Selectees

Meet Kamala Harris

A Great American

Kamala Devi Harris was born October 20, 1964. She is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 and a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her career in the office of the district attorney (DA) of Alameda County, before being recruited to the San Francisco DA’s Office and later the City Attorney of San Francisco’s office. In 2003, she was elected DA of San Francisco. She was elected AG of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Harris served as the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021; she defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African-American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate. As a senator, she advocated for healthcare reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform. 

Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew from the race prior to the primaries. She was selected by Joe Biden to be his running mate, and their ticket went on to defeat the then incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Harris and Biden were inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Today the Biden-Harris administration supports numerous positive efforts, one being, promoting gender equity and equality as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy in Africa and around the world, according to the official Biden-Harris website facts sheet. Vice President Harris believes that advancing the economic status of women and girls is not only a matter of human rights, justice, and fairness—it is also a strategic imperative move that reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth, increases access to education, improves health outcomes, advances political stability, and fosters democracy. In particular, the digital gender gap undermines women’s full participation in the 21st century economy. To address this disparity, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to work with other governments, private sector, foundations, and multilateral organizations to help close the digital divide, improve meaningful access to equitable digital finance and other online services, and address social norms that prevent women from participating fully in the digital economy. More broadly, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to promote the economic empowerment of women. This huge initiative along with other monumental decisions led by Kamala, is what we believe is the basis of a true hero, and great American.