Karen Finney (born August 15, 1967) is an American political consultant and spokesperson for the Clinton 2016 presidential campaign. She was a political commentator for

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

and hosted the show '' Disrupt with Karen Finney''.

Personal life

Finney was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

father who worked as a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

lawyer and a white mother who worked as a labor negotiator. Through her mother, she is related to the Confederate Civil War general,

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

. As a child, she moved to California with her mother, and attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career

Finney served four years as the spokesperson and Director of Communications at the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. She has also written for '' The Hill'', is a commentator for ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'', MSNBC'','' and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. Finney served as Press Secretary for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in the early 1990s. She then moved into the private sector, working in marketing for the

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

. In 2001, she managed crisis communications for the New York City Panel for Educational Policy, and worked for

Elizabeth Edwards Mary Elizabeth Anania Edwards (July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) was an American attorney, author, and health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 United States Democrati ...

during the

John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign The 2004 presidential campaign of John Edwards, U.S. Senator from North Carolina, began on September 16, 2003. Background and announcement In 2000, Edwards unofficially began his presidential campaign when he began to seek speaking engagements ...

. On April 2, 2013, it was announced that Finney would host a weekend news program called '' Disrupt with Karen Finney'' on MSNBC. On June 5, 2014, it was announced that Finney's weekend news program was cancelled. On November 25, 2014 Finney joined Media Matters for America as a senior fellow and consultant. On April 6, 2015,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

announced that she was selected as Strategic Communications Adviser and Senior Spokesperson for the

Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign The 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton was announced in a YouTube video, on April 12, 2015. Hillary Clinton was the 67th United States Secretary of State and served during the first term of the Obama administration, 2009 to 2013. ...

. On January 6, 2019, she made her debut as a

political commentator.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Karen 1967 births African-American television personalities American columnists American political commentators American political writers CNN people Living people MSNBC people NBC News people People from Virginia University of California, Los Angeles alumni