Donna Brazile
Senator Wynona Lipman Chairholder, 2005
Donna Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates, LLC, a political consulting and grassroots organizing firm based in Washington, DC. Brazile, chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (VRI) and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, is a senior political strategist and former campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000 – the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign. Prior to joining the Gore campaign, Brazile was chief of staff and press secretary to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, helping to guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill.
Brazile authored Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics (2004, Simon & Schulster). She has been a frequent contributor and political commentator on CNN’s Inside Politics and Crossfire, a columnist for Roll Call, and a contributing writer for Ms. Magazine. In addition to working on political campaigns, Brazile has served as a senior lecturer and adjunct professor at the University of Maryland and a fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Washingtonian Magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C. and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Award for Political Achievement. A native of New Orleans, Brazile earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.