Karine Jean-Pierre (born August 13, 1974) is a French-American political advisor and has served as the White House press secretary since May 13, 2022. She is the first

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

person and the first openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

woman to be White House press secretary. She previously served as the deputy press secretary to her predecessor

Jen Psaki Jennifer Rene Psaki (; born c. 1978) is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working for ...

from 2021 to 2022 and as the chief of staff for U.S. vice presidential candidate

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

during the 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to her work with Kamala Harris during the 2020 election and with the Biden–Harris administration, Jean-Pierre was the senior advisor and national spokeswoman for the progressive advocacy group

MoveOn.org MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...

. She was also previously a political analyst for

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and

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and a lecturer in international and public affairs at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Early life and education

Jean-Pierre was born on August 13, 1974, in

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the daughter of Haitian parents. She has two younger siblings. When she was five, her family relocated into the

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...

neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, a

borough of New York City New York City is composed of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State, making New York City the largest U.S. municipality situated in ...

. Her mother worked as a home health aide and was active in her Pentecostal church, while her father was a taxi driver, who had trained as an engineer. Jean-Pierre was often responsible for caring for her (eight and ten years younger) siblings because both parents worked six or seven days per week. In her memoir, Jean-Pierre describes how seeing former Congresswoman

Barbara Jordan Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-A ...

give a keynote speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention altered the direction of her life and career: "She was the first Black woman in politics I had ever witnessed. In a world of pretty, pearl-wearing charmers, Jordan was substantive and authentic." Jean-Pierre graduated from

Kellenberg Memorial High School Kellenberg Memorial High School is a Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, United States. Kellenberg Memorial is a Marianist school on Long Island, alongside St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in ...

, a college-preparatory school on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in 1993. Her parents wanted her to study medicine, and she studied life sciences at the New York Institute of Technology as a commuter student, but performed poorly on the

Medical College Admission Test The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT; ) is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students (both Allopathic M.D. and Ostepathic D.O.) in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Caribbean Islands. It is designe ...

. Changing career tracks, she obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from the New York Institute of Technology in 1997. She earned a

Master of Public Affairs The master of public affairs (M.P.Aff., M.P.A. or MPA) is a master-level professional degree offered in public policy schools that provides training in public policy and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate stud ...

from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (SIPA) in 2003, where she served in student government and decided to pursue politics. At Columbia University, one of her mentors was

Ester Fuchs Ester Rachel Fuchs (born August 14, 1951) is an American academic. She is Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fuchs studied at Queens College, CUNY, Brown Univer ...

, whose class she attended during the Fall 2001 semester. She is fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French, and Haitian Creole.

Career

Early career

Following graduate school, Jean-Pierre worked as the director of legislative and budget affairs for New York City councilor James F. Gennaro. In 2006, she was hired as the outreach coordinator for

Walmart Watch Walmart Watch, formed in the spring of 2005, is a joint project of the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics, a nonprofit organization studying the impact of large corporations on society and its advocacy arm, Five Stones. The Walmart Watch g ...

in Washington, D.C. She was the southeast regional political director for the John Edwards presidential campaign in 2004. She joined the Columbia University faculty in 2014, where she is a lecturer in international and public affairs.

Obama-Biden administration

During the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign, Jean-Pierre was the campaign's southeast regional political director and was the regional political director for the

White House Office of Political Affairs The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The ...

during the Obama administration's first term. In 2011, Jean-Pierre served as National Deputy Battleground States Director for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. She led the delegate selection and ballot access process and managed the political engagement in key states, providing resources to help states determine "the best way for them to get the word out for the campaign." Jean-Pierre served as the deputy campaign manager for the

Martin O'Malley 2016 presidential campaign The 2016 presidential campaign of Martin O'Malley, the 61st Governor of Maryland, was formally launched on May 30, 2015 as Governor O'Malley announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United State ...

MoveOn and political commentary

In April 2016,

MoveOn MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...

named Jean-Pierre as a senior advisor and national spokesperson for the 2016 presidential election. MoveOn said she would "advise on and serve as a spokesperson around MoveOn's electoral work, including a major effort to stand up to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

." In January 2019, Jean-Pierre became a political analyst for

and

. Jean-Pierre has worked at the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics. In December 2018, '' The Haitian Times'' named her one of six "Haitian Newsmakers Of The Year".

Biden–Harris administration

Jean-Pierre worked as a senior advisor to the

Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Former vice president Joe Biden began his presidential campaign on April 25, 2019 by releasing a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The campaign concluded with him and his running mate Kamala ...

. She joined the Biden team in May 2020, and explained to '' The Haitian Times'' that a desire to shape the future was especially motivating; she said that when she was approached by the campaign, she looked at her daughter and thought, "There is no way I can not get involved in this election." In August, it was announced that Jean-Pierre would serve as the Chief of Staff for Biden's vice presidential nominee, who had not yet been announced. On November 29, 2020, the Biden-Harris transition team announced that Jean-Pierre had been made Principal Deputy Press Secretary. On May 26, 2021, she gave her first White House press briefing, becoming the first openly

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

person to do so and the first black woman to do so since 1991. On May 5, 2022, it was announced that she would succeed

as White House Press Secretary on May 13. She is the first Black person and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold the position.

Personal life

Jean-Pierre lives in the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

with her partner,

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 ...

correspondent

Suzanne Malveaux Suzanne Maria Malveaux (; born December 4, 1966) is an American television news journalist. She co-anchored the CNN international news program ''Around the World'' and editions of '' CNN Newsroom''. Malveaux also served as CNN White House corresp ...

, and their daughter. Jean-Pierre's book, ''Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America'', was published in 2019. She reviews her life and encourages people to become involved in politics. It was described by

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also s ...

as "part memoir, part call to arms".

Book

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jean-Pierre, Karine 1974 births Living people 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American women writers Activists from New York City American women activists American women memoirists American political consultants American people of Haitian descent American women in politics Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign Columbia University faculty French emigrants to the United States Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Lesbian academics LGBT appointed officials in the United States LGBT people from France LGBT people from New York (state) MSNBC people New York (state) Democrats New York Institute of Technology alumni People from Fort-de-France School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni White House Press Secretaries Writers from Queens, New York