Donna Brazile is one of the most admired and well-known political strategists today. She has 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. She is also the founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates LLC, a public affairs and grassroots advocacy firm based in the District of Columbia. A dynamic speaker represented exclusively by Leading Authorities, Brazile uses her varied and diverse experience to address the current state of affairs, from public policy to the challenges facing the Obama administration, and drives points home with her consummate storytelling ability.
Stirring the Political Pot. Brazile 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.
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 Harvard University’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.
Powerfully Influential, Powerfully Dedicated. Brazile is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Washingtonian magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, DC, 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.
Brazile fought her first political fight at age nine when she campaigned (successfully) 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 encouraging youth involvement in politics and expanding American democracy.
