The position of White House Press Secretary is one of the most coveted public communication jobs in the world. Traditionally, the job has been held mostly by white men and four white women. The ascendancy of Karine Jean-St. Pierre to the job is a historic first. She is the first African American woman and first openly LGBTQ person to hold the position.
Jean- St. Pierre was born in Martinique, France in 1977. Her family moved to New York where her father worked as a taxi driver and her mother as a home health aide. She received her undergraduate training at the New York of Institute of Technology.
St. Pierre has overcome many obstacles to become the first Black and LGBTQ woman serving as the chief spokesperson for the US president. She believes her story can inspire young people to “dream big and dream bigger."
“Representation matters, and not just for girls, but also for boys. And so, what I hope is that young people get to dream big and dream bigger than they have before by seeing me stand here and answer all of your questions,” she told the reporters during a press briefing.
“Karine not only brings the experience, talent, and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people,” announced President Biden in a statement.
Pierre is now responsible for conducting daily press briefings with the White House reporters. Prior to the appointment, she served as a Deputy Press Secretary from 2021 to 2022. In addition, she was the Chief of Staff for Kamala Harris during the 2020 US Presidential Campaign.
St. Pierre was also political director in the Obama administration, She also served as national spokeswoman for MoveOn, during the 2016 presidential election. Pierre also served as a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC. In 2014, she joined Columbia University's faculty as a lecturer in international and public affairs.
In addition to her political work, Jean-St. Pierre is also a published author. Her book Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America, published in 2019.
In Moving Forward, she outlines her political journey and talks about the challenges she faced growing up in New York’s Haitian community. She also chronicles her time in the Obama administration.
Pierre also discusses how she wants to help change the face of American politics as a Black, LGBT woman. She looks forward to inspiring more young people from all races and gender groups to pursue what they believe in. She wants everyone to believe that politics is accessible to them, despite one's background.