Betty Doumas-Toto

I am a senior organizer and mobilization leader with over seven years of experience driving grassroots advocacy, coalition campaigns, and national convenings. Over the course of my work, I have built distributed organizing infrastructure, trained and supervised hundreds of volunteers and staff, and mobilized thousands through both planned and rapid-response campaigns.

Most recently, I served as National Policy Advocate & Organizer at Food for Health/AHF, where I launched a farm-to-pantry pilot with Farm2People, developed volunteer advocacy programs, and coordinated rapid-response mobilizations supporting immigrant families and food insecure communities. Previously at Housing is a Human Right, I directed statewide housing justice campaigns and served as a lead organizer for the Justice for Renters campaign, mobilizing more than 10,000 volunteers, partnering with AFT leadership to engage students, and teaching an organizing course at Los Angeles Trade Tech College. I also held leadership roles with the Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Healthy California Campaign, where I organized legislative advocacy visits, coalition mobilizations, and large-scale community events.

My work is defined by my ability to bridge grassroots energy with policy impact, strengthen cross-sector coalitions, and design scalable strategies that empower diverse constituencies, from students and tenants to union partners and national leaders.

Professional Summary

Senior Organizer and Mobilization Leader with 7+ years of experience leading grassroots advocacy, coalition campaigns, and national convenings. Proven record of building distributed organizing infrastructure, supervising staff and volunteers, and mobilizing thousands through both planned and rapid-response campaigns. Skilled at coalition leadership, legislative advocacy, and volunteer training. Committed to equity and inclusion with strong networks across housing, food justice, labor, and pro-democracy movements.

Experience

National Policy Advocate & Organizer – Food for Health (FFH) / AHF
2024–2025

Launched Farm-to-Pantry pilot with Farm2People, serving 500+ families weekly.

Built volunteer advocacy program: trained 200+ leaders, created toolkits, facilitated 12 legislative briefings.

Coordinated rapid-response mobilization, engaging 2,000+ participants in rallies & food distribution.

Policy Advocate & Organizer – Housing is a Human Right / AHF
2022–2024

Directed housing justice campaigns; recruited & trained 300+ volunteers statewide.

Coordinated rallies, town halls, and legislative visits with coalition partners.

Responded to housing crises with rapid-deployment strategies.

Justice for Renters Campaign – National Organizer (Project of HHR / AHF)
2024

Mobilized 10,000+ volunteers via unions, campuses, and community coalitions.

Supervised & trained 50+ leaders to run canvasses, phonebanks, and textbanks.

Partnered with AFT to mobilize students; taught organizing class at Los Angeles Trade Tech College.

Field Organizer – Bernie Sanders 2020 Campaign
2019–2020

Directed canvassing & phone banks, managing turf with PDI.

Trained 100+ volunteers across Southern California.

Regional Coordinator – Healthy California Campaign
2017–2018

Oversaw SB 562 mobilization, recruiting 300+ volunteers.

Organized town halls & legislative advocacy visits at State Capitol.

National Convenings

Conference Organizer, National Housing Justice Symposium – DC (2023)

Co-Organizer, Sanders Institute Housing & Homelessness Symposium – DC/LA (2024)

Education
SUNY Fredonia – B.S. in Communications

Skills

Grassroots Mobilization & Distributed Organizing

Staff & Volunteer Management (trained 300+ volunteers, supervised 50+ leaders)

Coalition Building & Partnerships

Rapid-Response & Campaign Strategy

Event & Conference Planning

Digital Tools: PDI, VAN/EveryAction, Mobilize, Callhub, Scale to Win, Nation Builder, Mailchimp, Airtable, Slack, Basecamp, Canva, Google Workspace, MS Office

SUNY Fredonia – B.S. in Communications