Shanelle Matthews is an award-winning political communications strategist with a decade of experience in journalism, legislative, litigation, rapid response, and campaign communications. She serves as the Director of Communications for the Black Lives Matter International Network, a network of more than 40 chapters working to rebuild the Black liberation movement and affirm the lives of all Black people. Previous to that she served as the Deputy Communications Director for the Sierra Club, leading communications strategy for Beyond Coal and worked as a strategist for the ACLU of Northern California. She believes in using communications both as a tool for social change and to win. As an alumna of Progressive Women’s Voices, the Women’s Media Center’s premier media and leadership training program for women, Shanelle has executed her training as a spokesperson in outlets like Al Jazeera and NPR. She serves on the board of directors of the National Network of Abortion Funds and Rewire. She holds a degree in Journalism and New and Online Media from the Manship School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University. She is a lover of cheese, Afro-jazz, and bourbon. She lives and plays in Oakland.