The Young Forwardists are proud to introduce our National Youth Leadership team. Composed of emerging leaders from diverse interests and backgrounds, this team is united by the Forward mission of fostering nonpartisan collaboration and sustainable political progress. Discover the young people behind the movement and see how they are working to build a better tomorrow.
Gabe McGuire is the current president and founding member of the Forward Party’s Young Forwardists Committee. A driven 18-year-old devoted to mending political fractures, Gabe has worked with the Forward Party for two years and served various roles on the Haley and Harris campaigns. Gabe grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and he is pursuing degrees in International Relations and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. If you would like to catch him outside politics, Gabe can be found philosophizing, on Clash of Clans, or working through the classics. His favorite book is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.”
As a junior in college, Kris Sun has seen first-hand the value that students bring to politics. His background is in community outreach, co-founding the GLO Ambassadors Program in Denver, CO before joining the Forward Party in 2023. Now serving as the Interim Chair of the Young Forwardists, Kris aims to unite all sides of the political spectrum under one common message: students deserve more opportunities in politics. Outside of the Forward Party, Kris loves taekwondo, creative writing, and finding more ways to get civically engaged.
Ailin Chen is the Director of Media for the Young Forwardists and a senior studying Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. On campus, she also holds leadership roles in the Cornell Political Union and Asian American InterVarsity. She joined the Young Forwardists because she believes there should be a platform supporting independent political candidates and those who don’t fit neatly within America’s two-party system.
Norris Sun is the Programs Director for the Young Forwardists. As a Freshman attending Babson College in Massachusetts, Norris is studying entrepreneurship with the aspirations of eventually becoming a civic servant. After years in program development specialized around grassroots outreach and youth empowerment, Norris took his experiences to the Young Forwardists. He's optimistic that, although youth representation is lacking in politics, there is no genuine progress without them, and their presence and vocality on the national stage is overdue.
Advith Kasam is the Operations Director for the Young Forwardists and is a student in the class of 2027 at Montgomery Highschool. His passions include health policy and public speaking. Advith is a state officer for New Jersey Youth and Government and President of his school's HOSA club. His passion for the Young Forwardists stems from a belief in bipartisanship and youth advocacy. He hopes to pursue health policy on the pre-medicine track.
Caroline Qian is a senior in high school who serves as the Director of Communications for the Young Forwardists. She is interested in language, politics, and how they interact with each other. She joined the Young Forwardists as a freshman because she wanted to change the way people get informed about politics.
Zain Ali is the Partnerships Committee Lead for the Young Forwardists, focusing on building relationships with the Forward Party in each state and other like-minded organizations. He was the Founding President of Cornell University’s Chapter of the Young Forwardists and is currently serving as Outreach Committee Lead for the Texas Forward Party and Vice Chair for Fort Bend County. Zain joined the Forward Party after feeling growing frustration with the failure of the legacy parties to make tangible progress in solving systemic issues our country faces.
Anaisha Jha is the Development Director for the Young Forwardists and a student at Bloomfield High School. Passionate about debate, civic engagement, and humanitarian rights, she is the founder of her school’s public speaking club and a Youth and Government state officer. Selected for the global program Camp Rising Sun, she is committed to promoting cross-cultural understanding and international cooperation. Anaisha is dedicated to the Young Forwardists because she believes that young Americans deserve a greater political voice and a unified, nonpartisan platform to drive their advocacy. In the future, she hopes to study public policy on a pre-law track.
Aashi Sharma is the Deputy Director of Operations for the Young Forwardists focusing on chapter management and recruitment. She is also a student at Monroe Township High School. With experience in competitive debate and community volunteering, she is dedicated to the Young Forwardists because she believes young people should have a more impactful, non-partisan space to organize and advocate for the issues that matter to them. She is interested in pursuing a future career in finance and information technology.
Angel Silva Linch is a Deputy Director of Operations and a graduate from California State University, San Bernardino, where he did his Master's in National Cyber Security Studies. He joined the Forward Party because he believes its bottom-up vs top-down approach for communicating with Americans can help get rid of toxic politics. He has been involved in operations for local Forward-endorsed candidates as well.
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