HEATHER MCGHEE is a renowned expert on the American economy, and one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers exploring inequality today. Both her viral TED talk and her eagerly anticipated book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, reveal the devastating true cost of racism—not just for people of color, but for everyone. In The Sum Of Us, she illuminates how racism is at the root of some of our most vexing public problems, from collapsing infrastructure to rising student debt. The book has been endorsed by the likes of Ibram X. Kendi, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.
As the former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and become a regular contributor on shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher. She also led Demos’ own racial equity organizational transformation, resulting in a doubling of the organization’s racial diversity and growth across all measures of organizational impact.
Now a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos, McGhee earned a BA in American studies from Yale University, and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Civic Participation, and serves on multiple boards of trustees, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Indivisible. @hmcghee