NC-CD4 Officer Candidates

At the NC-CD4 convention on May 17, we will elect and/or reelect CD4 officers so they are representative of our member counties and conform to the gender and diversity guidelines in the NCDP Plan of Organization, Section 3.04:

Among the Chair and First Vice Chair, at least one (1) must be a person whose gender identity is not male.
Where there are sufficient counties in a district, no two (2) elected officers shall live within the same county.
Among the Chair and three Vice Chair offices,
- one of these must be filled by a person of a racial or ethnic minority that constitutes at least twenty percent (20%) of the registered Democrats in that district,
- one (1) of these offices must be filled by a person whose gender identity is not female, and
- one (1) of these offices must be filled by a person thirty-six (36) years of age or younger.
Officers of a Congressional District Executive Committee shall be registered Democrats residing within the Congressional District.

The following people have indicated an interest to serve or continue to serve and have submitted a bio through our form. This slate of officers meets the gender and diversity guidelines in the NCDP Plan of Organization, as mentioned above. Nominations can also be made from the floor. If there is only one nomination per position, we can vote to accept the candidates by acclamation rather using ballots. Otherwise, we'll send ballots to registered delegates using the email address they provided.

Descriptions and responsibilities for each position are listed in Section 3.05 of the NCDP Plan of Organization.

CHAIR

Diana Robinson, Orange County

Diana currently serves as your CD4 chair, working hard to support our counties, maintain our communications channels, and elect Democrats across the district and state. A lifelong Democrat, she was proud to represent NC as a delegate to the DNC convention in Chicago last year and had hoped to cast her vote in December as one of the state's 16 presidential electors. Diana is also chair of Eno Precinct, a member of the Democratic Women of Orange County, and a member of the State Executive Committee, State Executive Council, and the Native American Caucus. She previously served as third vice chair for Orange County.

She helped reorganize the Democratic Party in Hays County, Texas, where they flipped that red county to blue in 2018 and 2020 with voter education and GOTV efforts. She was also the founding chair of the Kyle/Buda-Area Democrats, which became a leading force in the county. Texas Democratic Party delegates selected her to be one of the state’s presidential electors in 2020.

Prior to moving to Texas, she lived in Durham for 20 years and raised her two sons there. In the early/mid-2000s, she was active with the Durham Democrats and served as an SEC member, precinct chair, and officer. She was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats of NC in 2004.

A proud graduate of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Diana is managing editor of Alert Diver magazine and a freelance writer, editor, and graphic designer. She is also a cancer warrior and current survivor.

FIRST VICE CHAIR

Aidan Hennessy, Durham County

It has been an honor to be first vice chair of the Congressional District 4 Democratic Party for the past year. Since I was first elected, I have enjoyed meeting lots of wonderful Democratic Party activists and leaders throughout this district — and I have participated in canvassing in almost every town, or in the areas adjacent to them, within our district. A high turnout rate in this safe Democratic district would go a long way toward helping Democrats running in competitive statewide elections here in North Carolina. I’d like to continue to do more of the work that I am already doing toward that goal. So please vote for me to continue to serve as your congressional district’s first vice chair.

SECOND VICE CHAIR

Esther Bell Coleman, Chatham County

Esther is the current CD4 second vice chair and a leadership committee member of the North Williams Democratic Precinct in Chatham County, where she has served for over 3 years. During that time, Esther has championed the full representation and engagement of voters of color in the Democratic Party. Her achievements while serving on the precinct committee have included the research and development of the Chatham County Democratic Party BIPOC History Quiz 2024: What do you know about the BIPOC history of this place where you sit or stand?

For the recent BIPOC canvas, Esther developed a training module titled We’re All Neighbors in the North Williams

Democratic Precinct: Building Relationships Through Effective Cross-Cultural and Interracial Communication. She also is currently working with a committee that is developing materials to inform voters about the Republican Party’s Project 2025. Esther is well-known for advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Chatham County Democratic Party.
Esther has been a lifelong Democrat and a public servant. She has engaged in public service in a range of capacities including the following:

As executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Guilford County Schools, NC;
As director of the Durham Workforce Development Board;
As senior employment program coordinator for BECOMING, a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) initiative for adolescents transitioning to a productive adulthood;
As Chatham County’s director of human relations;
As director of instructional enhancement for Palm Beach County Schools in FL, where she coordinated the Undoing Racism Initiative;
As a human resource specialist and an instructional specialist for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS); and
As a kindergarten and first-grade teacher in VBCPS and other school districts in VA.

Esther holds a master’s degree in education and human relations from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Averett University. As importantly, she hails from a family that historically and presently advocated for the equal and fair treatment of all people regardless of their backgrounds, most especially their race, ethnicity, and/or class. What she has done in public service has aligned with her family’s values and informs everything she does.

THIRD VICE CHAIR

Brian Holland, Wake County

I've been actively involved with the Democratic Party for a number of years. At the precinct level I've been both a chair and vice chair, and I currently serve Wake 20-05 as the Direct Voter Contact Lead. I was recently elected to the SEC and was a 2024 delegate to the DNC. I’ve also served as treasurer for CD13. I'm a member of the Wake County Impact Circle.

I firmly believe that the change we all seek begins at the grassroots. I feel duty-bound to do what I can to make that change happen, and it begins with electing Democrats. I believe my experience and my skillset are well suited to the duties of the third vice chair.

Outside of politics my passion is workforce development. For 12 years (and the past six as chair) I’ve been on the board of Capital Area Workforce Development, which serves Chatham, Lee, Johnston, Orange, and Wake counties. I also serve on the board of the National Association of Workforce Boards, where I lead the By-Laws Task Force. Last year I was honored to receive the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Workforce Development.

During working hours, I am the Chief Legal Officer for an international cyber security company. I received my law degree from Georgetown and my undergraduate degree from CalState Fullerton. I currently live in Cary and have lived in North Carolina for almost 30 years.

SECRETARY

Bonnie Bevan, Orange County

Since fall of 2020, Bonnie has been the Kings Mill (Orange County) precinct chair. She has also been an active volunteer for phone banking and canvassing and serves on the events committee. She was a delegate to the 2024 Orange County and NCDP conventions. On average we’ve seen a low volunteer participation rate, and high-interest individuals must step up! Recently she has been the secretary on the board of directors for a Chapel Hill nonprofit, The Chelsea Theater. Bonnie has served as CD4 secretary since last fall.