Odus E. Evbagharu...............................................................Harris County Democratic Party

Odus E. Evbagharu

2022 TOP P&E

Odus E. Evbagharu is the youngest (28) and first African-American elected Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party. A position allowing him to lead one of the two major political parties in the third largest county in the country. Always politically aware, thanks to his dad, Odus was enamored with politics in 2008 when a big-eared, half-Kenyan man who looked like him, spoke about change, hope, and achieving the impossible. Ever since, he has been hooked. Odus had the opportunity to volunteer on the Barack Obama campaign in 2012 and did the same on the 2016 Hilary Clinton campaign. He began his career as an intern with the Harris County Democratic Party (HCDP) in 2017, he was then promoted to Communications Director in October of 2017 and later became the Candidate Coordinator for HCDP’s 2018 coordinated campaign. The coordinated campaign made history by electing 17 Black women to the judicial bench known as Black Girl Magic, flipped every judicial seat to be Democratic, gave commissioner’s court a 3-2 Democratic advantage, and switched two state house seats from red to blue. Odus has been serving as the Chief of Staff for Texas State Representative Jon E. Rosenthal since 2019. This is special to him because House District 135 is the area Odus grew up in since he was ten years old. He is a dual-citizen of the United Kingdom and United States. When he is not in the capitol building, Odus is engaged as a board member of numerous advocacy groups such as being an active member of the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) Board of Directors, an organization that has been on the frontlines for decades fighting for progressive change. He sits on the Planned Parenthood Young Leaders Steering (PPYL) Committee, ensuring vital healthcare is accessible to everyone and is the Executive Vice President of the Texas Young Democrats, engaging with young Democrats across the state to get them energized and building a pipeline of future Texas leaders. Odus was a 2020 New Leaders Council fellow and is a proud member of Leadership Houston Class of XXXIX. He is a sports fanatic, political junkie, podcast enthusiast, and Houston Cougars super fan.

Odus E. Evbagharu Democratic Party Chair Harris County Chief of Staff Texas State Representative, Jon E. Rosenthal www.odusevbagharu.com