Caz Margenau is an organizer and data nerd who works both in climate research and in politics. A San Diegan, she was one of the new wave of remote workers to come to the heartland, moving to South Bend in 2021. She continues to work at her alma mater, the University of California San Diego (UCSD), at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she has served as a research administrator since 2008.
In 2019 Caz became politically active. Living in Colorado, she dove into the deep end of grassroots politics and helped to form Colorado for Pete Buttigieg during his presidential bid, eventually becoming volunteer State Lead for the Pete for America campaign. The grassroots campaign in Colorado grew to thousands of volunteers and a 10,000-person rally. After Pete’s campaign ended, in addition to working on campaigns, she and other state lead volunteers founded Building Bridges for America to share the grassroots skills created during the Pete for America campaign. Caz, as co-director of Leadership Development, created an online 8-course series of weekly trainings specifically aimed at empowering Democratic political volunteers. Teaching the courses since 2020 and promoted nationally by the DNC, Caz and her team have trained thousands of volunteers from all 50 states.
Caz is also active locally as a volunteer with campaigns, grassroots, and the Democratic Party. She worked in data and field organizing for the campaign to re-elect Rachel Tomas Morgan as South Bend At-Large Common Council. She helped to begin the 2nd Saturday meetups for the St Joseph County Democratic Party. She helps organize for the Kitchen Cabinet, the Democratic grassroots group for women in the 2nd District. She serves as Data Lead for the 2nd District Democrats and she works as the field data lead for Heidi Beidinger’s campaign for State House District 5. And Caz has begun a relational organizing program for party in the 2nd district using the tool Rally which was initially created by Pete for America.
When she is not running data for work or politics, Caz is a new first-time homeowner tackling the never ending to do list of fixing up an old house, and she enjoys using the other side of her brain with pyrography and art making. She can be found walking her dog, Indie, along the banks of the St Joe River.