2 Silver Spring Women Named To Maryland Humanities Board Of Directors

SILVER SPRING, MD — Maryland Humanities recently welcomed seven members to its Board of Directors, including two from Silver Spring — Dr. Shauna Knox and Soo Koo, according to a release.

A statewide, educational nonprofit, Maryland Humanities seeks to enhance and enrich communities by sharing bold stories to connect people.

Knox is the chief of (racial equity) strategy at Associated Black Charities and co-chairs the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.

“I believe Maryland Humanities is the right place in this moment for working earnestly toward deconstructing the veneer of a post-racial fantasy, so that we can all be afforded the dignity of wholeness in our humanity,"she said, in a release. "I’m honored to have the opportunity to work towards this end with these chosen people.”

Koo serves as the deputy director of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

“This is a critical time when we need to spread out and re-cultivate the spirit of humanities everywhere,” Koo said, in the release. “I am honored to join the great board leaders and team of Maryland Humanities to work together to embrace diverse communities as an integral part of our state’s history as well as build a new culture and make meaningful changes across the state.”

Knox and Koo join 24 other volunteers in service on the Maryland Humanities Board.

Here are the biographies of the two Silver Spring residents that Maryland Humanities released when it announced its new board members:

DR. SHAUNA KNOX is Chief of (Racial Equity) Strategy at Associated Black Charities. She also serves as Co-Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. Knox is a researcher, policy activist, and philanthro-advocate, with expertise in the decolonization and re-humanization of Black citizens of the Global South. Prior to her role at Associated Black Charities, Knox received a Breakthrough Award during her five-year tenure at the U.S. Department of Education. She was also named the sole Subject Matter Expert for Human Trafficking and Child Labor Exploitation at the Department. In this capacity, Knox led all of the agency’s inter- and intra-agency work related to Human Trafficking. Dr. Knox was also responsible for the production of the second edition of the Human Trafficking in America’s Schools: What Schools Can do to Prevent, Respond, and Help Students to Recover from Human Trafficking guidance document, released in January 2021. Knox received an Honorable Mention from the AERA Division B: Curriculum Studies Outstanding Book Award for 2021, for her first book: Engaging Currere Toward Decolonization: Negotiating Black Womanhood through Autobiographical Analysis.

SOO KOO currently serves as the Deputy Director of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. She joined the Hogan Administration as the Communications Director at the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director of the International Leadership Foundation, a national nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C. She also worked as a public representative for the Montgomery County Community Development Advisory Committee. Over the last decade, as a professional in public service, politics, and the nonprofit sector, Koo has experience in external/public affairs, public administration, stakeholder engagement, social responsibility; and outreach to diverse communities, businesses, and media. In 2020, she was selected for the list of the top 40 Asian American and Pacific Islander political operatives and public affairs professionals under 40 by the National Association of Asian Pacifics in Politics and Public Affairs (NAAPPPA).