About the Author

Shanna Singh Hughey is a voting rights advocate and a fellow in the Emerson Collective’s democracy cohort. She works with organizations that protect our democracy, empower immigrants, and drive inclusive change.

Shanna founded and for six years ran ThinkTennessee, her state’s only forward-looking think tank. There, she led a powerhouse team working to build a state where all Tennesseans are civically engaged and economically secure.

Shanna has deep experience in federal and local government. She served as senior legal counsel on the Biden/Harris Transition Team; as nominations counsel to Chairman Patrick Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she worked extensively on the Supreme Court confirmations of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan; and as press secretary to Senator Debbie Stabenow.

She was a senior advisor to Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and the director of the Mayor’s Office of New Americans. She chaired Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s Immigration Task Force. 

Shanna graduated with honors from The George Washington University Law School and The University of Michigan. A  trusted voice on public policy, she has been quoted in The Tennessean, The Chattanooga Times Free Press, and NPR and is a frequent public speaker on issues related to civic engagement.

Acknowledgements

The generous support of the Emerson Collective, as well as the expertise of advocates and voting rights leaders across the country, made the Democracy Protection Playbook possible.