Carolyne Abdullah

Director of Community Assistance

Carolyne provides management oversight to Everyday Democracy’s community assistance team and Senior Associates who work with neighborhoods, towns, school districts, and communities to find democratic ways of addressing local political and social issues. As the head of the community assistance team, Carolyne provides coaching and mentoring to program directors on the various aspects of Everyday Democracy’s approach to community change and public problem solving. This includes strategies for organizing large-scale dialogue-to-change efforts, creating inclusive discussion materials and designing action implementation and measurement tools. 

Prior to her work with Everyday Democracy, she designed an after school program targeted to African American youth, with special emphasis on African American males, entitled the Self-Esteem Educational (SEE) Program for African Americans. She leads the in-house Diversity and Inclusion work of Everyday Democracy on its path toward becoming an inclusive, anti-racist organization and strengthening the intersection of racial equity and democracy.

Carolyne holds a degree in political science from Alcorn State University, a Master of Political Science from Iowa State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Penn State University. She is currently completing requirements for her doctorate in Political Science (Public Policy) from the University of Connecticut.