Heather McGhee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heather McGhee
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Heather Charisse McGhee
June 6, 1980 Chicago, IL
|
| Education | Yale University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
| Spouse(s) | Cassim Shepard |
Heather Charisse McGhee (born June 6, 1980) is a well-known author and a champion for fair policies. Her books have even made it onto The New York Times bestseller list. She used to lead a group called Demos, which is a non-profit organization that works to improve society. Heather often appears on NBC News and other TV shows like Meet the Press to share her ideas.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Heather Charisse McGhee grew up in South Side, Chicago. Her parents are Gail C. Christopher and Earl J. McGhee. When she was in seventh grade, Heather went to The Bement School as a boarding student. She later graduated from Milton Academy in 1997.
Heather then went to Yale University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in American Studies in 2001. At first, she was interested in theater and writing stories. But over time, she became more interested in how money and rules affect people's lives.
Later, Heather attended the UC Berkeley School of Law. She felt that studying law would help her gain the skills needed to change public policy. She earned her Juris Doctor (JD) degree in 2009. This degree is what lawyers get.
Heather McGhee's Career
Key Roles and Contributions
After finishing college in 2001, Heather taught English in Barcelona for a short time. After the September 11 attacks, she moved to Hollywood to try writing for television.
About a year later, she moved to New York City. There, she started working with Demos, a non-profit group that researches and promotes ideas for a better society. In 2003, Heather met Elizabeth Warren and her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi. They talked about how credit card debt affects people.
Heather left Demos for a while to go to law school. She also worked as a Deputy Policy Director for the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign.
In 2009, Heather returned to Demos. She helped lead a group that worked on the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This act created important rules to make the financial system safer. In 2014, Heather became the president of Demos. She stepped down from this role in 2018 but continued to be a senior expert there.
In December 2019, Heather became the chair of the board of directors for Color of Change. This is a group that works for racial justice.
Public Appearances and Talks
In 2016, Heather had a phone conversation on C-SPAN with a man named Gary. He admitted he had some unfair ideas about race. This conversation was shared widely and viewed over a million times. A year later, Gary said that he had listened to Heather's advice and changed his views.
In 2019, Heather gave a TED talk called "Racism has a cost for everyone." In this talk, she explained how racism harms everyone, not just those it targets directly.
In 2021, Heather was interviewed by Christiane Amanpour on CNN. The interview was titled "Why racism hurts everyone, regardless of race."
Heather has also appeared on episodes of the podcast Pod Save America. She even co-hosted a live recording of the podcast in Boston.
In September 2022, Heather spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro. They discussed the challenges many students face with debt after college.
The Sum of Us: A Book About Fairness
In March 2021, Heather's book, "The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together," became a bestseller. It reached #3 on The New York Times Best Seller list for non-fiction books.
In her book, Heather talks about "drained-pool politics." This idea comes from a time when some public swimming pools were closed down instead of allowing people of all races to swim together. She uses this example to show how unfair rules, even if they seem to target one group, can end up hurting everyone in society. The book explains that when we work together, everyone benefits.
The Sum of Us Podcast
In July 2022, Heather launched The Sum of Us Podcast. This podcast builds on the ideas from her book. It explores more stories and examples of how working together can lead to a better future for everyone.
