BALTIMORE (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has appointed its first black woman as executive director.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Morgan State lecturer and consultant Dana Vickers Shelley will succeed the retiring Susan Goering on June 11. ACLU spokeswoman Meredith Curtis Goode says Shelley will be only the fourth executive director in the Maryland chapter’s history.

Shelley has worked as a consultant with the NAACP and the Democratic National Committee. She also has worked on projects to address racial inequality in Baltimore. At Morgan State University, she’s on the faculty of the School of Global Journalism and Communication.

ACLU of Maryland Board President Coleman Bazelon says Shelley’s appointment comes “at a time of both rampant rights violations and great opportunity to create deep and lasting change.”

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com