Executive DirectorRise Education Fund
Mary-Pat Hector was born in Atlanta and graduated from Spelman College and Georgia State University. She began community organizing at the age of 12. At the age of 18, she was one of the youngest community leaders to advise President Barack Obama on criminal justice reform in the Oval Office. By the age of 19, she became the youngest woman to run for public office in the state of Georgia, losing by only 22 votes, which prompted her to found Equity for All, an ecosystem to train young leaders to run for office and seek equal representation opportunities.
Hector serves as CEO of Rise, an organization that trains and hires students to organize campaigns focused on eliminating tuition and fees, expanding financial aid, ending student hunger and homelessness, and getting out the vote. More than 250,000 students and supporters from colleges and universities nationwide lead the organizations to work.