Jamal Simmons

Jamal Simmons has been at the nexus of politics and media for nearly three decades — focused on increasing U.S. economic competitiveness through innovation and diversity. Most recently, he was Deputy Assistant to the President and Communications Director for Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. He can currently be seen as an on-air political commentator for CNN.

Before joining the White House, Jamal was a political contributor for CBS News and “Here & Now” on NPR. His article, “The 4 Percent Problem” in Democracy, A Journal of Ideas, was heralded as the first to identify the surprisingly consistent low rate of Blacks in leadership across academic, corporate, and military sectors.

Prior to CBS, Jamal produced and hosted Hill TV digital interviews with political leaders, celebrities, and activists. He joined Hill TV from the Raben Group, where he advised corporate and foundation leaders for nearly a decade. He also co-chaired the Internet Innovation Alliance and founded CRVIII (CRATE) a digital media start-up.

Jamal is one of the most experienced political operatives of his generation. In 2008, he was the lead Obama campaign surrogate on CNNduring the epic presidential primary battle between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and worked for the Obama/Biden ticket at the Democratic National Committee. In 2004, he was traveling press secretary to two presidential primary candidates and in 2002 campaign communications director for a U.S. senator. Before the age of 30, Jamal managed media staff in 40 states for Gore/Lieberman 2000; served as a Gore spokesman in West Palm Beach during the Florida recount; and was chief of staff to a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Jamal got his start on Bill Clinton’s traveling campaign staff in 1992 and set up events around the world for the Clinton White House. He was also an assistant to U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor. In those roles, he represented the U.S. government in 15 countries including Ukraine and China.

Highly sought-after for his insights, Jamal has appeared on MSNBC, PBS Newshour, and ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. His credits as a speaker or moderator include the Milken Institute, Executive Leadership Council, SHRM, the U.S. National War College, and Morehouse College’s commencement.

Jamal is a former member of the CulturalDC arts board, PepsiCo African American Advisory Committee, Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation Board, Council on Foreign Relations, and French American Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

Jamal lives in the New York City area with his wife and their children.