Ward 4 Leadership

Officers

Candace Tiana Nelson

President

Candace Tiana Nelson, an activist and advocate, serving her community and the Democratic Party is her true passion.

Currently, she serves as President of the Ward 4 Democrats of Washington, DC, Vice Chair of Ward 4’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4A, and First Vice President of the DC Democratic Black Caucus.

She seeks to serve and lead by sharing vision and expanding inclusion.

Vanessa Rubio

1st Vice President

Vanessa Rubio is passionate about voter education and expanding the Ward 4 Democrats’ outreach to the Hispanic community. She is a DC native, mother of four, ANC 4C01 Commissioner, and the Brightwood Education Campus Parent Teacher Association President. 

Tiffani Nichole Johnson

2nd Vice President

Tiffani Nichole Johnson is a lifelong resident of Washington, DC. She is a graduate of several schools in DC, including St. John’s and the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for several senior Judges in DC Superior Court before becoming a disability rights advocate. She has worked with the protection and advocacy agency for DC before accepting an advocacy position with the DC Department on Disability Services, a position she has held for the past 8 years.

In addition to being a disability rights advocate, she currently represents her community of Manor Park as its ANC Commissioner and is the sole proprietor of Johnson Consulting Services, which provides traveling notary services, advocacy and referral services throughout Washington, DC.

She currently resides in her family home in Manor Park with her daughter, cousin and two cats, Tinkerbell and Rascal.

 

Laurence B Minor II

Treasurer

Laurence B. Minor II is a native of Washington, DC. He’s a retired Army veteran with over 23 years of proven experience, including five deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia. He has also enjoyed a well-rounded career in management and planning, supervising 120 personnel across various departments, and organizing military training events. His record is one of increased responsibility and accomplishment.

Laurence has served in roles of First Sergeant (2), Operations Sergeant, and Flight Operations Sergeant.  He has accomplished measurable results while leading teams in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.  He possesses a comprehensive background in operations management, domestic, and global operations.

Since his transition from the Army, Laurence has continued his service through community engagements within Ward 4 by most recently collaborating with neighbors to orchestrate the first annual neighborhood Block Party, fostering community and education of Washington, DC programs and resources.    

Shauna Gordon-McKeon

Corresponding Secretary

Shauna Gordon-McKeon is a Takoma resident and a technology professional. She works with academics, non-profits, and progressive organizations to build better software in an open, transparent, community-driven way. Recently she has begun to specialize in Democratic/progressive campaign technologies. She’s eager to put her skills to use serving Ward 4.
In her free time, Shauna volunteers as a labor organizer, with the goal of building worker power in the tech industry. She’s also an avid soccer player and supporter of the local women’s professional soccer team, the Washington Spirit.

 

Renee Bowser

DC Democratic State Committeewoman

Renée Bowser currently serves as Ward 4 Committeewoman on the DC Democratic State Committee. Renée is a trade unionist and community activist. She strives to better structural conditions of working-class people, particularly the most marginalized, through organizing community power that promotes implementation of community expressed needs. 

Renée is a retired labor/union lawyer, who is a long time ANC Commissioner and recently appointed Labor Member of the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB). She champions issues of racially equitable development, deeply affordable housing, and increasing jobs and economic growth to serve our entire community.