In 2016, McGhee's televised phone conversation with a man named Gary on C-SPAN who admitted racial prejudice ('I'm a White male, and I am prejudiced. The reason it is something I wasn't taught but it's kind of something that I learned.') was widely covered by news media organizations and viewed over a million times.

In December 2019 McGhee became chair of the board of directors of Color of Change. In early 2018, she stepped down as president but remained a distinguished senior fellow at Demos. McGhee became the president of Demos in 2014. 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. She left Demos to pursue a law degree and serve as a Deputy Policy Director for the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign. In 2003, McGhee first connected with Elizabeth Warren and her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi, on the topic of credit card debt. Īfter about a year, she moved to New York City and began working with the non-profit think tank, Demos. Career Positions Īfter graduating from Yale in 2001, she taught English in Barcelona for a short time, but soon after the September 11 attacks she moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in television writing. McGhee attended the UC Berkeley School of Law, citing how law school could help give her the credentials to change public policy. She was initially drawn to theater and creative writing but eventually became interested in economic policy. in American Studies from Yale University in 2001. In seventh grade, McGhee enrolled in The Bement School as a boarding student. Heather Charisse McGhee grew up in the South Side, Chicago and is the daughter of Gail C. McGhee is a regular contributor to NBC News and frequently appears as a guest and panelist on Meet the Press, All In with Chris Hayes, and Real Time with Bill Maher. She is a former president and currently a trustee emeritus of Demos, a non-profit progressive U.S. Heather Charisse McGhee is a New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate.

The sum of us by heather mcghee