About Shamoyia Gardiner

Shamoyia Gardiner is the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director in the office of Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen.  

A Miami native and Baltimorean since 2016, she has worked at the intersection of policy advocacy, education, and youth development to afford opportunity, investment, and access to marginalized young people and the communities that raise them. Shamoyia began her career as a secondary science teacher and debate coach in Jacksonville, FL before transitioning to policy roles with the DC State Board of Education, Family League of Baltimore, and Advocates for Children and Youth, which served the state of Maryland.  

After securing the 2020 passage and 2021 veto override of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, she went on to lead Strong Schools Maryland as the organization transitioned from Blueprint advocacy to focus on implementation monitoring. Shamoyia earned her bachelor's in political science as a She is a 2025-2027 Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Families Fellow, a home baker, and lives in downtown Baltimore with Huey and Marley, her two black cats.