Dartmouth Events

Shasti Conrad will speak about how her experiences and the experiences of the Nobel laureates she has worked with have effected change: Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, and Kailash Satyarthi. How did each Nobel laureate address public policy issue(s)? How did their engagement affect public policy? Ms. Conrad will discuss the lessons that she learned from each of the Nobel laureates. She will also address the power of young and diverse voices, and the ongoing need to address institutionalized bias, racism and inequities for women. She will discuss the 100 Million Campaign and share advice for the students today.

Speaker Bio:

Shasti Conrad is a dynamic force, working to empower diverse and inclusive voices so that all people can be part of bettering our world. Adopted as an infant from an Indian orphanage, Shasti was raised in the Pacific Northwest, graduated from Seattle University, and was an early field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, later joining the President’s first group of White House interns. Over the next four years, she took on various roles across the Administration, culminating in her West Wing role with Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett. From the White House, Shasti headed to Princeton for her Master’s in Public Affairs, with a concentration in international development. While in graduate school, Shasti also began work with The Malala Fund, joining Malala Yousafzai and her family to receive the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Many forget that Malala shared that prize with another champion addressing child labor and human trafficking, Kailash Satyarthi, for whom Shasti now works with today as the U.S. campaign manager for the 100 Million Campaign. In addition, Shasti ran for Washington State Senate in 2016, the youngest of all the candidates, placing third out of eight candidates. Shasti earned her M.P.A. in Public Affairs, International Development, Urban Policy and her B.A. in Sociology/International Relations, Seattle University