Everyday Democracy, Executive Director

Merle McGee named the next President and CEO of Everyday Democracy.

McGee brings nearly 25 years of experience in nonprofit settings, including significant executive leadership experience. Most recently, she served as Chief Equity and Engagement Officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, where she led organizational transformation by conceiving and implementing Reviving Radical, an initiative to reckon with the organization’s history and build accountable relationships with communities of color.

Prior to her work at Planned Parenthood, McGee served as Chief Program Officer at YWCA of the City of New York. In this role she launched numerous program initiatives, fostered strategic partnerships, and spearheaded internal cultural change initiatives focused on social justice, race, and gender equity. McGee has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Affairs, where she taught nonprofit consulting and Race and Identity in Organizations. She is also co-facilitator and leader with the Anti-Racist Alliance and the co-founder of the BIPoC Project, a collective for people of color devoted to healing practices and dismantling racism and anti-blackness.

Over its three decades, Everyday Democracy has worked with communities nationwide to develop equitable and inclusive solutions to public programs, encourage meaningful civic dialogue with a racial equity lens, and help build a strong multiracial democracy.

Rebecca Swartz led this search with Chloe Kanas and Damla Williams.