Heather McGhee

Heather C. McGhee
Born 1980 (age 37–38)
Education Yale University (B.A.) University of California Berkeley School of Law (J.D.)

Heather Charisse McGhee is a distinguished senior fellow and former president of Demos, a non-profit progressive U.S. think tank.[1] McGhee is an advocate for economic and political equality who regularly appears on talk shows for NBC, MSNBC, and HBO as a panelist, including Meet the Press, All In with Chris Hayes, and Real Time with Bill Maher.[2][3][4][5] McGhee once responded to a man named Garry on C-SPAN who said he was afraid of black men, and she advised he meet a black family or attend a black church in person. The video was widely covered by the news and shared over a million times.[6][7][8][9] A year later, Garry stated he had taken her advice to heart and his views had changed.[10][11]

Biography

Heather Charisse McGhee grew up in the south side of Chicago[4] and is the daughter of Gail C. Christopher and Earl J. McGhee. She was initially drawn to theater and creative writing but eventually became interested in economic policy.[4] She graduated from Milton Academy in 1997.[12] McGhee received a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University in 2001.[4] After graduating, she taught English in Barcelona for a short time, but soon after 9/11 she was out of work and moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in television writing.[13] After about a year, around the age of 22, she moved to New York and began working with the non-profit think tank Demos.[4]

McGhee connected with Elizabeth Warren and her daughter Amelia Warren Tayagi on the topic of credit card debt in 2003.[4] She was a Deputy Policy Director for the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign.

After feeling limited by her education level, in 2005 McGhee began attending the school of law at University of California, Berkeley, because she believed a law degree could help give her the credentials to change public policy. She graduated with a J.D. in 2009.[2][4][14]

McGhee returned to Demos in 2009 and co-chaired a task force with Americans for Financial Reform which helped develop the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2009.[15] McGhee became the president of Demos in 2014.[4][14][16]

She has said the Trump candidacy and presidency has helped open up conversations surrounding race and class.[17] McGhee once responded to a self-claimed prejudiced man on C-SPAN, and offered the caller advice on overcoming his fear of black men, including meeting a black family or attending a black church. The video was widely covered by the news and shared over a million times.[6][7][8] A year later, the caller claimed that he had taken her advice to heart and his views had changed.[10]

In early 2018, she stepped down as president and is currently a distinguished senior fellow at Demos.[18]

In October 2016, McGhee married Cassim Saud Cauldwell Shepard.

References

  1. ↑ "American Continental Group adds Brady aide". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  2. 1 2 Leland, John (2015-08-28). "How Heather McGhee, President of Demos, an Advocacy Group, Spends Her Sundays". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  3. ↑ ""This is the fight": Demos's Heather McGhee on the upside to Trump's racial politics". Vox. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cadei, Emily. "A Think Tank Queen Vying for a Seat at DC's Table". OZY. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  5. ↑ "What Would Happen If Everyone In America Who Could Vote, Did Vote? | FEATURE NEWS | Sky Valley Chronicle Washington State News". www.skyvalleychronicle.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  6. 1 2 Itkowitz, Colby (2016-08-24). "A C-SPAN caller asked a black guest how to stop being prejudiced. Here's how she responded". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  7. 1 2 Smith, Daniel (2016-12-26). "A Friendship for a More Tolerant America". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  8. 1 2 Moye, David (2016-08-24). "White Caller Admits He's Prejudiced. C-SPAN Guest Helps Him Do Better". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  9. ↑ "A White Man Asked C-Span How to Stop Being Racist. Here's the Fascinating Answer". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  10. 1 2 Itkowitz, Colby. "A C-Span caller confessed his racism to a black guest. A year later, he says he's changed". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  11. ↑ Itkowitz, Colby (2017-08-25). "A C-SPAN caller confessed his racism to a black guest. A year later, he called back to say how he'd changed". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  12. ↑ "Fulfilling Dr. King's Dream: A Charge From Alumna Heather McGhee". Milton Academy. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  13. ↑ "The Inexhaustible Optimist: Meet Heather McGhee, President of Demos | The M Dash". MM.LaFleur. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  14. 1 2 "Powerful Women Leaders: Heather McGhee". College Magazine. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  15. ↑ "Heather McGhee | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  16. ↑ "Heather McGhee '01: on your left". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  17. ↑ "Donald Trump's Candidacy Has Been a Wake-Up Call". ELLE. 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  18. ↑ Evans, Garrett (2018-02-27). "Lobbying World". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.