BACKGROUND:           

Donna Brazile has been involved in politics more than half her life. A Louisiana native who earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, Brazile first gained national attention in 1981 as the National Student Coordinator for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee, which successfully petitioned to make the civil rights leader's birthday a national holiday. 

In 1984, she served as Deputy Campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. Later, she served in former Massachusetts' Governor Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign.

From 1990 through 1999, Brazile served as the chief-of-staff to D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and was actively involved in congressional elections around the country as a consultant to the Democratic National Committee. She also became adjunct professor at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. 

More recently, Brazile served as campaign manager during the final months of former Vice President Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. 

The GW Graduate School of Political Management is an institution dedicated to advancing the standard’s and practice of democracy in America.  The mission of the School is to train the next generation of political leaders, while simultaneously engaging political practitioners in consideration of their professional responsibilities. The School is not affiliated with any particular political party, organization or philosophy.

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