BIO

Brakeyshia works as a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), where she brings over a decade of experience producing insightful research and analysis on tax and budget policies across local, state, and federal levels. Her work focuses on developing and communicating policy solutions that promote equity, sound fiscal practices, and address historical and structural injustices.

At ITEP, she serves on the Cross Cutting Research team, where she supports policy teams across various projects and tracks key legislative and policy developments. Her primary research interests lie at the intersection of race and taxation—examining how tax systems impact equity, economic opportunity, and public budgets.

Brakeyshia regularly shares her findings through published essays and public speaking. Her writing has appeared in Tax Notes, The Huffington Post, The Dallas Morning News, The Austin American-Statesman, Bloomberg Tax, Common Dreams, and Human Rights Magazine. She has delivered presentations to a range of audiences including the American Bar Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Duke University, The University of Missouri, Boston College, The University of Connecticut, the U.S. Department of State, and policymakers in Texas and Chicago.

Brakeyshia is also a Social Justice Fellow with the MLK Memorial Foundation, where she contributes to advancing Dr. King's legacy through research, advocacy, and public engagement focused on racial and economic justice. In this role, she leverages her policy expertise to highlight systemic inequities and propose solutions that promote fairness and inclusion. Brakeyshia collaborates with community leaders, scholars, and policymakers to address pressing social justice issues, and serves as a thought leader in national conversations on equity.

Previously, she was a senior associate with the Pew’s Fiscal Federalism Initiative, where she analyzed tax policies and public programs shaped by the federal-state fiscal relationship. She also served on Pew’s inaugural Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) Council, helping develop recommendations to guide organizational development and inclusive hiring practices.

Before joining Pew, Brakeyshia was a state policy fellow with Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ postgraduate research fellowship program. There, she conducted data analysis, authored research publications, delivered legislative testimony, and led Texas Forward, a coalition of more than seventy organizations advocating for fair state tax and budget policies.

Brakeyshia holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from The University of Texas at Tyler, where she was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Honor Society) and recognized with the Legacy Award and the Dr. Robert and Shirley Jones Leadership Award. She also was selected by the University of Texas System to participate in the prestigious Bill Archer Fellowship, where she took classes and interned at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. She earned her Master of Public Policy from George Mason University, where she was selected for the President’s Student Leadership Seminar and interned at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She recently earned the Persuasive Writing Credential from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

A proud native of Carrollton, Texas, Brakeyshia is committed to building a more just and inclusive society.

*All opinions on this website do not reflect the opinions of my employer and other affiliations.*