Spencer Overton is Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law at George Washington University and has researched and published extensively on democracy and race. He directs the GW Equity Institute’s Multiracial Democracy Project, which develops solutions to the key challenges that face a well-functioning multiracial democracy (e.g., racialized disinformation, gerrymandering, voter suppression) through research and convenings of a diverse network of scholars, civil rights and community organizations, and policymakers. From 2014–2023, Overton served as the president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies—America’s Black think tank—where he restored the organization’s fiscal stability and built out impactful policy programs. He also held several policy leadership positions on President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, on the 2008 Obama presidential transition, and at the U.S. Department of Justice. Overton clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon J. Keith and is an honors graduate of both Hampton University and Harvard Law School.