Coffee Party USA draws from diverse backgrounds and diverse perspectives, with the goal of expanding the influence of the People in America's political arena. We do not require nor adhere to any preexisting ideology. We encourage deliberation guided by reason amongst the many viewpoints held by our members. We see our diversity as a strength, not a weakness, because we believe that faithful deliberation from multiple vantage points is the best way to achieve the common good. It is in the responsible and reasonable practice of deliberation that we hope to contribute to society.
Coffee Party USA is made up of people acting independently of political parties, of corporations, and of political lobbying networks. To this point, all products created and hours logged for Coffee Party have been carried out in the spirit of volunteerism. In the coming months and years, we hope to transform our disappointment in our current political system into a force that will return our nation to a course of popular governance, of the People by the People for the People.
We are diverse — ethnically, geographically, politically, in age and in experience.
We are 100% grassroots. No lobbyists here. No pundits. And no hyper-partisan strategists calling the shots in this movement. We are a spontaneous and collective expression of our desire to forge a culture of civic engagement that is solution-oriented, not blame-oriented.
We demand a government that responds to the needs of the majority of its citizens as expressed by our votes and by our voices; NOT corporate interests as expressed by misleading advertisements and campaign contributions.
We want a society in which democracy is treated as sacrosanct and ordinary citizens participate out of a sense of civic duty, civic pride, and a desire to contribute to society.
Coffee Party USA is a call to action. Our Founding Fathers and Mothers gave us an enduring gift — democracy — and we must use it to meet the challenges that we face as a nation.
"Why I Started Coffee Party USA" by Annabel Park on CNN
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Annabel Park
Founder, Coffee Party USA
CLICK HERE to listen to "Coffee with Annabel"
Annabel was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to America when she was nine years old with her family. She grew up in Texas and Maryland. She studied philosophy at Boston University on a Melville Scholarship and political theory at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar.
Annabel and Coffee Party co-founder Eric Byler directed the award-winning film 9500 Liberty, a documentary about the immigration culture war of Prince William County, Virginia, 2007-2008. Due to the federal injunction halting Arizona’s S.B. 1070, 9500 Liberty chronicles the only two months in American history when local law enforcement was mandated to check immigration status based on a standard of suspicion.
During the past four years of strictly volunteer civic engagement, Annabel has coordinated the historic grassroots campaign for H.Res.121 (the “Comfort Women” resolution) in which the U.S. House of Representatives addressed the trafficking of girls into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army during WWII, produced the viral YouTube video “Si Se Puede Cambiar” in support of Barack Obama’s presidential primary bid, and coordinated the grassroots volunteer campaign Real Virginians for Webb in support of Jim Webb’s 2006 Senate campaign.
Annabel’s life experiences include working with inner city children, management consulting, writing and directing theater, and combining new media and active citizenship. She won The Cameron MacIntosh Award for her playwriting at Oxford University and was selected as a fellow for Film Independent’s Filmmaker Lab in 2005.
Coffee Party USA National Team
We are an all-volunteer team. All positions are interim as we try to empower new people to take leadership positions.
Annabel Park Founder, National campaign coordinator
Eric Byler Co-Founder, Youtube Channel/Online media coordinator
Laurie Atwater Regional coordinator for local support
Diane Curtis Operations manager
Brooke Holt Regional coordinator for local support
I. Kyunghoon Kim Online team coordinator
Anand Mehta Online collaboration coordinator
Lynda Park National team coordinator
Pamela Porter National coordinator for local support
Chris Rigapulos Treasurer
Ben Vos Regional coordinator for local support
Scott Weikert Online coordinator
To contact the team, please use the contact page.
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