Celina Stewart is the chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. She leads the century-strong voting rights organization in its mission to empower voters and defend democracy. She oversees the League’s operations, resources, and strategy in this defining moment for American democracy.
Appointed CEO just three months before the 2024 election, Celina guided the organization through one of the most consequential election cycles in modern history. Under her first year of leadership, the League reached more than 30 million voters and invested over $1 million in nonpartisan election education. She unveiled a bold vision at the 2024 National LWV Convention, outlining goals to strengthen the League’s leadership in voting rights, align its national network of 700+ affiliates, and grow its membership and financial capacity through an equity-centered transformation.
Celina also launched Unite and Rise 8.5, an ambitious campaign to mobilize 8.5 million voters and assert the League’s role as a backbone organization for nonviolent civic action and defense of democracy. Her leadership emphasizes racial equity, organizational culture, and the need to modernize civic engagement for the current era.
Celina joined the League in 2018 as director of advocacy and litigation. In that role — and later as senior director and chief counsel — she developed a nationally recognized legal advocacy program. She was the architect of the “People Powered Fair Maps™” redistricting campaign and One Person One Vote, a long-term campaign to end the Electoral College. Her work expanded the League’s presence on Capitol Hill and built key legal partnerships nationwide.
A creative legal strategist, Celina has led litigation to protect voters from intimidation and disinformation. In League of Women Voters Arizona v. Lions of Liberty, she secured a restraining order against militia groups threatening voters at drop boxes, setting a national precedent. In League of Women Voters of New Hampshire v. Kramer, she combined voting rights and consumer protection law to address AI-generated robocalls designed to suppress voters in the 2024 primary. The case established a novel legal framework for protecting elections from disinformation.
Celina is a frequent media voice on democracy and voting rights. She has appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning, MSNBC Morning Joe, CNN, TIME, The Washington Post, Vogue, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, Newsweek, Spectrum News, and Roland Martin, Unfiltered, among others. She has spoken at Harvard, Georgetown Law, American University, Hampton University, and Northeastern Law. In May 2025, she testified before the US Senate, warning lawmakers that legislation like the SAVE Act could disproportionately suppress eligible voters — especially women and people of color — and urging protection for free and fair elections.
Before joining the League, Celina served as chief operating officer and director of philanthropy at FairVote, where she advanced structural election reform and organizational growth. She has also worked as a litigation consultant to Am Law 100 firms, a legislative aide in the Michigan Legislature, and as legal counsel to Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, where she led redistricting work in compliance with the Voting Rights Act. She also served as executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s 21st Century Council, helping shape national policy recommendations for communities of color.
Celina earned her JD from Western Michigan University Law School and her BA in Sociology from Spelman College. She is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and has served on the boards of the DC Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of DC, and the NAACP DC Branch. She is a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises and is active in the national civil rights coalition defending democracy.
Beyond her professional work, Celina is a published author (The Pocket Planner), a wine enthusiast, and a passionate foodie.
Photo: DFinney Photography
It’s Juneteenth. Today, we honor the emancipation of the last enslaved Americans and recognize the painful history, extraordinary resilience, and generations of activism that made that moment possible. It’s a celebration that’s not only historic, but for many (like myself), deeply personal.
But in a moment when civil and voting rights continue to face challenges, and even efforts to acknowledge our full history through initiatives like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are viewed as controversial, Juneteenth invites a larger question: what does this day mean? What does it symbolize for our democracy and for each of us, regardless of race?
As we step into primary season in a pivotal year for our nation, where does our democracy stand? LWV CEO Celina Stewart, Esq., shares her thoughts.
In 2021, the seeds of our current Constitutional Crisis were being sown.
Reflecting on this tragic day in 2024, League President Dianna Wynn and I noted that January 6 was a reminder of “the sacredness of preserving democracy.” As we look ahead to a critical year for elections and advocacy, this reminder guides my every move.
Last June, I stood on the stage at our National Convention as the League of Women Voters announced me as the next CEO. For me, it was a moment filled with hope, pride, and a profound sense of responsibility. I knew I was stepping into a new leadership role at an organization with a rich history and an unwavering commitment to building a more perfect democracy.
Let’s be honest: We’re only talking about mid-cycle redistricting now because politicians fear losing power. And they’re willing to rewrite the rules to keep it.
On July 28, 2025, the League's CEO, Celina Stewart, Esq., joined the League of Women Voters of Chautauqua at the Chautauqua Institution for the Chautauqua Lecture Series, with the theme of "The Global Rise in Authoritarianism."
This Independence Day, Americans will likely gather for parades, fireworks and barbeques, celebrating our democracy with familiar traditions. But while many will spend the holiday waving flags, the Trump administration and his allies are attempting to systematically dismantle the very reason for this holiday, and not to mention, put our country and the people in it, Americans, in harm's way.
At our core, nonpartisanship is not just a policy — it’s a bedrock principle that defines who we are at the League of Women Voters. As a membership organization committed to empowering voters and defending democracy, we do not support or oppose political parties or candidates.
Our focus has always been, and will continue to be, on the issues that matter to our communities: ensuring fair elections, protecting voting rights, and strengthening our democratic institutions.
Our CEO Celina Stewart speaks to the state of our democracy as we settle into the latest administration.
With attacks from the recent administration, DEI has been a hot topic recently. In a recent blog, I broke down what DEI really is — and isn’t. In this piece, I’ll describe just a few of the ways DEI impacts us and our democracy. I’ll then share ways you can support it.