Sharon Stout, Chair
Sharon Stout is a highly accomplished fundraiser, event designer, and campaign consultant with over 30 years of experience. A dedicated resident of Newton for more than two decades, Sharon is renowned for her exceptional ability to unite people from diverse backgrounds—including different community settings, religious affiliations, political beliefs, socio-economic statuses, and professional fields. She takes great pride in fostering collaboration and building bridges to advance meaningful causes.
Throughout the past 25 years, Sharon has served on or advocated for more than 14 boards, social causes, and political events both in Newton and across Massachusetts. She currently holds several leadership roles, including Chair of the Newton Democratic Party, Deputy Treasurer of the Massachusetts State Democratic Party, Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the Newton Free Library, and Chair of the Board of EmergeMA. Additionally, she serves on the advisory board of JALSA.
While Sharon’s commitment to her Newton community is unwavering, much of her career has been dedicated to the political arena at the local, state, and national levels. She began her journey 30 years ago in the District Attorney’s office and the office of Congressman Kennedy, eventually managing events at three National Democratic Conventions. Sharon has had the honor of being elected as an Obama delegate at the 2012 convention in Charlotte and as a Harris delegate at the 2024 convention in Chicago.
Over the years, Sharon has contributed her expertise to more than seven dozen local, statewide, and national campaigns. She has served on numerous national fundraising committees, including Bill Clinton’s advance team, President Obama/Biden, and, most recently, the Northeast Finance Committee for President Biden/Harris—now Harris/Walz.
Sharon’s trailblazing achievements have been widely recognized. Most recently, she was honored as a Massachusetts Elector and was elected President of the Massachusetts Electoral College Class of 2024—making history as both the highest vote-getter and the first Black woman to hold this position of President in the Commonwealth’s history.
Stephanie L. Everett, ESQ., Vice-Chair
Class of 2012
Stephanie is the Register of Probate for the Suffolk Division of the Probate and Family Court Department – the first Black woman to hold this position.
Stephanie Everett was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 19, Stephanie became a teen mother, giving birth to her first daughter. By the time she was 20 she found herself homeless with a 1 year old daughter. By 22, Stephanie had found an apartment and discovered she was pregnant again with her second daughter. It was during this pregnancy that Stephanie decided she would not let society determine her fate or that of her family. Stephanie made the decision to enroll back into college. In 2002, Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University. Completing her educational goals, Stephanie earned her Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School in 2008 and was admitted to practice law in Massachusetts the same year.
Stephanie’s commitment to the betterment of her community is personal to her. Drawing from the strength of her community, Stephanie was able to persevere through homelessness and break societal expectations of her young family and in doing so give back and uplift her community. For over two decades, Stephanie has devoted her professional career to public service, ensuring resources are equitably and equally available and accessible to all. Prior to serving as Register, Stephanie was the inaugural Executive Director of the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT) for the City of Boston. Her past roles included serving as the Executive Director for Multiple Boards with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Chief of Staff to the Department of Transitional Assistance under the Governor Deval Patrick Administration., Deputy Chief of Staff to State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz. Adjunct Professor at Roxbury Community College and as a Public Safety Manager of youth violence prevention grants and public safety initiatives. In addition, Stephanie operated her solo law firm and served as a Bar Advocate, representing individuals in criminal matters that could not afford private representation.
Stephanie has served on various boards and commissions. Stephanie presently serves as the Chair to Ward 17 Democratic Committee and a Board Member of Emerge Massachusetts. Stephanie previously served as a Commissioner on the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, a Commissioner on the Boston Employment Commission, Commissioner on the Boston Municipal Lobbying Commission and a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Commission Citizen’s Review Committee, a Board Member on Mass Alliance of Teen Pregnancy, a Board Member on Roxbury Youthworks and and President of Think Politics. Stephanie has received numerous prestigious awards including being named as a Top Woman of Law by the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2012, a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, and a Woman Of Color Changing Our Community by the Eastern Stars of Prince Hall in 2013.
Stephanie resides in Mattapan/Lower Mills with her husband and children.
Dr. Rebecca Shangraw, Treasurer
Class of 2019
Dr. Rebecca Shangraw is a Senior Lecturer of Applied Human Development in Boston University’s BU-Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, where her research involves identifying recommended teaching practices that best support inclusive sport and physical education environments. Dr. Shangraw completed a year of AmeriCorps service with the Up2Us Coach Across America program in 2012 and served as a Coaching Fellow with Special Olympics International and the US Department of State from 2013-2014. Most recently, Dr. Shangraw was a content advisor for Massachusetts’ first medically accurate, LGBTQIA-inclusive Comprehensive Health and Physical Education PK-12 Frameworks.
An Emerge alumnae from the class of 2019, Rebecca got her political feet wet volunteering for MassEquality’s marriage equality campaign in 2006 and 2007. Following MassEquality’s success, Rebecca volunteered for countless initiatives and candidates until she decided it was time to pull her own papers in 2017. In November 2017, Rebecca was elected to a four-year term on the Weymouth (Massachusetts) School Committee, becoming the first open member of the LGBTQIA+ community to be elected to office in Weymouth. In 2019, Rebecca was the lead strategist behind Weymouth’s first-ever successful debt exclusion campaign to fund the building of a new middle school. In 2021, Rebecca received the honor of being named to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) All-State School Committee and was re-elected to a second, four-year School Committee term. Rebecca became the Weymouth School-Committee’s Vice-Chair in June 2023. Outside of her School Committee duties, Rebecca also serves as an elected member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Party, an elected member of the Weymouth Democratic Town Committee, and member of the Friends of the Weymouth Libraries board.
Previously, Rebecca served on the board of the Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) as their Legislative Liaison from 2017-2020. Rebecca is also proud to have served as a steward for both AEEF-CWA Local 1300 and SEIU 509.
In her free time, Rebecca can be found on her bike training for the Pan-Mass Challenge or fishing for bass (or whatever bites the hook) in lakes and ponds around the South Shore.
Erin Riley, ESQ.
Erin Riley is a Vice President within O’Neill and Associates’ government relations division, specializing in representing highly regulated industries and nonprofits. She is a policy expert who achieves success by bridging gaps, making connections, and negotiating to find legal and policy solutions for her clients.
Prior to joining O’Neill and Associates, Erin worked in private practice as a policy attorney and served as Legislative Director, Legal Counsel, and a Senior Aide in both the Massachusetts House and Senate. As a legislative staffer, she worked on several landmark bills that became law. Additionally, Erin has secured significant wins for clients before the State Ballot Law Commission and local and state permit and licensing authorities. She has also dedicated countless hours to working toward state, civic, and federal voter protection rights and has been on the ground working federal, state, and local campaigns in Massachusetts.
Erin has been a licensed attorney since 2013 when she graduated from the Northeastern University School of Law. She also graduated cum laude from Connecticut College with degrees in Government and Economics and was a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. Erin, a lifelong competitive sailor at the local and national levels, also volunteers as a member of the U.S. Sailing Legal Committee and coaches her daughter’s youth lacrosse team.
Jessica Bradley Rushing
Class of 2019
Jessica Bradley Rushing is a Principal at Gaslamp Consulting and the Chief Communications Officer at AfghanEvac. She is a seasoned communications and government relations expert with twenty years of experience in local, state, and federal government, national security, and in the non-profit industry. Previously, she served as the Deputy Director for Communications & Engagement in the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) in the State Department’s South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau (SCA) and worked on veterans and immigration issues in the Office of Congressman Bill Keating (MA09). Jessica is a former elected municipal official, having served as the Chairwoman of the Select Board in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
She is a 2019 graduate of EmergeAmerica and a member of the Truman National Security Project Defense Council. Jessica has a BS in Communication from Boston University and an MA in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco. She is an Army veteran and a mother of four. In what little spare time she has, she enjoys reading, traveling, yoga, and running.