Following the Vice Presidential debate, please join the Women & Politics Institute and Sine Institute for Policy and Politics for a virtual conversation with former CNN Anchor and 2012 Presidential Debate Moderator Candy Crowley, Political Strategist Karen Finney, and NBC News Correspondent and host of MSNBC’s “Way too Early” Kasie Hunt, as they analyze the only vice presidential debate of 2020. The discussion will be facilitated by WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin.

The panel will discuss key take-aways from the previous night’s debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the first African-American and first Asian-American woman VP candidate on a major party ticket. 

ABOUT CANDY CROWLEY

Candy Crowley is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist.  Working for CNN for over thirty years, she held many reporting positions including chief political correspondent and moderator of State of the Union. In  2012, she became the first woman in 20 years to moderate a presidential debate when  Obama and Romney squared off in a townhall format.  She has reported across the nation and world, and has conducted headline-making interviews with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney. 

Crowley holds a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia.

ABOUT KAREN FINNEY

Karen Finney is leading democratic strategist, CNN Political Analyst and columnist for The Hill.   Her more than 20 years in national politics includes four presidential campaigns, the Clinton White House, a New York Senate race, and serving as the first African American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. Her political career also includes work as a spokeswoman and Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee,  Deputy Press Secretary to then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Deputy Director of Presidential Scheduling for President Bill Clinton. Finney has also worked to improve education at Scholastic, Inc. and at New York City Schools. 

Finney holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Los Angeles.

ABOUT KASIE HUNT

Kasie Hunt is an NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and anchor of MSNBC's “Way too Early.” Previously, she hosted MSNBC's Kasie DC and reported for MSNBC as the network’s political correspondent, where she covered the 2016 election, as well as the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections. Before joining NBC News, Hunt also reported for the Associated Press, Politico, and  National Journal.

Hunt holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a master's degree in sociology from the University of Cambridge, where she was a member of St John's College.

ABOUT BETSY FISCHER MARTIN

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

"Women on Wednesdays": Vice Presidential Debate Analysis with Candy Crowley, Kasie Hunt and Karen Finney