Deborah Scott, CEO of Georgia STAND-UP, a “think and act tank” for working families, and a 2012 “White House Champion of Change,” is an accomplished advocate of economic inclusion, community empowerment, and progressive civic engagement. A master organizer, strategist, and highly skilled trainer, she has been on the front lines of progressive social transformation for more than 25 years. Deborah has shaped and molded a generation of social activists. Her motivational talks and workshops in leadership, basic organizing, public policy analysis, civic education, and non-partisan voter mobilization have fueled numerous conferences, rallies, demonstrations, and direct actions, advancing the causes of social equality, economic equity, and respect for basic human rights.
Her impact has been felt across the spectrum of leading progressive issues: civil rights and race discrimination; voting rights and voter suppression; workers rights, affordable housing; environmental justice and health equity, job training and employment; and criminal justice reform, among others. She is a builder of partnerships and collaborations, uniting neighborhood groups, labor organizations, academic institutions, business interests, environmentalists, and government agencies into working coalitions to advance policies and programs that lift up working families, neglected neighborhoods, and historically underserved populations.