Julie Shiroishi, Eleanor’s Legacy’s Executive Director, began her career in newspaper and book publishing, including as Director of Advertising and Promotions at Viking/Penguin Books. In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Shiroishi joined her local Democratic committee and became an active participant. That volunteer work led her to become chief of staff to NYS Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-104), and later Chair of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. In 2022, Shiroishi ran for the New York State Senate, District 39, in the Hudson Valley, becoming the first AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) woman to run for the state legislature outside of NYC. She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the NYS Democratic Committee. A working mom, Shiroishi is committed to preserving democracy, our environment, and reproductive freedoms for future generations as well as to honor her late father, who was a Japanese American internee during World War II. Originally from California, where she earned a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, Shiroishi has lived in New York since 1997 and currently resides in Beacon.