Karine Jean-Pierre

Karine Jean-Pierre (born August 13, 1974) is an American political advisor who has served as the White House press secretary since May 13, 2022. She is the first black person and the first openly LGBT person to serve in the position. Previously, she served as the deputy press secretary to her predecessor Jen Psaki from 2021 to 2022 and as the chief of staff for U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris 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. She was also previously a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and a lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University. Early life and education Jean-Pierre was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique, France, the daughter of Haitian immigrants. She has two younger siblings, and was age five when her family relocated to Queens Village, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City. 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 siblings, eight and ten years younger, because both parents worked six or seven days per week. In her memoir, Jean-Pierre describes how seeing former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan 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."