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<h3>Donna Brazile</h3>
<strong>Veteran Democratic political strategist\, adjunct professor\, author\, and syndicated columnist</strong>
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Veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor\, author\, syndicated columnist\, television political commentator\, former Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation at the Democratic National Committee (DNC)\, and former chair of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute.
Brazile has worked passionately in the rebuilding and recovery efforts in her beloved hometown of New Orleans. Additionally\, she loves working with young people\, encouraging them to vote\, to run for office\, and to work within the system to strengthen it. Since 2000\, Brazile has lectured at over 200 colleges and universities across the country on such topics as “Inspiring Civility in American Politics\,” “Race Relations in the Age of Obama\,” “Why Diversity Matters\,” and “Women in American Politics.”
She first got involved in politics at the age of nine when she worked to elect a city council candidate who had promised to build a playground in her neighborhood; the candidate won\, the swing set was installed\, and a lifelong passion for political progress was ignited. Brazile worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000\, when she became the first African American to manage a presidential campaign.
In addition to her work an adjunct professor at Georgetown University\, Brazile is the author of the best selling memoir <em>Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics</em> and is on leave from her writing columns. She continues to be on leave with ABC News\, where she regularly appears on the Sunday morning show <em>This Morning</em>. She is especially pleased to have made three cameo appearances on CBS’s <em>The Good Wife</em>\, and two cameo appearances on the Netflix series <em>House of Cards</em>. She most recently appeared on BET’s <em>Being Mary Jane</em>. Ask her and she’ll tell you that acting\, after all\, is the key to success in politics.
In 2014\, Brazile was appointed by President Obama to serve on to the board of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. In addition\, she serves on the National Democratic Institute\, the National Institute for Civil Discourse\, the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund\, and as co-chair for Democrats for Public Education.
In August 2009\, <em>O\, The Oprah Magazine</em> chose Brazile as one of its 20 Remarkable Visionaries for the magazine’s first-ever O Power List. In addition\, she was named among the 100 Most Powerful Women by <em>Washingtonian</em> magazine\, Top 50 Women in America by <em>Essence</em> magazine\, and received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s highest award for political achievement. In 2016\, Brazile was awarded Wonk of the Year from the Kennedy Political Union at American University.
Brazile is the proud recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from Louisiana State University\, North Carolina A&T State University\, Grambling State University\, Spelman College\, LeMoyne Owen College\, Northeastern Illinois University\, Medgar Evers College\, Morehouse Medical College\, Bethune Cookman University\, Thomas Jefferson University\, and Xavier University of Louisiana\, the only historically black\, Catholic institution of higher education in the United States.
She is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates\, a general consulting\, grassroots advocacy\, and training firm based in Washington\, DC.
Last but never least\, she is a proud native of New Orleans\, Louisiana. In the aftermath of the two catastrophic hurricanes that made landfall in the Gulf region\, Brazile was appointed by former Governor Kathleen Blanco to serve on the Louisiana Recovery Board to work for the rebuilding of the state and to advocate for the Gulf recovery on the national stage. Brazile was recently appointed by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to serve on the Tricentennial Commission.
Brazile assumed the role of interim chair of the Democratic National Committee shortly before the start of the historic 2016 Democratic National Convention that nominated Secretary Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.
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<h3>Ann Compton</h3>
<strong>Legendary ABC News White House Correspondent\, from 1973-2014</strong>
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Ann Compton has always been a pioneer. As the first woman assigned to cover the White House on network television and with 41 years on the air for ABC News\, her longevity and impact are unparalleled. After retiring from daily coverage in 2014\, Compton reignited her legendary career by returning to ABC to cover the 2016 political conventions\, as well as accepting a fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government focusing on media coverage of the 2016 election. She now combines her personal experiences on the White House beat with fresh scholarship from the prestigious Miller Center for presidential studies at the University of Virginia.
Compton’s career at ABC News spanned seven presidents and 10 presidential campaigns. Assigned to the White House in 1974\, she reported for ABC News broadcasts from Washington and around the globe\, traveling with Presidents\, Vice Presidents\, and First Ladies. President Barack Obama announced her retirement when calling on her at a West Wing news conference saying\, “Ann Compton\, everybody here knows\, is not only the consummate professional but is also just a pleasure to get to know.”
Compton was traveling with President George W. Bush on September 11\, 2001\, and was the only broadcast reporter to remain on Air Force One to report on behalf of all the press during the chaotic hours following the terrorist attacks\, when the President was unable to return directly to Washington. For that coverage\, which she considers the most significant story of her career\, Compton received special recognition in the awards bestowed on ABC’s coverage\, including an Emmy\, a Peabody\, and the Silver Baton from the DuPont awards at Columbia University.
Her colleagues elected Compton as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association for 2007–2008. She was chairman of the Radio-Television Correspondents’ Association on Capitol Hill in 1987–1988. The Commission on Presidential Debates selected Compton to serve as a debate panelist in 1988 and 1992. Additionally\, she has been inducted into six halls of fame and has received five honorary university degrees.
Compton is married to Dr. William Hughes\, a physician in Washington\, DC\, and they are the parents of three sons and a daughter and the proud grandparents of three granddaughters. Compton says her most valued award is a golden statuette bestowed by the National Mothers’ Day committee naming her a Mother of the Year in 1988.
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