Quentin Wathum-Ocama is a lifelong resident of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the current President of the Young Democrats of America (YDA), finishing up his second and final term as the leader of the nation's largest partisan youth organization. Quentin’s first involvement in Democratic politics was in 2008, when he interned for Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign. After that transformative experience, Quentin quickly became involved in the Minnesota Young DFL and attended his first YDA event the following summer. Quentin was elected Secretary at the 2015 YDA National Convention in Los Angeles, California, and served in that role until 2019, when he was elected 1st Vice President. In addition to serving YDA as a national officer, Quentin serves as the President of the Minnesota Young DFL, as an State Delegate for Senate District 64, and is a previous Outreach and Inclusion Officer for Senate District 64.
 

Quentin has had the distinct privilege of being a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions (2012, 2024) and currently serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee Executive Committee through his role in YDA. During his tenure as YDA President, he has raised nearly half a million dollars to support the organization’s national work and young Democrats throughout the nation.
 

Outside of his leadership roles within the Democratic Party, Quentin currently works as a kindergarten teacher at Maxfield Elementary in Saint Paul and is a proud member of the Saint Paul Federation Educators. As someone who interacts with children, families, and educators daily, Quentin knows how consequential elections are. He recognizes that our public education system is under attack and that the lack of attention and investment in communities by both the state and federal governments has a substantial impact on historically disenfranchised communities. This drives his belief in the importance of being prepared to win at the local, state, and national levels.
 

Before returning to the education field, Quentin worked professionally in electoral politics in both Minnesota and Ohio for nearly a decade and recently managed Planned Parenthood of Minnesota Action Fund’s paid field programs for the 2018 and 2020 elections.
 

Quentin graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies. He also graduated from the Youth Development Leadership program at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, where he completed a graduate minor in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Quentin earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Concordia University, Saint Paul.

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When he’s not pursuing his dream of educating and guiding the next generation of leaders, you can find Quentin playing video games, working out, riding around Minneapolis-Saint Paul on his vintage Honda scooter, and spending time with his wife, Rachel, and preparing to welcome their baby girl in April.