Our Executive Team
Chairman Kendall Scudder
Kendall is the son of a mental health professional, paramedic, and corrections officer who taught him values like service to others—their dedication to improving themselves and their community lit a fire inside him, pushing him to work hard every day to leave the world a little better than he found it.
As a teenager, Kendall helped support his family working at his local Dairy Queen, juggling both his job and political activism on behalf of his LGBTQ+ family. Kendall received his degree in Political Science at Sam Houston State University before moving to Dallas to work as an affordable housing professional and then for a real estate analytics company, before opening his own land acquisitions firm.
Kendall has dedicated himself to helping elect Democratic candidates across the state, and improved financial transparency and strategic planning within the Texas Democratic Party in his elected role as Vice Chair for Finance (Finance Chairman). He has also served on the City of Dallas’ Civil Service Board, on the legislative committee of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, and as co-chair of the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals.
In the height of the pandemic, Kendall also notably filed a criminal complaint with the Dallas County District Attorney’s office against Attorney General Ken Paxton in an effort to protect Dallas County residents’ access to the ballot box amid safety concerns of in-person voting activity.
Kendall also holds a Masters Degree in Political Management from The George Washington University. He and his wife Carly reside in the east Dallas’ Junius Heights Historic District, where he plays pickleball, volunteers with the Funky East Dallas Democrats, and serves as a “Volunteer In Patrol” for the Dallas Police Department. He was the Dallas Central Appraisal District Board Director, Pos. 2, a county-wide elected role he has held from Spring 2024 until his election as Chairman in March 2025.
Vice Chair Shay Wyrick Cathey
Shay was elected as Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party in March 2022 in a special election and re-elected by the state convention in July 2022. She is the longest serving African American member of the State Democratic Executive Committee having served since 2006 representing SD 23, which is now CD 30 in Dallas and Tarrant Counties. She has chaired the Legislative, Convention and Nominations Committees while on the SDEC.
Prior to her lengthy career in county government, she worked for the Senate Legislative Black Caucus, Texas Democratic Party, Ron Kirk for U.S. Senate Campaign, and served as the Political Director for State Senator Royce West when Dallas County gained the historic wins of 2006.
She is married to husband Victor and they have three teenage sons.
Vice Chair for Finance - VACANT
Election pending Saturday, June 14, 2025. More info at txdem.co/VCFF-Election.
Secretary Lee Forbes
Lee is Director of Operations and Special Projects at the Texas AFL-CIO, a state labor federation that consists of 235,000 affiliated union members who advocate for working families across Texas.
Lee has worked extensively on community service, disaster response and organization of major meetings for state labor federation members. Working with United Way labor liaisons, she has coordinated efforts to counsel and help disaster victims, visiting recovery sites, connecting people to services, and overseeing a disaster relief fund to contribute toward recovery.
In addition to Texas AFL-CIO conventions that take place each year, Lee has coordinated logistics for women’s conferences, young labor leader summits and other large events.
She serves on the board of the Workers’ Assistance Program, a nonprofit with a long history of innovative community involvement that provides charitable and educational services to the community it serves. Lee has served as well on the board of United Ways of Texas. She has served on the Texas Labor Management Board since 2013. She is Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance of Texas, Secretary of the Texas Democratic Party and a DNC Member.
Treasurer Odus E. Evbagharu
Odus is a political strategist and community leader experienced in strategic communication, civic engagement, coalition building and campaign management. A University of Houston graduate in Political Science, Odus became the youngest and first Black Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party in 2021, overseeing fundraising, budgeting, and political strategy, resulting in the county’s first Democratic supermajority on the Commissioner's Court since the 1970s.
As principal strategist at Onward Strategy Group, Odus advises on media strategy, public engagement, and coalition partnerships. Previously, as Chief of Staff for State Representative Jon Rosenthal, he managed legislative priorities, district operations, and communications, significantly contributing to Rep. Rosenthal's selection as the 2019 Legislative Study Group (LSG) Freshman of the Year—awarded by the largest bipartisan and second largest caucus in the Texas House.
Odus serves on several boards, including the Texas Freedom Network, New Leaders Council, and as Treasurer of the Texas Democratic Party. He remains committed to leadership development and civic participation, enjoys podcasts, and passionately supports anything related to the Houston Cougars.
Parliamentarian Deana Tollerton, PRP
Parliamentarian George Nassar, PRP
Sergeant at Arms Donna Beth McCormick
Donna Beth was raised in West Texas but Austin has been home for the majority of her adult life. After graduating from The University of Texas with a B.A. in Speech, she worked in administrative positions for The University of Texas at Austin, M.D. Anderson Hospital and The University of Texas at Dallas. After retiring from that institution, she was Assistant to the President at Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin. One more retirement took her to Washington, DC to work on education issues and work for Clinton/Gore ‘96. Moving back to Austin and working the Texas campaign for 1996, the Democratic Party called again, after yet another retirement, and from 1997-99, 2001-2004, she was on the staff of the Texas Democratic Party. In 2005 and 2006 she was the Texas Democratic State Convention Coordinator, as a volunteer. She is currently a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee and the first woman to be named Sergeant at Arms. She is a member and an officer of several Democratic clubs in Texas, including being a past Board Member, Treasurer and President-Elect for the Texas Democratic Women and a 2003 winner of the Capital Area Democratic Women ‘Celebration of Champions’ Award. She was the 2013 President of Texas Democratic Women. In 2014 she was honored to be the recipient of the Texas Democratic Woman of the Year. She did advance for the Clinton White House when the Vice-President and First Lady traveled in Texas. During the 2000 campaign she advanced for Tipper Gore and Sen. Lieberman and was the Texas contact for the campaign. In 2007 she received the second Mack Kidd True Blue Democrat Award from the Travis County Democratic Party, the 2010 Kick Ass Democrat Award from the Capitol Area Progressive Democrats and continues to be involved in committees, elections, and as a precinct chair and was the Finance Chair of the Travis County Democratic Party.
In the non-partisan realm of her life, she has been Treasurer, Secretary, Newsletter Chairman, Chair-elect, Chair and Immediate Past Chair and Advisor of the Docents of the Governor’s Mansion, receiving the Docent of the Year Award in 2000, and a Docent at the LBJ Library and Museum, and a volunteer at the Texas History Museum. In 2007, she was elected to the Board of the Allandale Neighborhood Association and served as President for two terms. She served for seven years on the Austin State Hospital Volunteer Council in various offices, including as Chair. She is a member of the Thankful Hubbard Chapter of the DAR, having been American Heritage Committee Chair, Historical Preservation Chair, and American Spirit Magazine Chair and active in her church St. John’s United Methodist . She was appointed for a second term by the Austin City Council to the Ethics Review Commission for the City of Austin.
Besides her love of politics is her love of The Longhorn Band. As one of the original 12 girls in the Longhorn Band and a charter member of Beta Gamma chapter, Tau Beta Sigma, Donna Beth is a founding member of the Longhorn Alumni Band and has held several offices in that organization, being the first woman Vice-President. She served as Chair of the Board of Directors. She was the 2006-2007 President, has served as Chair of the Board of Directors, and President of the Board of Trustees which manages the scholarship funds in excess of one million dollars and is an officer of the Board of the Longhorn Band Foundation.
In her retirement her political, community, and social activities keep her busy. As does her surrogate family of children (4 and 5 grandchildren) and friends of more than 50 years and the animals, including currently one cat inside, and one outside, the others have gone to the Rainbow Bridge and are in kitty heaven – all 18 of them.
Chief of Staff to the Chairman Brenda Cruz
Brenda is a dedicated political operative with nearly eight years of experience in Texas politics. She currently serves as the County Services Director and Primary Election Administrator at the Texas Democratic Party, where she leads efforts to support and strengthen local party infrastructure across all 254 counties in the state.
Since joining the Texas Democratic Party in 2018, Brenda has focused on training county leaders, expanding organizational capacity at the local level, and ensuring that Democratic primary elections are successfully held statewide. Her work has been instrumental in building sustainable Democratic power from the ground up.
A proud Laredo native and the daughter of working-class parents, Brenda brings a deep commitment to community and equity to everything she does. Her leadership continues to shape and empower Democratic communities throughout Texas.
Executive Director Sam Gostomski
Sam, a fourth-generation Texan from San Antonio, has been with the party since 2020, starting as a VAN assistant, serving as Legislative and District Director in the state Legislature, and rising to become Data Director of the Texas Democratic Party’s nationally renowned data team. His experience with Texas campaigns, the Texas Legislature, and his long tenure with the Texas Democratic Party makes him uniquely equipped to guide our organization into the future.