Unfolding
Our Shared Future - Challenge, Possibility and Potential in US and
UK Politics: Voters
of the Future
Special Guests:
Stephanie L.
Young, Executive Director of ‘When We All Vote’ and Advisor to the Obama
Administration
Richard Johnson, Senior Lecturer in US Politics and
Policy, Queen Mary’s University, London
Register
here for this free event
In the aftermath of the US mid-term elections and amid
unprecedented turbulence in British politics, this high-profile public event addresses
issues of democracy, media, and accountability in contemporary US and UK politics
and, crucially, considers the perils and prospects for voters in both
countries for the rest of the 21st Century.
Compared by Northumbria University’s Professor in American
Studies Brian Ward, and hosted by the University in collaboration with the US
Embassy, the American Politics Group of the UK Political Studies
Association, and the British Association for American Studies, the
event features an informed, captivating, and thought-provoking blend of discussion
and short presentations, including an historical guide to ‘Why Mid-Terms
Matter’ by Northumbria’s Dr. Patrick Andelic (author of Donkey Work:
Congressional Democrats in Conservative America, 1974-1994 and Midterms
and Mandates: Electoral Reassessment of Presidents and Parties).
The centrepiece of the evening is a roundtable featuring
special guests Stephanie L. Young and Richard Johnson, chaired by Professor
Caron Gentry, Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor for Arts, Design, and Social
Sciences at Northumbria and an expert in international relations and politics.
About the Guest Speakers
Stephanie L. Young is Executive Director of ‘When We All Vote’, a non-partisan voting initiative launched by Michelle
Obama in 2018. During her time as Executive Director, Stephanie has worked in
various communications roles ranging from TV newsrooms to non-profits,
political campaigns and the highest offices in federal government, the United
States Congress and the Obama White House. In 2020 as the Chief Officer for
Communications and Culture, Stephanie led When We All Vote’s messaging and
cultural strategy that helped register over 500,000 voters— the largest
increase in voter participation in over 120 years. She
helped recruit over 400 artists, athletes, and influencers to help the campaign
reach over 220 million individuals on social media.
In the Obama Administration, Stephanie had the unique
opportunity of serving in two critical roles as the Associate Communications
Director and as the Senior Public Engagement Advisor in the Office of Public
Engagement. In her role as Associate Communications Director Stephanie
created and oversaw press strategy for White House initiatives and domestic
policy announcements.
In the White House Office of Public Engagement she created
opportunities for the President, First Lady, Senior Advisor to the President,
Valerie Jarrett, and other Senior White House officials to engage directly
with the African American community. Stephanie also led engagement strategy
for the African American community on all Presidential priorities and helped
to develop White House responses to social justice and civil rights issues. Stephanie
is interested in exploring how politics, pop culture and the entertainment
industry influence each other to create a more fair, progressive and just
society through artistry, activism and storytelling.
Richard Johnson is Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary’s
University, London and an expert on race and democracy in the US. This is the
subject of his book The End of the Second Reconstruction, which uncovers the role of
political violence, federalism, and the federal judiciary in sabotaging civil
rights from the Civil War to the Trump presidency. His many other publications also include a
textbook, US Foreign Policy: Domestic Roots and International Impact, studies of Donald
Trump’s use of Twitter, and of various aspects of modern British politics, including
Theresa May’s record on LGBT issues and the Labour Party’s attitudes towards
Europe and notions of ‘Englishness.’
Register below for this free event
