About Shavonne

Because Systems Should Work for Everyone

Shavonne Hedgepeth is a public servant, capital planner, and community advocate who believes fairness should not be a privilege. It should be the standard. Her life’s work has centered on navigating complex systems and making them work better for the people they were meant to serve.

Born with a deep sense of justice and possibility, Shavonne’s commitment to others started early. As a kindergartner, her dreams were simple but telling. She wanted everyone in the world to have ducks and rabbits. She wanted her friend to have a doll. She believed joy, fairness, and opportunity should be shared. That instinct never left her.

A Journey of Persistence

Shavonne’s path to graduation took 17 years, five colleges, and three states. Not because she lacked the ability, but because systemic barriers stood in the way. Despite these setbacks, Shavonne remained determined to continue her education, adapting to each new challenge as she moved from one state to another.

During the 2008 economic downturn, her parents, who had been paying for her education out of pocket, were no longer able to continue. Instead of walking away, she worked—often holding multiple jobs at once. There were nights when Shavonne finished her shift at midnight, only to study for exams in the early hours before heading to her next job. She paid for school one class at a time across Atlanta and Maryland, each semester a testament to her resilience.

At Clark Atlanta University, she found a principle that would guide her life: “Find a way or make one.” Though she did not complete her degree there, the motto stayed with her, shaping how she approaches setbacks and reinforcing her belief that opportunity should not disappear because life gets hard. The journey was never easy, but each obstacle became a building block for the leader she would become.

Education as Empowerment

Shavonne went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she sharpened her research skills and deepened her understanding of how institutions are built and where they fall short.

She then earned a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on legal informatics and access to information. Most recently, she completed an Executive Master of Public Administration at Cornell University, strengthening her expertise in governance, public finance, and resilient and agile leadership.

Education, for Shavonne, has been a blueprint. A way to understand how barriers are constructed and how to tear them down so opportunity is not reserved for the few.

Community Action

Shavonne has always believed that if you see a problem, you do something about it.

In Atlanta, after learning about the poor quality of student meals in public schools, she organized donations and volunteers to feed 440 students at Maynard H. Jackson High School.

In Washington, D.C., she partnered with her employer to host a job shadow day for young mothers at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, connecting them with leadership in the hospitality industry and opening doors to career pathways.

She currently serves on the board of JusticeAccess, a mobile law library working to close the access to justice gap. In the D.C. region, the vast majority of low-income residents facing civil legal issues must navigate the system without adequate support. JusticeAccess brings legal information directly into neighborhoods because fairness in the courtroom begins with access to information.

Public Service + Infrastructure Leadership

In her professional role at Metro, Shavonne works in capital planning, helping manage multi-billion-dollar public investments. She works across agencies, with local governments and community partners, to ensure that projects reflect real priorities on the ground. She takes problem statements and turns them into solutions, every day,

Her work has reinforced a simple truth: public institutions work best when they listen. When investments are thoughtful, transparent, and community-driven, families thrive.

Why She’s Running

From a child who believed joy should be shared, to a student who refused to give up, to a professional dedicated to strengthening public systems, Shavonne’s journey has prepared her to lead.

She is running for Congress because she understands what it means to carry responsibility without power. She is running because Prince George’s and Montgomery County families deserve representation that delivers results. And she is running because systems should work for everyone, not just those who already know how to navigate them.