Heather C. McGhee

Biography

Heather C. McGhee is President of Demos (US). "Previously, as Vice President of Policy and Outreach, McGhee led in the substantive development of all of Demos’ issue areas, in addition to overseeing the advocacy and communications strategies. In 2012 she helped spearhead Demos’ strategic planning process, resulting in a new organizational structure, rebranding, and mission realignment. The process created a new communications framework and sharpened the organization’s focus on four areas of work that examine the connections between political, economic and racial inequality.

"McGhee is also an influential voice in the media and frequent contributor to MSNBC. Her opinions, writing and research have appeared in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. She is the co-author of a chapter on retirement insecurity in the book Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and its Poisonous Consequences (New Press, 2005).

"In 2009, she co-chaired a task force within Americans for Financial Reform that helped shape key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In 2008, she served as the Deputy Policy Director in charge of Domestic and Economic Policy with the John Edwards for President Campaign, where she crafted a domestic policy platform that was widely praised for being the most ambitious and detailed in that election cycle. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She serves on the boards of Public Campaign, the Center for Working Families and Consumer Reports."