Aisha Moodie-Millshas led and won campaigns that build political power for people of color, LGBTQ people and women for close to 20 years. Most recently, she was a driving force behind 2017's historic "Year of the Trans Candidate" leading the effort that elected more transgender officials across the country than ever before.
A trailblazer in her own right, Aisha was the first African American woman to lead a national LGBTQ organization as President & CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute. She was also a key strategist and spokesperson on behalf of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, where as President, she led the marriage equality campaign to victory in 2009. Aisha and her wife Danielle were among the first same-sex couples to receive a marriage license in the District, and their wedding was the first lesbian wedding ever featured by Essence magazine.
A nationally respected voice on Democratic politics and diversity, she appears regularly on MSNBC, and is the author of dozens of policy reports and cultural analyses on the intersection of race, class and sexuality. She also hosted a popular politics and pop culture podcast,Politini,with Danielle for several years.
Aisha previously served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Regional Finance Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and political advisor to over a dozen Members of Congress.
She has been named one of the Named one of the “OUT 100” LGBTQ influencers, “The Root 100” African American trailblazers, and a top “40 Under Forty” LGBTQ leader by The Advocate.
The most southern Jersey girl you’ll ever meet, Aisha was raised in New Jersey by her grandparents who left South Carolina in the 1950s as part of the great migration of African Americans fleeing the Jim Crow south. After spending over 20 years in Washington, D.C., she and Danielle now call Brooklyn, NY home. She is a proud Terp, having earned both her BA and MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Disclaimer: This information is accurate for the time period that this person was affiliated with the Institute of Politics.
