Nina Turner

Nina Turner made history as the first woman to represent Ward One on the Cleveland City Council and as the first African American woman to serve as a state senator in Ohio's 25th District. She later served as chair of party engagement for the Ohio Democratic Party, where she led efforts to strengthen organizing infrastructure and support local Democratic candidates statewide. Turner was the Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State.

Turner gained national attention as a surrogate for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and as national co-chair for Bernie 2020. Her work highlighted the shared challenges faced by communities across the United States. Between those campaigns, Turner served as president of the national grassroots political organization Our Revolution. She also ran a grassroots campaign for the Congressional seat in Ohio's 11th Congressional District, focusing on progressive policies for working families in Northeast Ohio.

Turner, the oldest of seven children, grew up in a working-class family in Cleveland's Lee-Harvard community. After working her way through college and graduate school, she earned an associate degree from Cuyahoga Community College and both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Cleveland State University. Turner began her career focused on supporting Ohio working families.

Turner is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is a former assistant professor of history at Cuyahoga Community College, a senior fellow at the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, and the founder of the civic engagement organization We Are Somebody. Turner hosts the "Hello Somebody" podcast on iHeartRadio. In addition to her work in political activism and public policy, she enjoys traveling, working out, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends.