Tori Schafer, Deputy Director for Policy and Campaigns of the ACLU of Missouri, is a member of the Integrated Advocacy management team responsible for statewide policy and campaign initiatives. Under the Director of Integrated Advocacy, she works in collaboration with deputy directors of communications, community engagement and litigation to strategize and select advocacy campaigns that protect civil liberties at all levels of government throughout Missouri.
Tori joined the ACLU of Missouri in 2022 to lead efforts to advance the organization’s policy agenda by:
- Planning and implementing legislative and electoral campaigns
- Analyzing and drafting policy proposals
- Reviewing data
- Cultivating relationships with key policymakers and their staff
- Preparing and presenting testimony
She credits her parents, a special education teacher and a barbershop owner, for influencing her interest in serving as a voice for the voiceless and addressing community issues at the grassroots level. They supported her educational pursuits as she became the first in her family to attend law school. Tori’s later experience as a student working in a crisis center and advocating for pro bono clients opened her eyes to the flaws in the system and spurred her to use her legal training to advance systemic change through public policy.
Prior to joining the ACLU of Missouri, Tori worked at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office and graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 2021. She was a law clerk at the Refugee Appeals Board in Cape Town, South Africa and at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. As an undergraduate Tori worked at the Missouri State Capitol for three legislative sessions.
At the University of Missouri, Tori served as president of the Graduate Professional Council and the Student Bar Association. She has been recognized for her leadership, advocacy and commitment to advancement of women in the legal field. She was awarded as a Leader of Tomorrow by Missouri Lawyer’s Media in 2021, worked as a student attorney at University of Missouri’s Family Violence Clinic, and is a Linda J. Murphy Scholarship recipient from the STL Women’s Law Association.
Involved as both a leader and advisor for the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign, Tori has been a strong advocate for interpersonal violence prevention initiatives among students on university campuses across the nation. Tori founded and led her campus chapter and grew it to be the largest in the country while volunteering in various leadership positions on the national campaign. For her leadership and advocacy, Tori received The Courage Award from President Biden and The Biden Foundation in 2018. She is a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri and is a member of The National Women’s Political Caucus.
Tori earned her Juris Doctor and a certificate in Dispute Resolution from the University of Missouri School of Law. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with certificates in Constitutional Democracy and Multicultural Studies from the University of Missouri. She is licensed to practice law in Missouri.