Stacey Abrams is a political leader, author, serial entrepreneur, and nonprofit CEO. Abrams became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018, after eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven of those as Minority Leader. She received more votes than any other Democrat in the state's history. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has formed numerous organizations dedicated to voting rights, educating and hiring young people of color, and addressing social issues at both the state and national levels. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' John F. Kennedy Center for the She was the first black woman to be nominated for governor by a major political party in the United States, and she received the Kennedy New Frontier Award.