Before the White House, Jamal was a political contributor for CBS News and NPR. Prior to CBS, he hosted digital interviews for Hill TV with political leaders and celebrities, including then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and comedian George Lopez.

Jamal joined Hill TV from the Raben Group, where he advised corporate, political and foundation leaders for nearly a decade. While there, he also co-chaired the Internet Innovation Alliance and co-founded CRVIII (CRATE) a digital media start-up.

During the epic 2008 presidential primaries Jamal was a prominent Obama campaign surrogate and senior advisor to the Democratic National Committee. Before that, he was a press secretary for two presidential primary campaigns, communications director for a U.S. senate race and managed the national state media operation for Gore/Lieberman 2000. He also served as a Gore spokesman in W. Palm Beach during the Florida recount.

Prior to the Gore campaign, Jamal was chief of staff to a U.S. House Appropriations Committee member. He was just 28 years old.

Jamal got his start on Bill Clinton’s 1992 traveling campaign staff 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 Bosnia, Ukraine, Haiti, and China.

Jamal has written opinion pieces for Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, The American Prospect, and The New York Times. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation Board (honorary). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and currently lives in the New York City area with his wife and their children. Read Less ^