Our Team

Doug Sides (he/him), President

Doug Sides is the President of the Marin County Young Democrats. He wanted to join the Executive Committee because he has found it to be such a wonderful group of friends in MCYD and he wanted to repay that by serving. He was born in Southern California and has lived in Novato for the last 4 years. He has lived all over the West working on conservation and land management projects with the BLM, NPS, and USFWS. Now he works as an arborist, assisting with PG&E’s vegetation management programs.

Crystal Martinez (she/her), Vice President

Crystal is the current Vice-President of the Marin County Young Democrats. She is a long time Marin County resident and lives with her husband and son in San Rafael. She is an alum of Dominican University of California and works as an Aide to Supervisor Rice with the County of Marin. Additionally, she serves on the Marin Women’s Commission and is the adult support to the Marin Teen Girl Conference. She also sits on the boards of Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates and the Museum of the American Indian. She is a passionate advocate for children, women and equity. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, cooking, knitting and watching her son play baseball.

Samantha Ramirez (she/her/ella), Director of Membership

Samantha Ramirez is the Director of Membership for MCYD. She first learned about the Young Dems when she was running for the San Rafael School Board in the 2020 election. Samantha grew up in Marin and attended college in San Francisco. Her current employer is Youth Leadership Institute, where she coordinates the Marin County Youth Commission and other youth programs. She also serves on the Marin County Women’s Commission and is a board member for Community Action Marin. Samantha is very passionate about social justice and empowering other people of color to get involved in improving our communities. Her mother is from El Salvador & father was from Honduras. Samantha is proud of her heritage and feels blessed to be able to work with so many young people who also have roots in Central America. In her free time she enjoys journaling, dancing and traveling. ¡Palante Siempre Palante!

Laurel Druke (she/her), Treasurer

Laurel Druke is the longest-serving MCYD board member. She's been a member of MCYD since 2010. She lives in San Rafael and is a Dominican University of CA alumna. Go Penguins! She works as the Finance, HR and Operations Manager for Beyond Differences, a nonprofit focused on ending social isolation in middle schools nationwide and creating a sense of belonging for every student. She is very passionate about her work and as an activist for housing, homelessness, and women's issues. In her spare time, she loves to volunteer with local campaigns, spend time with her family and fur-nephew Archie, take walks with friends, go wine tasting, cycle, meet new people, and support local businesses.