Ebonie C. Riley

Ebonie C. Riley currently serves as Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships. She is the highest-ranking woman in the organization in NAN’s History. Previously serving as Washington, DC Bureau Chief of NAN’s Washington, DC Bureau, she is the youngest Policy Director of any legacy Civil Rights organization. The function of the Bureau is to advocate for and influence Federal public policy that reflects the needs and desires of the communities we serve based on the Action Agenda set forth by our national board and senior leadership. In this capacity, Ms. Riley serves as a conduit for information about what is happening in the halls of Congress, the office and administration of the President, and the chamber of the United States Supreme Court. Moreover, she and her team educate lawmakers and other stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities facing our communities by advocating for more resources and policies that help invest and advance economic and social equality in our communities.

Ebonie’s government affairs portfolio includes various issues that impact the socioeconomic status and mobility of discriminated communities.

Before this role, she served as the Bureau’s Research and Policy Associate, analyzing legislation, drafting advocacy strategies, developing policy recommendations, and monitoring policy developments related to federal, state, and local legislation while co-managing NAN’s Social Media.

During her time at NAN, she has organized national and local events relative to DC, Maryland, and Virginia. NAN’s lead organizer for the March on Washington for Voting Rights on August 28th, 2021, and the Commitment March on Washington in D.C. on August 28th in 2020. Other events include NAN’s National Conventions and Policy Conferences.

In 2014, she organized a townhall with civil rights leaders in Baltimore, MD, after the death of Freddie Gray, the Justice For All March in December 2014, and assisted with logistics for the National Action to Realize the Dream Rally and March in 2013 and Justice For Trayvon 100 City Vigil in Washington, D.C. both in 2013, to name a few.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, and growing up in Maryland, Ms. Riley graduated from UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in History. While at UMBC, she served as President of Africana Studies Council of Majors while sitting on several academic research teams that focused on civil rights, voting rights, political behavior and attitudes, identity politics, race and representation, Congress, and elections. Specific interests include political engagement, civil rights law, voter turnout, voter suppression, and identity group politics.