Convention Speaker Update & Spotlight: Reyna Walters-Morgan Steps In for Anderson Clayton
- dalton buchanan
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
Defending Democracy, Expanding Access, and Building a Movement from the Ground Up
We’ve got an exciting update for this year’s Henderson County Democratic Party Convention! While North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton will be in Washington, DC and unable to attend in person, she’s sending someone truly exceptional in her place:
🎤 Reyna Walters-Morgan, the current DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, and one of the nation’s foremost champions of voting rights.
A Life Dedicated to Voting Rights
Born in Brooklyn and raised in North Carolina, Reyna Walters-Morgan is a proud alumna of both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Howard University School of Law. Her voting rights journey began as a student at UNC, where she made history as the first woman of color elected Student Body President, and only the second woman to ever hold the role.
During her time in student government, Reyna led voter registration efforts and helped initiate the first-ever satellite polling location within walking distance of campus — setting the tone for a career centered on civic empowerment.
After graduation, Reyna served as Director of Student Outreach for North Carolinians for Educational Opportunity, working on a statewide bond referendum campaign that ultimately delivered $3.1 billion in higher education capital funding — the largest of its kind in the nation at the time.
From the Courts to the Campaign Trail
Following law school, Reyna poured her talents into protecting the right to vote across the country — volunteering on campaigns, conducting voter protection work, and serving as a Regional Voter Protection Director in Ohio during Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run.
In 2018, she launched Walters-Morgan Law PLLC and managed the Election Protection program for North Carolina’s nonprofit sector — ensuring that voters had legal support and assistance at every step of the electoral process.
A Transformative Leader at the DNC
In 2019, Reyna stepped into what she calls her "dream job" — becoming the Director of Civic Engagement and Voter Protection at the Democratic National Committee. She joined at a time when the voter protection department was minimal and under-resourced — the national hotline even rang directly to her personal phone.
But under her leadership, that all changed.
Reyna transformed the DNC’s voter protection strategy into a year-round organizing operation, working closely with state parties and grassroots advocates to build proactive, data-driven systems for defending the right to vote.
Her accomplishments at the DNC include:
Modernizing and scaling the national voter assistance hotline, helping hundreds of thousands of voters
Developing and implementing the largest voter protection programs in history for the 2020 presidential and 2022 midterm elections
Launching the Voter Registration and Purge Tracker, which helped identify and attempt to re-register over 335,000 purged or inactive voters
Her work has been recognized nationally for creating lasting infrastructure and turning voter protection into a public utility — not just a campaign-season effort.
Continuing the Work for a More Equitable Democracy
Today, as the DNC’s Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, Reyna continues to advocate for voting access, equity, and justice across the country. She believes that change doesn't happen overnight — but that we each have a responsibility to leave every place we serve better than we found it.
Outside of her work, Reyna is an avid world traveler, having visited 48 countries and counting.
We are incredibly proud to welcome Reyna Walters-Morgan to the 2025 Henderson County Democratic Convention. Her story is one of persistence, service, and unshakable belief in the power of voters — and we can’t wait for you to hear from her.
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