Shanta Russell Hurston is a native of Oakland . Shanta is a graduate of Oakland Technical High School , and earned her BA in Anthropology and Public Policy from the University of California , Berkeley . She earned her Masters in Public Administration from California State University , East Bay .

Shanta currently works as a Project Coordinator for the Northern California Cancer Center , conducting population based research on Breast Cancer. Shanta also has research interest in Educational disparity and Childhood obesity.