Faiz Shakir facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Faiz Shakir
Born	Florida, U.S.
Education	Harvard University (BA) Georgetown University (JD)
Political party	Democratic

Faiz Shakir (/fæz ʃəˈkɪər/) is an American political advisor for the Democratic Party. He works as a senior advisor for Bernie Sanders. He is also the executive director of a media group called More Perfect Union.

Before this, Faiz Shakir was the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. He also worked for important leaders in Congress, like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. He was the main editor for the ThinkProgress blog and the political director for the American Civil Liberties Union. Faiz Shakir grew up in Florida. His parents were immigrants from Pakistan. He supports progressive and liberal ideas. He also works to help Muslim American communities.

Early Life and Education

Faiz Shakir was born and grew up in Florida. His parents were immigrants from Pakistan. He went to Harvard University and earned a bachelor's degree in government. While at Harvard, he played baseball for the Harvard Crimson baseball team for four years. Later, he earned a law degree from Georgetown University.

Career Highlights

After finishing law school, Faiz Shakir started working in government. He was a communications aide in the White House. He also helped Senator Bob Graham with his work. In 2004, he was a junior staffer for the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign.

Starting ThinkProgress

In 2005, Shakir joined the Center for American Progress. There, he helped create a blog called ThinkProgress. He became the editor-in-chief of this blog from 2007 to 2012.

Working in Congress

In 2012, Shakir became the director of new media for Nancy Pelosi. She was a leader for the Democrats in the House of Representatives. During this time, he worked to support Muslim-American communities. After that, he became a senior advisor to Senator Harry Reid from Nevada. People who worked with Reid said he trusted Shakir's advice a lot. Shakir also gave informal advice to Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Joining the ACLU

In January 2017, Shakir became the political director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU is a group that works to protect people's rights. In March 2017, he helped the ACLU launch a website called People Power. This website helps volunteers get involved in protecting civil liberties. Shakir had thought of this idea in 2015, but it was not started until later. The website quickly got 225,000 volunteers. They worked on many projects, like meeting with judges and holding film screenings.

Leading a Presidential Campaign

In February 2019, Faiz Shakir joined Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. He became the campaign manager. This made him the first Muslim and the first Pakistani-American to manage a major U.S. presidential campaign. He and Roger Lau were also the first Asian Americans to manage a major American presidential campaign.

Founding More Perfect Union

In February 2021, Shakir and Nico Pitney started a new group called More Perfect Union. This group shares news and supports different causes. It is similar to ThinkProgress. Shakir says it is like "ThinkProgress for a digital age." It creates videos and graphics to support labor issues.

In early 2025, Shakir announced he would run for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Personal Life

Faiz Shakir is married to Sarah Miller. She is an advocate who works against monopolies.