Realistic
Representation
Matters.

Shaunesi’s educational journey was not traditional.

Earlier in life, she attended both a Historically Black College and University and a predominantly White institution without completing a degree at either.

At age 19, while attending college, Shaunesi was arrested in connection with an offense she maintains she did not commit. The prosecution was subsequently ended by nolle prosequi.

During that period, a dean who recognized Shaunesi’s academic performance moved her into the honors dorm and encouraged her potential.

Although Shaunesi did not complete her degree at that time, the confidence shown in her by that dean—and the sacrifices and expectations of her parents—stayed with her.

Nearly two decades later, she returned to college and completed her Bachelor of Science in Management. She is currently pursuing graduate studies in Organizational Psychology.

Shaunesi is also a former NAACP Executive Board member.

Shaunesi brings more than two decades of experience involving telecommunications and the rapidly changing digital environment, along with experience in corporate America, entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, education and family advocacy, civil and human-rights advocacy, and community-based work.

She is also a domestic-violence survivor whose experiences required her to navigate economic instability, courts, schools, government agencies, and the realities of rebuilding a household.

She is rebuilding her nonprofit organization, Women Wear Pants Too, Inc., whose mission is to enrich and support the lives of women and families who have experienced adversity, including women who believe they were unable to obtain meaningful relief through the court system.

One lesson followed Shaunesi into every system she would later navigate.

When Shaunesi got her first apartment, her father co-signed for her—but before giving her the keys, he handed her the 32-page lease and told her to sit down and read it. His lesson was simple: before you put your name on something, understand what you’re agreeing to.

That lesson stayed with her. As an adult navigating business, government, the criminal justice system, civil proceedings and public institutions, Shaunesi developed a habit of reading the rules and procedures for herself. Today, she believes legal comprehension and technological literacy are increasingly important tools for ordinary people who want to understand the systems affecting their lives.

“You can self-educate. You owe yourself that much.”

Shaunesi’s understanding of government is also shaped by extensive firsthand experience navigating American legal institutions as a self-represented citizen. She has represented herself in criminal, civil, administrative and appellate proceedings; challenged governmental policies and procedures in North Carolina and Maryland; participated in legislative-policy proceedings; and litigated matters involving state agencies and public institutions, including proceedings involving the North Carolina Department of Justice and North Carolina Industrial Commission. She currently has federal litigation pending in multiple jurisdictions.

Those experiences have shaped her belief that meaningful access to government requires more than putting information online. Citizens must be able to find it, understand it and realistically use it.

Her experience has also reinforced a principle that connects two of her campaign priorities: access to justice and technology. Shaunesi believes that in today’s world, understanding the systems that affect your life and knowing how to use modern technology to educate yourself are increasingly important forms of personal empowerment.

Shaunesi has lived in two countries outside the United States and traveled internationally, giving her firsthand exposure to different cultures, institutions, and ways people interact with government.

Relocating to Maryland also gave her the opportunity to experience another state’s systems and resources and reinforced her belief that North Carolina possesses enormous unrealized potential.

Combined with more than two decades of telecommunications experience, her international experiences have helped shape her perspective on technology, travel, international affairs, government, and America’s place in an increasingly interconnected world.