State and Federal Policy Trends in Civic Discourse
There is an increased focus by policymakers at the federal and state levels on implementing and expanding civic discourse in higher education. These efforts take many forms, from including civic discourse skills in the classroom curriculum to standing up civic discourse offices on campuses. This session will provide an overview of those trends at the state level as well as the federal level and what they mean for campus administrators.
Michelle Kanter Cohen
Policy Director and Senior Counsel
Michelle Kanter Cohen (she/her) serves as Policy Director and Senior Counsel with Fair Elections Center. Her work in the Voting Rights Project focuses on moving forward Fair Elections Center’s policy priorities at the state and national levels, leading the team maintaining the organization’s 50-state resources for voters and civic engagement organizations, and addressing emergent voting rights policy issues. She also litigates voting rights cases to remove barriers to citizens’ exercising their freedom to vote, such as fighting to stop aggressive voter purging and other voter registration restrictions. Kanter Cohen has been a voting rights advocate for most of her legal career, and is a national expert on voter registration and election administration issues. She served as a member of the American Bar Association (“ABA”)’s Standing Committee on Election Law and authored the chapter on voting in the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s 2023 book, The Legal and Social Ramifications of Pandemics on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Prior to joining Fair Elections Center, Kanter Cohen spent five years at another voting rights organization as a litigator and advocate for voting rights, focusing on the areas of voter registration and election administration. Kanter Cohen began her legal career as a litigation associate at WilmerHale LLP in Washington, DC. Kanter Cohen earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School, and a B.A., cum laude, in Political Science from Yale University.
Diana Ali
Director of Policy Research and Advocacy
NASPA
Diana Ali is currently the director of policy research and advocacy at NASPA. Through her service at NASPA, Diana provides timely analysis of emerging policy issues at state and federal levels, creates tools for student affairs professionals to understand and respond to these issues, and organizes and supports NASPA advocacy and civic engagement efforts.
Since moving to the area, Diana has been a non-profit advocate, and is currently a mental health group facilitator in the Chicagoland community. She has served as an AmeriCorps volunteer for two years and graduated with a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.