Senator Shelley Hughes has lived in Alaska since 1976, both in urban areas and remote off-the-road villages. She and her husband raised four children and are blessed with twelve grandchildren.

Hughes worked as a teacher, project director, and then policy affairs director for the Alaska Primary Care Association, prior to serving four years in the Alaska State House. She is in her seventh year in the Alaska State Senate, having served as the Senate Majority Leader and the Chair of numerous committees including Judiciary, Transportation, and Education. Shelley has been a staunch defender of the Tenth Amendment and states’ rights and an Article V champion and leader in the Alaska Legislature.

Her Article V Countermand Amendment bills passed successfully. She carried the concept of the Countermand Amendment to the Convention of States simulation in 2016 where it rose to the top among the proposals submitted.