Our People
Workers are coming together to build power across Alphabet.
Our Members
Executive Board
Our Staff
Based in Denver, CO, Lysander joined the AWU team in 2024 as an organizer. With 3 years of organizing experience, Lysander has worked with various workers and campaigns, from resident advisors to librarians, disability service workers to tutors. On days off, they enjoy crafting with friends, playing copious amounts of farming simulators, and relaxing in bed with their cat Jon Snow.
Before organizing, Alexis was a paralegal at various workers’ rights firms and worked on cases of discrimination, wrongful termination, contractor misclassification, and more. Since then, Alexis has organized SF janitors at SEIU Local 87, led grassroots electoral campaigns, and co-founded a community organization focused on building people power in his Bay Area home town. When he isn’t organizing, he’s singing karaoke and begging friends to try his cooking.
Don is an experienced IT professional who has been working in the union industry for the last 22 years. Starting off as a part-time staff for SEIU he then became the Director of IT. After 18 years of directing IT with SEIU 521 he worked with SEIU 1021 as an IT Analyst. Now he has the privilege of being the IT Coordinator for Alphabet Workers Union, building a robust communication platform with today’s state of the art technology. In his spare time Don enjoys spending time with his family and friends including staying home and bbq’ing, going out to dinner, hiking, traveling and exploring the Boise area.
Hailey has been organizing for over 7 years and is experienced with both collective bargaining and pre-majority campaigns. Hailey got their start as an organizer when they were pursuing a PhD in Philosophy at Georgetown University, where they helped to found Georgetown’s graduate worker union. These days they live in North Carolina with their partner, daughter, and dog. When she’s not working, she spends time gardening, reading science fiction novels, and hiking.
Sarah is an organizer based in Brooklyn, NY. Previously she has organized within a variety of professions ranging from residential building workers to musicians to fast food workers. Outside of work she loves to spend time with her family, cook extravagant meals for community and care for her plants.
Shannon Wait joined AWU-CWA on launch day in 2021 as a Data Center Technician at a Google Data Center, becoming the first worker that members organized around after being suspended for organizing. Shannon joined the AWU staff in 2021 and now organizes raters, data workers, AI workers, and is focused on political organizing. Additionally, she led on issue-based campaigns surrounding pay increases, creating communication between employers and employees, and ensuring chosen names are placed on badges for members of the LGBTQ+ community at Data Centers.
After brief stints working in both legal advocacy and electoral politics, Taylor realized her theory of change was firmly rooted in the labor movement. She believes that equipping workers with the tools to take collective action is the most material and sustainable way to build power and make change. After two years working as an organizer for the Harvard Graduate Students Union, Taylor joined AWU in the summer of 2024. She is passionate about rank-and-file organizing, workplace democracy, long walks, novels, and sweet treats.
Matt is an experienced union organizer, having spent nearly twenty years leading and winning campaigns to build power for working people. He previously led the organizing department of the Pacific Northwest’s largest private sector union. When not organizing workers, he tries to organize his home in Seattle, where he is joined by his wife, daughter, and an unruly German shepherd.
Ana began working with the AWU Leadership and Staff Team in August 2022. She brings 12 years of union operations leadership and over 20 years of non-profit management experience to our Union in support of working people. Ana was inspired to work in social justice and labor by her Puerto Rican grandmother, who was a garment worker and leader in her own union, the ILGWU in New York City in the 1940s, and by her mother who broke glass ceilings as the only civilian woman GS-12 Contract Specialist for the US Navy in the 1970s.
Lauren is an administrative coordinator based in Seattle, WA. Prior to joining AWU staff, she had administrative and organizing experiences with other groups focusing on workplace democracy. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, writing, and exploring nature with her dog, Beans.
Carmen started in the labor movement in 2013 when she got her first union job at the OAK airport. She went from a rank-and-file member to steward to Organizer. Since then, she has worked with Tech cafeteria workers at Intel, Google, Facebook and hotel workers from around the Bay. Her most recent work was helping organize and win recognition at the Moxy Hotel in Oakland, it was the first hotel to win NLRB certification in Oakland in over 20 years! When Carmen is not organizing, you can find her and her family at a picket line or march supporting workers across the Bay.