photo of Symone Sanders-Townsend

Symone Sanders-Townsend

Host of SYMONE
MSNBC

Symone Sanders-Townsend is an author, seasoned democratic strategist and host of “SYMONE” on MSNBC and MSNBC on Peacock.

Symone rose to prominence in 2016 as the national press secretary for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’s then-presidential campaign. At 25, she became the youngest presidential press secretary on record and was named to Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 16 young Americans shaping the 2016 election. At 29, she published her first book, No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America and served as a senior advisor for President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. At 31, Symone was appointed as a senior member of the Biden-Harris administration serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Now, at 33, Symone’s namesake show provides essential context on the most pressing issues facing Americans today and creates the discourse missing in the media.

A communicator with a passion for problem solving and social justice, Symone served as the national chair of the Coalition of Juvenile Justice Emerging Leaders Committee and a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice before joining Senator Sanders’s campaign. There, she worked to raise the profile of young voices in the fight for juvenile justice reform and brought millennial perspectives to policy conversations. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris administration, Symone owned her own consulting firm where she helped clients find sound solutions to tough political and social problems.

Symone is a former political commentator for CNN and resident fellow of both Harvard's Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School and the University of Southern California's Center for the Political Future.

She is a native of North Omaha, Nebraska and currently resides in Washington D.C. with her husband, Shawn.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Symone Sanders-Townsend
Events featuring Symone Sanders-Townsend