Full Bio
Shana Hardin is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of Houston, where her dissertation research examines the impact of women's increased representation in state legislatures and its broader societal outcomes. In addition to her academic work, Shana partners with several nonprofit organizations to design and implement innovative Get Out The Vote (GOTV) strategies aimed at increasing voter turnout among low-propensity voters, fostering a more inclusive democracy. She also works with organizations to evaluate their existing outreach efforts, helping them become more effective and inclusive in their voter engagement.
Shana also serves as a Research Fellow at New American Leaders (NAL), where she spearheaded the development of the New American Candidate Database (NACD). This pioneering dataset tracks the representation of state legislative candidates who identify as first- or second-generation Americans, providing a crucial resource for improving representational outcomes and offering researchers valuable insights into groups frequently facing political participation barriers.