Donna Brazile to Deliver Keynote Address at Rider's Unity Day Celebration
Donna Brazile is one of the most admired and well-known political strategists today. She had worked on every presidential campaign since 1984, making history in 2000 as the first African American to lead a major one. Since running the Gore-Lieberman campaign, she was appointed to serve as Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (VRI), an organization established in 2001 to help protect and promote the rights of all Americans to participate in the political process.
Prior to joining the Gore campaign, Donna Brazile was Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia where she helped guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill. A veteran of numerous national and statewide campaigns, Donna Brazile worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Carter-Mondale in 1976 and 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson's first historic bid for the presidency in 1984, Mondale-Ferraro in 1984, U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt in 1988, Dukakis-Bentsen in 1988, and Clinton-Gore in 1992 and 1996;
She is the author of Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, a memoir about her life in the political lions' den. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, a weekly contributor and political contributor for CNN, a political consultant for ABC News, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and a regular contributor to NPR's Political Corner. In addition, Brazile writes a column for Roll Call newspaper and Ms. Magazine. She co-authored What We Do Now, a collection of essays recalling the 2004 presidential election, with 24 other influential pundits.
Donna Brazile currently serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She has served as a senior lecturer at the University of Maryland, resident fellow at HarvardUniversity's Institute of Politics and as the Senator Wynona Lipman Chair at Rutgers University Center for American Women in Politics. Recently, Donna was appointed to serve on the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) - which has been instrumental in helping guide the state's rebuilding efforts following the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Brazile is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Washingtonian magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C., Essence magazine's 50 Most Powerful Women in America, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Award for Political Achievement and Ebony's 150 most influential African Americans in the country. In addition, Brazile was recently named one of "America's Most Influential Liberals" compiled by The Daily Telegraph.
Donna Brazile fought her first political fight at age nine when she successfully campaigned for a city council candidate who promised a playground in her neighborhood. The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; she committed her heart and her future to political and social activism, eventually working on the successful campaign to make his birthday a national holiday. She is a true trailblazer for expanding American democracy and encouraging young people to get involved in politics. A passionate and sought-after speaker, Brazile uses her varied and diverse experience to address the current state of affairs, from public policy to the upcoming presidential election, and drives points home with her consummate storytelling ability.
