The Leadership Conference, The Education Fund Welcome New Staff Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charmaine Riley, [email protected], 202.548.7166
WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund announced today that Dena Craig has joined the organizations as Director of Media Relations, and Anita Banerji as Senior Program Director for Media and Tech.
“We are thrilled to welcome these new hires, both of whom bring invaluable, well-rounded experiences to the organizations,” said Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund. “Their commitment to civil and human rights will continue to propel the organizations toward building an America as good as its ideals.”
Dena Craig is an accomplished journalist and a media relations professional with more than twenty years of experience. A former Capitol Hill staffer, she twice held the Director of Communications position for Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas-30) where she managed media relations for the Congresswoman’s Washington, D.C. and Dallas offices. Craig has also been the Director of Communications for The Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services and served as the VP of Corporate Communications and Global Director of Internal Communications for H+K Strategies, Inc. Craig is an Emmy Award-winning television producer of reality, sports, court, digital, talk, and news programming and reported for Medill News Service, Illinois Times, and Daily Southtown. Craig earned her B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Broadcast Journalism and an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University-Medill School of Journalism. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.
Anita Banerji most recently served as a consultant to The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund, focusing on 2020 Census data dissemination and 2030 planning, as well as leading digital equity outreach efforts for the Emergency Broadband Benefit program. She also served as Senior Advisor Consultant to the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP), working on census and redistricting projects. Previously, as Director of Forefront’s Democracy Initiative, Banerji directed the Illinois Count Me In 2020 program, composed of a statewide, funders’ census collaborative of 22 Illinois foundations and a nonprofit coalition of more than 50 organizations from across the state. Over the course of two decades, Banerji has worked for the U.S. Congress, Illinois state government, as well as the nonprofit sector. Banerji has also lobbied on the sugary, sweetened beverage campaign through the American Heart Association. Prior to that, she served as Legislative Director for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in communications from DePaul University.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal and state policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit civilrights.org/edfund/.
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