Book Shasti to Speak

Shasti Conrad is Chair of the Washington State Democrats and a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She speaks nationally on democracy, women of color in politics, AAPI and immigrant experiences, and the next generation of changemakers.

Adopted from Calcutta by a single mother and raised in rural Oregon, Shasti is the first South Asian woman to lead a state party anywhere in the country and the first AAPI Chair in the contiguous 48 states. She has worked on four presidential campaigns, served in the Obama White House Office of Public Engagement, founded a progressive consultancy, and chaired the King County Democrats. She has worked alongside three Nobel Peace Prize laureates: Malala Yousafzai, President Barack Obama, and Kailash Satyarthi.

In 2024, Washington Democrats won every statewide office and every Congressional incumbent seat while expanding legislative majorities. Washington was the only state in the country to move further blue that year. Shasti talks candidly about how that happened, what it cost, and what does and does not transfer to other states.

Topics Shasti can speak on

Each of these can run as a keynote, a fireside conversation, or a working session for organizers. They are starting points, not a fixed menu. Tell us your audience and we will shape the talk around it.

Professional background and leadership journey

The experiences and decisions that shaped a career: presidential campaigns, work with Nobel Peace Prize recipients, service in the Obama White House, and leading the Washington State Democrats as an officer of the DNC.

Election strategy and organizing

• The DNC’s role in solidifying wins for elections.
• Lessons from Washington State’s unique political success in 2024, and how they apply nationally.
• The value of year-round, relational organizing models for state parties.

Party governance and policy

• The decision-making behind the 2028 presidential primary calendar, and the other resolutions passed by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.
• An assessment of the progressive wave within the Democratic Party, and what it implies more broadly.

Community engagement and AAPI representation

What it takes to engage AAPI communities well, from the only AAPI officer at the DNC, at a point where the growth in AAPI voters is the difference maker in elections.

Formats

Keynotes, panels, moderated conversations, campus visits, organizer trainings, and press interviews. In person and remote.

Lead time

Please send invitations at least six weeks ahead where you can. Requests during a legislative session or the closing weeks of an election cycle are harder to accommodate.