Meet your E-Board
Sara Stienecker, President
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA
Sara is a junior studying Political science with minors in Social Justice & Law and East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is from Redondo Beach, CA and this is her third year in Trojan Democrats. She has previously served as the Trojan Democrats Vice President, Political Director, and Head of Messaging. Her main legislative focus is abortion rights and access to reproductive healthcare. On campus, she is also the President of VoteSC, the External Vice President of the Planned Parenthood Generation Action Chapter, and the Chairwoman of USG’s Sustainability and Campus Infrastructure Committee.
Outside of school, Sara has completed several political internships. She interned on the Hill during the summer of 2022 and 2023 for the Chair of Veterans Affairs (Rep. Takano) and the Vice-Chair of the Democratic Caucus (Rep. Lieu). In LA, she has also worked on several campaigns and interned for Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles.
In her free time, Sara loves learning languages and baking with her friends.
Erin Buchanen, Vice President
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Pasadena, California
Erin is a senior pursuing a bachelor’s and a masters in Public Policy at USC’s Price school of Public Policy. This is her third year in Trojan Democrats— she previously served as an advocacy committee member, and most recently spent the 2021-2022 school year creating and chairing the Committee on Labor. Erin is passionate about worker’s rights, and has partnered our organization with Unite Here Local 11, a union which represents many of USC’s hospitality workers. Erin also serves as an associate editor for The Trojan Review, USC’s first undergraduate law journal, and she holds membership in USC’s Blackstonians Pre-Law Honors Society.
Outside of school, Erin has spent her last two summers working public service jobs in Washington, DC. She brought her love of government back to Los Angeles last fall, where she served as the grassroots outreach intern for Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove’s (CA-37) congressional campaign!
In her down time, Erin loves camping, playing guitar, and decoding Taylor Swift’s Instagram captions.
Monica rodriguez, Advocacy Director
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Hi! I’m Monica Rodriguez and I’m a junior majoring in Quantitative Biology with a minor in Cultural Competence in Medicine. I became Advocacy Director because I wanted to continue my work as Health Advocacy Committee Chair on a larger scale. I’ve been a part of Trojan Democrats since my freshman year (Fall 2021) and have acted as Health Advocacy Chair since then. Outside of Trojan Democrats, I’ve been active in the community through the Mayor’s Youth Council, Youth Development Task Force, and the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council (via LA’s Youth Development Department). Most recently, I’m a Research Associate with the LA City Health Commission where we assess the health needs of Angelenos, evaluate if those needs are met, and propose effective solutions to achieve those needs. Some of my hobbies include hiking, reading paranormal books, binge watching Criminal Minds, and listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fall Out Boy, and Taylor Swift.
elizabeth farrington, director of external affairs
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Elizabeth is a junior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Popular Music Studies. Having been in Trojan Democrats for two years, she is now the Director of External Affairs. Elizabeth's political ambitions follow in the footsteps of her great-grandmother, who fought against voter disenfranchisement in segregated North Carolina. Her political focus is infrastructure, rural outreach, and Southwestern and Southern US grassroots campaigns. Previously, Elizabeth interned with Adam Frisch for Congress. There, she led media outreach projects for the closest congressional race in the 2022 midterms. She has previously campaigned for Mayor Karen Bass, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. This previous summer, Elizabeth completed research on rural healthcare and early childhood education at Think New Mexico.
Outside of Trojan Democrats, Elizabeth is the Academics Chair for the NAughty Nu Alpha chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc. She enjoys solving crossword puzzles, making jewelry, and live music in her free time.
shwetha rajmohan, political director
Pronouns: She/her
Hometown: Greenville, SC
Shwetha is a sophomore from Greenville, South Carolina studying Political Science and Economics. Shwetha is a Political Director at Trojan Democrats.
On campus, Shwetha serves as the Director of Programming for VoteSC and as an Administrative Coordinator at the USC Center for Political Future (CPF) working to support office operations, events, and the Fellows Program. Shwetha also works at Doheny Memorial Library. She is passionate about fair voting mechanisms and equitable elections. Previously, she worked with her state representative to create a bill to implement ranked-choice voting into South Carolina's municipal elections.
Outside of school, Shwetha likes to go to the beach, spend time with her friends, and read.