Briahna Joy Gray


Briahna Joy Gray is an American political commentator, attorney, and political consultant who served as the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, Gray was a contributing editor for Current Affairs, as well as a senior politics editor for The Intercept.

Early life and education

Gray was born in 1985 in North Carolina. Both of her parents were teachers. Gray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Career

After graduating from law school, Gray worked as a corporate litigator in New York City for Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. She was also the host of Someone’s Wrong on the Internet, a podcast that covers politics and pop culture. Gray was hired by The Intercept in 2018, and has also written columns for Rolling Stone, Current Affairs, The Guardian, and New York Magazine.
She was a supporter of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and joined his 2020 campaign as his National Press Secretary. Gray has stated that she voted for Jill Stein in the 2016 presidential election.
After joining the Sanders campaign in March of 2019, Gray became the host of Hear the Bern, a podcast sponsored by the campaign that features interviews with progressive celebrities, journalists, and political figures. Gray has also been featured on CBS News, MSNBC, Bloomberg News, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, The Michael Brooks Show, and Rising on The Hill TV. Gray appeared as a guest speaker at the Harvard Law Review Forum.
On April 13, 2020 after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary, Gray stated on Twitter that she did not endorse the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. In response, Bernie Sanders characterized Gray's position as irresponsible and stated that “She is my former press secretary — not on the payroll.”
Since the conclusion of Bernie Sanders' 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Gray has returned to her role as contributing editor at Current Affairs.