Among the thousands of delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, two dozen represent Vermont. 

On Tuesday, these delegates cast their ceremonial votes for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz to be the Democratic nominees for president and vice president. The Vermont delegation includes elected officials such as Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint. But the delegation is mostly composed of party activists who may not be well known but are fiercely committed.

On this week’s Vermont Conversation, we speak with four Vermont DNC delegates in Chicago.

Addie Lentzner of Bennington is a rising sophomore at Middlebury College. She has been an outspoken advocate on housing and homelessness since she was a student in high school. At age 20, she is the youngest Vermont delegate.

Lentzner is determined for youth to have “not just a seat at the table, but a leading voice in the conversation.” She said that the climate crisis, structural inequality, racism and abortion bans are a direct attack on her generation. “Young people need to be co-pilots and not just passengers on the plane to our future,” Lentzner said.

The convention has been accompanied by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Lentzner, a grassroots activist herself, said, “The protesters are doing the right thing.”

“They should be there standing up for human rights,” she said. “I also believe that that is part of our democracy, and the candidates should respond to that.”

C.D. Mattison is a tech adviser to startups and a former candidate for mayor in Burlington. She is a former vice chair of the Burlington Democrats and serves on a variety of nonprofit boards. 

Mattison, who identifies as “a biracial, Black, gay woman,” said that following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, “it became incredibly clear that I couldn't just be on the sidelines. I had to be involved.” She said that Trump's candidacy in 2024 “is what I hope will be the end of our civil war. I don't think it ever ended.”

Amanda Gustin is the vice chair of the Vermont Democratic Party and a Barre city councilor. She works for the Vermont Historical Society. Gustin said she was especially inspired by former First Lady Michelle Obama’s invocation to “do something.”

“Stop agonizing and start organizing,” she said, quoting a sticker that adorns her water bottle. 

“Get out there, talk to your neighbors, make sure your neighbors are out there and voting,” Gustin said. “This big American experiment works when we all show up and when we all lend our voices and our votes.”

Don Hooper is a former Vermont state representative and was elected Vermont’s secretary of state in 1992. He was a longtime board member of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent organization of VTDigger.

Hooper, 79, is just two years younger than Pres. Joe Biden. He said that Biden should not have run. “I know what it feels like to be older. He still got it, but not every day. It's hard, it's tiring,” Hooper said. But he also said that Democratic fortunes have dramatically turned since Harris became the nominee.

Channeling Michelle Obama, Hooper said, “Hope is making a comeback, and we're joyous.”