is a member of the new four-person FLIP NC Wake Leadership Team, which already has three successful canvasses and a happy hour social under their belt (and more events are scheduled – join us!). A Raleigh resident, Katy works in the digital world, “wearing a few different hats working on websites.”

Here, a Q&A with Katy.

Helen came to her first FLIP NC event last July – our 99 Days to FLIP NC! event at Motorco – after seeing information pop up on her Facebook feed. Since then, she has canvassed with us about 10 times and recently joined our newly formed four-person Wake Leadership Team. They already have two canvasses under their belt (and more are scheduled – sign up!).

A Durham resident, Helen grew up in southern Wake County and works at Biogen as a manager in the patient services department. She and her husband Glenn are parents to an adorable 5-year-old, Nate. Helen has been politically engaged since the 2008 election but only volunteered a few times per election cycle back then. After the 2016 election, like many others, she realized that she had to get more involved. In addition to her work with FLIP NC, she is the team lead for Headcount in the Raleigh/Durham area.  

Here, a Q&A with Helen.

Dana, a Chatham County resident who has her own line of jewelry, has canvassed with us five times in Wake County. She especially loves it when she has conversations with people who are surprised and thrilled to learn that their district is flippable. Her history of political action goes back to her Vietnam protesting days. Today, she volunteers with a pro-choice advocacy group in addition to FLIP NC.

Here, a Q&A with Dana. And be sure to join her at one of our remaining canvasses in flippable Wake County! Last call for voter outreach!

Originally from Philadelphia, Heidi lives in NC-H36, one of the flippable Wake County districts where FLIP NC canvasses. She has knocked doors with us at least eight times! Her husband, Josh, sometimes canvasses, too. The couple has three daughters and loves to see live music when they aren’t acting as “human Ubers” for their girls.

The 2016 election marked the first time Heidi got involved with voter outreach. By day, she works in biotech research and development.

Here, a Q&A with Heidi. And be sure to join her at one of our remaining canvasses in flippable Wake County! With less than two weeks until the polls close, it’s GOTV go time!

She hasn’t always been politically active – after living in the D.C. area for four years, she grew tired of all of the political conversations. But Lisa finds that when the conversations are about true activation – and action – instead of gossip and frustration around our state of affairs, she’s all in.

Read this Q&A with Lisa, and make plans to join her at an upcoming canvass. We’re knocking doors every Saturday and Sunday until the election!

Francis, a resident (and native) of Durham, is married to our co-founder, Briana Brough. They have two young sons. By day, Francis works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a park ranger at Falls Lake.

“My parents were the prototypical 1970s hippies who would bring my siblings and me to peace marches,” he says, “but I would not consider myself to have been ‘politically activated’ until I got involved with FLIP NC.” Now, he’s taking Teddy Roosevelt’s advice, as you’ll read below, to not “fritter away” his time.

Here, a Q&A with Francis. And be sure to join him at one of our upcoming canvasses!

You’ve heard us say that FLIPsters are rock stars – our all-volunteer organization depends on lots of good people lending a hand, making a financial contribution, and participating in our democracy. Today’s featured FLIPster is a literal rock star, though!

Laura is the bassist for indie rock band Superchunk. (If you haven’t already, listen to “What a Time to Be Alive,” Superchunk’s musical response to the 2016 election and all that has happened since.) She also runs Durham’s Merge Records, home to artists like Arcade Fire and She & Him.

Laura still finds time for activism, volunteering with multiple organizations. She had never canvassed before discovering FLIP NC. She’s knocked doors with us in Wake County on three occasions. 

Here, a Q&A with Laura.

Andrea, a Durham resident, is the FLIP NC communications director behind content such as this Meet a FLIPster blog series, our newsletter, and our social media. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, she now owns and operates Andrea Cash Creative, helping her small-business and nonprofit clients with content strategy and creation, branding, PR, social media, and video and event production.

Here, a Q&A with Andrea. And be sure to join her in our voter outreach efforts!

It's another Meet a FLIPster – video edition! 

Right after our big August canvass in flippable Wake County (80 canvassers! 1,200 doors knocked! 400 conversations!), we chatted with Durhamite Bryan Luukinen, a first-time canvasser. We asked Bryan what's motivating him to volunteer this election season, what's troubling him about the current NC General Assembly, and how his first canvassing experience compared to his expectations. 

We're so glad Bryan is returning for more FLIP NC canvasses this fall! Watch this Q&A, and then sign up to join him! We have plenty of voter outreach opportunities!

Neighbors on Call has done a great job of spreading the word about our canvasses, resulting in fantastic FLIPsters like Ben, who works in manufacturing and lives in Chapel Hill.  

“I attended a magnet boarding high school with a pretty oppressive administration,” Ben says. “That’s where I learned to question authority and fight for what’s right.”

Once he went to college and throughout his 20s, he didn’t pay much attention to politics, but the age of social media put it all right in the spotlight and made the process and results of the process so much more tangible.

And, “Mike Brown’s death in Ferguson really lit the fire for me,” Ben says.  

Here, a Q&A with Ben. And be sure to join him at one of our upcoming canvasses!

Susan moved to Chapel Hill in the spring of 2016 after retiring from a 40-year career in the tech industry, working for companies like Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts and Dell and Compaq in Texas. 

“I spent so many years in a solid blue state and then a solid red state, where the need or potential for change was limited, that I was never particularly active,” Susan says. “I admired the Civil Rights workers of the ’50s and ’60s and regretted I didn’t have the opportunity to contribute to such important movement, to make a difference like that.”

Upon moving to North Carolina, Susan volunteered for the Hillary Clinton campaign as a way of meeting like-minded people. “And boy, did I! After the election, our campaign team decided to band together, and Neighbors on Call was founded,” says Susan. “So, finally, an opportunity to make a big difference.”

Here, a Q&A with Susan. And be sure to sign up to join her at an upcoming canvass!

It's another Meet a FLIPster – video edition!

Right after our record-breaking July Wake County canvass (80 canvassers! 1,200 doors knocked!), we chatted with Durhamites Brian and Jenni Murphy, who were first-time FLIP NC volunteers.

"I was really scared going into it, and it was so totally not something to be scared of," Jenni said. "People were really excited and really grateful to talk to us."

We're grateful that they've already made plans to come back and talk to more voters! 

Watch our video Q&A with the Murphys, and join them in our voter outreach efforts this fall!