Always interested in community and how to bring people together, Shakari Cameron Byerly thought she would go into public interest law or public service. But en route to law school, she got a glimpse into a new way to connect to communities and hear the diverse viewpoints within them. Find out how amplifying and elevating those voices can be its own kind of public service.
Guest Shakari Cameron Byerly, Dartmouth '96, recognized that at her core she is someone who brings communities together, shines a light the diversity within them, and amplifies the voices so all viewpoints are heard. She did that in her youth and in college through student assembly work and with the cultural communities that she was a part. She figured that she would have a future in public interest law or public service. But a straight path to law school didn’t feel right and she served the communities that nurtured her by returning to teach high school in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Realizing she still had a yearning to work at a more macro level, she worked on the social services side of education and mentorship. But she still had the political bug, so pursued a master's in public policy, worked with the state legislature and think tanks on education policy and economic development, ultimately getting pulled into the world of public opinion polling that she never knew existed. The perfect fit for her community-building values, she now runs one of the only African American-owned polling firms in the country with husband Rodrego Bylery, Dartmouth ’98.
In this episode, find out from Shakari how amplifying and elevating the voices of everyday people can be its own kind of public service on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.
About This Episode's Guest
Shakari Byerly is partner and principal researcher at EVITARUS, the Los Angeles-based public opinion research and public policy consulting firm that she runs with her husband Rodrego Byerly, Dartmouth '98. The firm is one of the only African American owned and operated polling firms in the U.S. You can find out more at evitarus.com.
Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley
Music: Brian Burrows
Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com
Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com
Shakari Cameron Bylery: And it was exactly what I've always wanted to do, even though I never imagined that the position existed. So every day I get to work on a different policy issue. And I get to amplify and elevate the voices of everyday people. And I work to understand how they think about their communities, what they want for their communities. So it's really fulfilling.
Leslie Jennings Rowley : Always interested in community and how to bring people together, Shakari Cameron Byerly thought she would go into public interest law or public service. But en route to law school, she got a glimpse into a new way to connect to communities and hear the diverse viewpoints within them. Find out how amplifying and elevating those voices can be its own kind of public service on the next Roads Taken with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley.
So I’m here today with Shakari Cameron Byerly and we’re going to talk about how interests and wanting to follow interests can get you into all sorts of trouble, good trouble. So, Shakari, great to talk to you today.
SB: It’s great to be here. Thanks so much for having me.
LJR: So I ask the same two questions of all of our guests on Roads Taken, and here they are: When we were in college, who were you? And when we were getting ready to leave, who did you think you would become?
SB: That's such an interesting question. Coming to college. Well, let me back up. I think I've always been very interested in community and how to bring people together around shared notions of community with a particular focus on the diversity within communities. So at Dartmouth, I was. And I would say even before Dartmouth, coming into Dartmouth, I was always interested in public service and kind of playing a leadership role, I guess, if you will, in building community. So very active, as you know, in Student Assembly and also within my cultural community with the Am. So that was a big part of my Dartmouth experience. It's just working with other people who cared about those issues. And I didn't know, I think coming out of Dartmouth, I thought, I'll go to law school, maybe I'll do public interest law, maybe I'll go into politics. I took a rather circuitous route, so I didn't go to law school, as you know, but I did end up in public service and politics. So in a way, I'm one of those lucky people who majored in politics or government and actually did end up using quite a bit of what I've learned as an undergrad. And continue to focus on. So that's been really great.
LJR: Yeah though, as you said, it was not a direct path. And when you left college, your first you know, the way that you thought you would apply those skills and the community building really gravitated toward education, right?
SB: Absolutely.
LJR: Talk to me about that first set of experiences.
SB: Yeah, happy to. I come from a family of educators. So my grandmother was a high school teacher and counselor. My mother was a teacher as well. And so I actually had planned to go to law school, returning to Los Angeles, UCLA. And when I really thought about it, I said, you know what, I don't want a lawyer. I don't know really what I want to do, but I know I want to be of service, particularly in communities where I come from and that nurtured me. And so I decided to go into high school teaching. And I taught for a couple of years in urban schools in San Francisco, which is where my family is from, and a bit in Los Angeles. And that was just, I think really an important grounding experience, because I did really what I loved. And I worked with students that were just like me, in a sense, may not have had experience with a lot of the, I think, privileges that we enjoyed as Dartmouth students. And being able to bring to bear some of that expertise and experience in urban communities, just it was really important. It was a great time from the classroom. I wanted to, I still had this yearning to work at a more macro level, I think, within communities. And so I started to, I moved over to social service. And so I worked for a mentorship and scholarship program for youth who did not have parents who had gone to college. And I did that for a few years, and it was really satisfying. But I still had the political bug, so to speak. And so I thought, why not apply for a fellowship to work in a capital working in legislature? And I did that, and I was back on the path, so to speak, and really caught the bug. And so I worked in the legislature for a couple of years, both in the capital and then in the district office. I decided to go back to school and got my master's in public policy, worked on education policy, on economic development, and to a certain extent, the rest is history. I never knew my current field actually existed. So I work as a political pollster now, but having done legislative work, having worked at a think tank, actually got hired away by a polling firm. And it was exactly what I've always wanted to do, even though I never imagined that the position existed. So every day I get to work on a different policy issue. And I get to amplify and elevate the voices of everyday people. And I work to understand how they think about their communities, what they want for their communities. So it's really fulfilling. Plus, I get to work with my husband, so I count that a privilege as well.
LJR: Right. So you said, you got kind of poached away. And so were working for a firm on polling. But ultimately, not only do you get to work with your husband, he is a bit of an entrepreneur. And so pulled you to a place, I don't know if it was comfortable for you to move into that entrepreneur role, but tell us about your business and kind of the genesis of it and maybe even the genesis of your relationship.
SB: Yeah, that well, both are very interesting, but separate stories. So I'm married to Rodrego Byerly, Dartmouth 98, who is also a government major. So we have those shared interests and we run one of the only African-American owned and operated public policy and polling firms in the country, which is really exciting. We have two arms of our business. One is a California corporation and another is a Texas corporation, out of which we do more national work. I think our value-add to the community is trying to marry scholarship with applied research. And so how can we bring thought leadership from academia, which often isn't very accessible to everyday folks? How can we integrate that into how our leaders and policymakers think about the public and about the different solutions and why the public does or doesn't support different alternatives? And so we actually work with quite a few foundations and educational institutions. And we work for political campaigns, including candidates and issue area campaigns as well as public agencies. So, for example, most recently, we worked with the Sierra Club on their efforts to transform into an anti-racist organization. And we also worked this past cycle for Vice President Kamala Harris, which is super exciting and interesting. And at the local level here in California to pass one of the only local measures to shift funding away from more carceral approaches to community safety, into programs aimed at prevention and community building and empowerment. So this is for Los Angeles County, which is one of, is, I think, the second largest, if not the largest county in the country next to Cook County and also has the largest budget in the country. So it's a pretty transformative and phenomenal initiative. And we're. Just very excited to be a part of what's going on in our country and actually having an approach that we think will make a difference as it relates to racial justice and community investment.
LJR: Yeah so getting back to your earlier statement of how kind of helping people find shared notions of community has always been so important to you, I'd say in today's, at least in the United States’ society, there's not a lot of shared notion of much, frankly. And in your polling work or public opinion survey work, I'm sure that you're seeing division. And so where are you finding that the passion for finding community and building community sits in your work? Do you have to scrape in and kind of, you know, try to find it, or are you happily surprised that you find it more than I would think you do?
SB: You know, I think that my approach to polling and opinion research really starts from the perspective that everyone is coming from an authentic place. Everyone cares about their livelihood. Everyone cares about their family primarily. And I truly believe that everyone wants what's best for our country. I don't think those values change. I don't think that the issues upon which we disagree really change that much because there are some core foundations to public opinion that derive from those values. There's ideological perspectives. So the key in, I think, finding the common ground in public discourse, which is quite different than the reality of exists, is what are those touchstones that really build a bridge between the values that we all share in the policy outcomes that we're committed to. And that's the business of governing where we are today. Politically, the discourse. I think has shed has cast a really dark shadow over those common values. But it isn't an issue if they aren't along new fractures or fissures. I think it's really the core fractures that we've had since the founding of the country. It's just that in some periods those are more prominent than others to a certain extent, where we're still we've been fighting over issues of racial justice since the beginning. And that's a core fault line today. I think we all believe in equality on the surface, we believe in equality. But how do you get there? And when we have such deep partisan divides, I mean, we're just really getting to the crux of issues that have been really tough for a long time. So while some may say may look and wonder, how can we ever heal these divides, I would say, let's not look away from the fact that they've always been with us. And we're at a point where we can really do the hard work. And I think we're at a point where we have seen growth. I mean, the fact that we have major organizations and corporations that are now interested in investing resources in these conversations is highly important. And I point to one of our clients, the Sierra Club, which is the largest environmental organization in the country, if not the world, largely white membership, but has a deep commitment to racial justice in using their leverage to have those conversations where we find shared values. And in that work, we have found that there is common ground, even among those who on the surface may not see a connection between the issues they care about, even like the environment. And what connection that might have to issues like inequality and racial justice.
LJR: So at one point, you didn't even know this was a field, but what was the point where you knew you could actually have your own business and grow it to such an important business?
SB: Well, that's where the unexpected entrepreneur comes in. So my husband, Rodrego Byerly is, he teaches business and management at the University level, but has been an investment banker and has helped and started companies over the course of his career. And when I was working for a national polling firm, he always said, you're going to be able to open your own shop one day. And I said, oh, no, I'd never do that. And then having hit a bit of a glass ceiling, having worked at a national firm for nearly 10 years, I decided to invest in myself with Rodrego's support and go back to graduate school to get some additional training. And that was really an important because the world of polling is always changing in terms of how to reach people and also the methods that are used. And Rodrego said, you know, you're at a point where you can take these projects from start to finish you. You ought to consider building the practice in opinion research. And so that's what we did. I have to say, it's always I think there's a measure of risk, and especially as a woman who wasn't a business major or considered an MBA necessarily, you know, it was a growth experience. And has been a growth experience, but it's been a really great one. It has allowed us to train up a cadre of researchers from a diverse set of backgrounds and bring a really unique lens, I think, to the. It's because we are one of the only African-American firms and one of very few where we have a woman lead researcher, which is the role in which I serve. So it's been really exciting.
LJR: Yeah and actually, I knew a little bit about your business, but I really thought that it was more and that Rodrego was more entwined in the polling part or the subject area part. But it sounds like, you know, he was the business guy that kind of supplemented your other skills. So tell me about how you met. It really wasn't related to politics.
SB: That's right. Well, and quiet as kept, he's actually an MPA himself. And so although he worked in finance, he is very much part of the polling business. So he's a secondary researcher right alongside me, so we run the projects jointly, although his sphere is primarily as the CEO and President in the business direction and executive leadership. So how we met is very interesting in that I was one of those Dartmouth women who looked at the stats on the proportion of us who marry other Dartmouth students and or graduates. And I said, oh, that would never be me. Like I would never marry a Dartmouth man. I'm not going to be that statistic. And so Rodrego knew one another in college, but weren't necessarily friends. Fast forward 17, 14 years, 13 years after graduation. He had been working in New York. I was in California. And he decided to take a job in California, happened to be in Los Angeles. He has a fraternity brother. There's a ‘95 that I keep in contact with. And so Hosea gave me a call and said, hey, do you remember that guy Rodrego? He's coming to LA and he doesn't necessarily know anyone. Would you be willing to show him around? It's like, oh, yeah, I remember Rodrego. Sure, why not? And the rest is kind of history. And the interesting thing about that is at that time, I was in Sacramento working in legislature and I was considering either going back to graduate school to pursue my master's at UCLA, or Columbia, New York, where he was. So we literally could have just missed one another quickly moving to New York, where he was, and then moving to LA, where I was from. And so the stars just really aligned. And so I showed him around and we got to know one another better. And here we are 15 years later, still together. And now in business together as well. So it's quite amazing, quite amazing.
LJR: Was that Hosea Harvey?
SB: It was, yes. Yeah.
LJR: So does he take full responsibility, like he knew that he was putting you together or was it…
SB: I don’t know if he knew exactly what that was going to happen?
LJR: He should take credit for it at least. Yeah, that's great. OK, so I will say, though, there are couples that can have a business together. And there are couples that that's probably not a good suggestion. So what have you found about that working relationship that makes it work?
SC: Yeah, it's definitely an interesting, I think, endeavor, but it really works for us. And I think primarily because we're friends first. And we really respect one another as intellectual peers. We both bring something I think unique and valuable to the business, which enhances what we're able to offer. And I think our clients really see that as well. And so it's actually strengthened our marriage, I think, because it allows us to get to know one another better to work out those kinks, so to speak, that married couples. Often, if you're living with someone, there'll be some bumps in the road along the way. So it's working through those challenges, and particularly because we have a common interest in seeing the business do well. We both care deeply about these issues. It's really great.
LJR: So, Shakari, when you think back to your younger self government major thinking that public service was definitely in your future, not knowing this world existed, what would you say to her now. Or what would she actually say to you now looking at kind of this business that you've built and the good that you're doing? What would you say?
SC: I think she would say, wow, really, I really do. It's like a dream come true being in this position and doing this work. There aren't very many women. There aren't very many people who really understand who the folks are behind those numbers and those approval ratings. It's a bit of an esoteric process. This year, we actually began to offer some limited internship opportunities to Dartmouth students, which has been great. And the one intern we were able to bring on this year, he said, you know, this is an amazing opportunity because he never knew it existed. You know he’s a government major. And so it's…I think my younger self would probably be really amazed and quite, quite proud. I think I would say, you know hang in there, kid. You may not know how you're going to get to where you want to be, but stay true to those values because you will find a way, if you're deeply committed. And you know that I can't take the sole credit for that. It's really a core tenet of my faith that all things truly do work together. If you have those core ideals at heart.
LJR: Yeah, well, it is clear, Shakari, from talking to you that those ideals are very clear and your commitment is unwavering and that this role seems to be exactly where you need to be right now. So I'm so pleased to hear that from you and look forward to kind of tracking this and seeing where the business goes and where you go. And I'm sure I am sure it's going to be someplace great. So thanks so much for being here.
SB: Thank you for having me. This is a great conversation.