2025 NYC Pride Guide - Flipbook - Page 10
LUMINARY GRAND MARSHAL
Karine Jean-Pierre’s journey from Martinique to the
White House is a testament to resilience and the power
of representation. Raised in New York by Haitian immigrant parents, she learned early the value of hard work.
As the first Black person, the first openly queer person,
and the longest-serving woman to hold the position
of White House Press Secretary, Karine’s achievements
offer a powerful reminder of what is possible — while
highlighting the ongoing work required to make such
opportunities more accessible to all.
Karine began her career in New York City local government, gaining a deep understanding of policy as a
Director of Legislative and Budget Affairs and Deputy Chief of Staff. This experience laid the groundwork
for her transition to national politics, where she first
worked at the Center for Community and Corporate
Ethics, advocating for corporate accountability.
Her national political career accelerated when she
joined Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
After his election, she served in the Obama-Biden
White House’s Office of Political Affairs and later as
Deputy Battleground States Director for Obama’s 2012
re-election campaign.
Demonstrating her leadership and commitment to
breaking barriers, Karine managed Tish James’s successful campaign for New York City Public Advocate,
making James the first woman to hold that office.
During President Biden’s 2020 campaign, Karine was
a Senior Advisor and made history again as Chief of
Staff to then-running mate Senator Kamala Harris, who
became the first woman, Black American, and South
Asian American Vice President.
In addition to her government roles, Karine became a
respected political analyst for NBC and MSNBC, sharing her expertise on democracy and social justice. She
also taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and served as Chief Public Affairs Officer at
MoveOn.
Karine’s contributions have earned widespread recognition, including being named a Pritzker Fellow at
the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, receiving
the MLK Day Visionary Award, and the Congressional
Black Caucus Foundation’s highest honor, the Phoenix
Award. She is the author of the memoir Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of
America and holds a Master of Public Administration
from Columbia University.
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WE ASKED KARINE TO REFLECT
ON THE 2025 NYC PRIDE THEME,
RISE UP: PRIDE IN PROTEST.
This interview has been edited and condensed
for clarity. For more from Karine, visit
@K_Jeanpierre.
“Pride and Protest “Pride and Protest has
always been a part of my journey, both
personally and professionally. I come from a
family, a mother and father, whose very existence was one of pride and protest for them
to have the determination and the courage
to leave their homeland in order to make a
better life, to pave a pathway of freedom for
their family. As a Black woman, a woman of
Haitian heritage, and an openly queer woman, hope has been my North Star for exuding Pride in everything that I do. Faith has
been my guiding light for using my platform to speak truth to power, even when it’s
tough to hear as a consistent form of protest. Both Pride and Protest have never been
more important in my lifetime than now.”
“We celebrate even in times when we feel like
there are discouraging moments of defeat. We
speak up and speak out for those whose voices
are often muted or forgotten. We stand together
because we are stronger than ever when we work
against one another. Together, we make an impact and bring about positive change.”
Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. The consistency of unity, integrity, courage, and allyship
are the true ingredients to moving mountains
and successfully pushing humankind forward,
despite the obstacles. We must never forget
what’s at stake.
NYCPRIDE.org
