Zainab Chaudary

Zainab Chaudary is the President of Big Canvas and a Senior Advisor at New Heights Communications. She’s spent the last decade crafting communications strategies for progressive, social change organizations.

Her work has shifted public narratives and perceptions, achieved policy wins, built momentum around high profile litigation fights, promoted political thought leadership, and helped foundations innovate to improve how philanthropy serves the world. This cross-sector experience is in service to an overarching goal: to combine informed strategy with an authentic vision of what a truly just and equitable world could be, in order to achieve real change for the people living in that world.

Zainab has placed stories and opinion pieces in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today (among others), facilitated reporter relationships at outlets ranging from CNN to the Wall Street Journal, pitched and prepared clients for television appearances on ABC, MSNBC, and CNN, and created and leveraged multiple viral social media campaigns.

An expert trainer, Zainab has coached and trained spokespeople around the country for organizations like MoveOn, CREDO, the ACLU, Indivisible, and numerous others. She is also deeply invested in developing communications talent amongst people of color and those from diverse backgrounds and elevating them to leadership positions through a responsive DEI framework.

Zainab is a 2022 fellow of Anat Shenker-Osorio’s Global Messaging Programme and an adjunct professor with GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

Other sessions: The Language of Resistance: Messaging and Content Creation to Combat Islamophobia, How to Turn a Social Media Moment into a Traditional Media News Story (and Get Funding for It!)

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Stephen Miles

Stephen Miles is the Executive Director for Win Without War, a diverse network of activists and organizations working for a more peaceful, progressive U.S. foreign policy. Stephen is a veteran of campaign politics with a strong background in grassroots advocacy. Most recently, Stephen worked with the global campaigning organization Avaaz. Previously, Stephen worked in electoral politics, primarily in New Orleans, working to elect Democratic candidates and advance progressive policies. He previously served as the Executive Director of the American Hellenic Council focused on advancing Greek American concerns through community-based advocacy. Stephen is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Tulane University with academic expertise in humanitarian interventions and Middle Eastern politics.

Other sessions: Life After Obama: A New Generation of Leaders on Progressive Foreign Policy

my website

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Faiz Shakir

Faiz Shakir joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in January 2017. As National Political Director, he oversees the ACLU’s National Political Advocacy Department, which houses the organization’s Washington Legislative Office and State Advocacy and Policy departments. In his role, Shakir develops and implements strategies to advance the organization’s priorities at the federal and state levels.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Shakir worked as one of the most senior advisers to former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. He directed policy and communications work for Senator Reid while also coordinating with Democratic members and staffs, key interest groups, and press to organize issue campaigns. Prior to that, Shakir served as Senior Adviser and Director of Digital Media for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, helping wage key fights on behalf of the LGBT and Muslim American communities.

Shakir, a graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center, also spent seven years at the Center for American Progress, helping the organization establish its identity as the leading progressive think tank in the nation. At CAP, Faiz served as a Vice President for Communications and was a founding member and editor-in-chief of ThinkProgress.org, one of the top political news websites in the United States. He also advised CAP’s senior leadership on policy matters ranging from economic and domestic policy to national security and civil rights. He led a major campaign to take on Islamophobia which featured the production of a report titled “Fear, Inc.”

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Murshed Zaheed

Murshed Zaheed—a senior advisor for Take Back the Court—is one of the top hybrid legislative, policy, and digital strategists in American politics. He has worked and consulted for top nonprofit organizations, corporations, and national campaigns creating winning multi-channel grassroots advocacy campaigns and communications programs.

Prior to founding Pacifica Strategies, Murshed served as the Political Director of CREDO Mobile, a social change-oriented corporation renowned for being a progressive powerhouse of activism and philanthropy. Murshed’s years of experience as a senior leadership aide in Congress include his position as Director of New Media for then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He was also a member of Gov. Howard Dean’s groundbreaking digital team during his 2003–2004 presidential campaign.

Murshed has a B.A. in political science from UCLA and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the bars in Washington D.C. and in Massachusetts.

Other sessions: Trumped Up Trade: Retaking the Working Class on Trade and the Economy

my website

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