Shannon Reeves Speaker & Booking Information

Shannon Frank Reeves, Sr. is a Ronald E. McNair Graduate Fellow pursuing a doctorate degree in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  He also serves as the President of the African American Graduate Student Association (AAGSA) 2014-2015 at UA. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Political Science from Grambling State University of Louisiana. He is a 2011, 2012, and 2014 recipient of the George R. Mears Scholarship awarded by the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

As a PhD student, he studies American Politics and Public Policy in the American South. He is particularly interested in Southern Republican Governors and the contemporary challenges of conservatism as a governance principle. In a contrasting parallel, he studies African American political behavior and power in the South and the contemporary challenges of Black Mayors in majority Republican southern states. He seeks to add to the body of knowledge by infusing his academic pursuits with his more than twenty years of unique professional political experience.

Mr. Reeves is the former National Director of State and Local Development for the Republican National Committee. He served as the Party’s liaison between state, county and local Republican organizations for candidate training/support and professional development. He has organized and trained state and county party leaders in support of Republican candidates in 40 of the 50 states in addition to the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. He has served as a Delegate to the Republican National Convention having attended in both 2000 and 2008. Prior to joining the staff of the RNC, he served as the elected Secretary of the California Republican Party, making him the highest-ranking African-American Party official in the state. He believes the need for Republican leadership on the moral challenge to eradicate poverty through education, economic opportunity and support for families in urban cities will determine the future success of the Party. He is a conservative with a message of personal responsibility, government accountability and efficient nonprofit organizational management that has been delivered in speeches across the country.

Mr. Reeves was born in San Francisco, CA and is a born again Pentecostal and lifelong member of the Church of God In Christ. As a civic leader, he served four consecutive terms as President of the Oakland, CA branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is the only person ever to serve simultaneously as an elected NAACP President and an elected officer of the California Republican Party.

Mr. Reeves is a prolific fundraiser and grassroots organizer. Under his leadership, NAACP paid membership in Oakland increased from 900 to over 4,000 annually, in addition to securing over$1 million dollars from corporate and individual donors to increase the annual budget. From 1983-2004 he served the NAACP in eleven (11) different positions, covering fourteen (14)  states during his more than twenty (20) years of leadership within the organization. He lives in Tuscaloosa, AL.