Shauna R. Madison, Esq. is the Director of People, Culture, and Equity and Compliance Counsel, and a member of NCLR’s Management Team as well as the Business Administration Team. Shauna utilizes her expertise in labor and employment law, people management, and 501(c)(3) consultation to advise NCLR on holistic, trauma-informed, legally compliant policies and practices.

Prior to joining NCLR, Shauna was Managing Partner at Medina Orthwein LLP – A queer-owned civil rights firm where she practiced as a full-time litigator and supervisor, focusing on employment discrimination and prisoner rights. Shauna also managed the firm’s human resources department by recruiting, hiring, supervising, training, and reviewing employees from an employee-centered, trauma-informed lens. While at the firm, Shauna also spoke on panels nationwide, discussing “Beyond Traditional DE&I” and employment law best practices, adding to her list of 30+ appearances as a guest speaker, panelist, and moderator. Additionally, since 2019, Shauna has provided pro bono legal, HR, and DE&I consultation to various 501(c)(3) organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Shauna has served as a Board Director and Chair of the Human Resources Committee for the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center (2020–Present); Board Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (2021–2023); Board Director of the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (2017–2019); and Board Director for the University of San Francisco’s Public Interest Law Foundation Advisory Board (2016–2018). Shauna also attended the 2012 White House Black LGBT Emerging Leaders Conference as a conference delegate. Her recent awards include: being named a 2023 Northern California Super Lawyer – Rising Star, and receiving the 2022 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 Award, as well as the 2021 and 2022 National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 Awards. 

Shauna received her law degree from the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and African & African American Studies, with a minor in Sexuality Studies from the University of California, Davis. During her tenure at USF Law, she completed several internships, including but not limited to an internship at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a judicial externship for the Merit Systems Protection Board (a quasi-judicial agency that governs federal employment claims) under the Honorable Benjamin Gutman, and served as a student attorney for USF’s Employment Law Clinic. Following USF Law, Shauna was an Associate Attorney at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP and a Public Defender in Contra Costa and Alameda County.

Shauna is licensed to practice in the State of California, the Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of the U.S. District Courts of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Shauna, her wife, and two dogs live in Contra Costa County where Shauna practices self-care by tackling ambitious DIY projects.

For NCLR Human Resources inquiries, please email Shauna at SMadison@nclrights.org.