Sally Rebecca Kohn (born March 27, 1977) is an American liberal political commentator, community organizer, and founder and chief executive officer of the Movement Vision Lab, a grassroots think tank that focuses on liberal and progressive ideas and positions.[1] Kohn was a contributor for Fox News,[2][3] and now regularly appears as a political commentator on CNN. Her writing is published in publications like The Washington Post and USA Today.[4]

Sally Kohn
Kohn at Politicon 2016
Born (1977-03-27) March 27, 1977 (age 47)
Education
Occupations
  • Political commentator
  • community organizer
TitleCEO, Movement Vision Lab
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSarah Hansen

Early life and education

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Kohn was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Donald Kohn, an engineer, and Melinda Kohn, a computer programmer.[5] Her family is Jewish.[6]

Kohn was raised in Allentown, and attended Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. After graduating, Kohn pursued a bachelor's degree in psychology from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She graduated from New York University School of Law with a juris doctor in 2002 and also has a master's degree in public administration from Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Kohn was a Root Tilden public service scholar at the New York University School of Law.[7]

Career

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Community organizing

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Previously, Kohn was senior campaign strategist with the Center for Community Change, where she served as co-director. She also previously served as executive director of the Third Wave Foundation. Kohn held a program fellowship at the Ford Foundation, helping to manage more than $15 million in annual grants. She was also a distinguished fellow at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. Kohn has consulted at organizations such as the Urban Justice Center. She was also a strategic adviser to the Social Justice Infrastructure Funders.[citation needed]

Media career

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She was recruited into TV by former TV executive Geraldine Laybourne.[8]

She has appeared on MSNBC shows The Ed Show, Up with Steve Kornacki, Now with Alex Wagner, and on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.[9] On May 4, 2018 she appeared as a guest on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.[10] Kohn has also published op-eds for outlets including Fox News,[11] The Washington Post, The Nation, The Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today. She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post.[12]

She served as a Fox News contributor until October 2013.[2][3] She was a commentator on CNN.

Kohn supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries and then Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.[13][14]

Published works

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  • Sally Kohn, The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity, 2018

Personal life

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Kohn met her wife, Sarah Hansen, at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2003. Hansen works as an activist and consultant. Hansen was the executive director of the Environmental Grantmakers Association from 1998 to 2005. They have a daughter, Willa Hansen-Kohn, and live in Park Slope,[15] Brooklyn.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Movement Vision Lab on Idealist.org". Idealist.org.
  2. ^ a b "A Liberal Parts Ways With Fox". The New York Times. October 24, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "At Fox News, a Liberal Pundit Finds the Spotlight". The New York Times. October 29, 2012.
  4. ^ Kohn, Sally (October 26, 2010). "3 Things Progressives and Tea Partiers Can Agree On". Fox News. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Sally Kohn talks leaving Fox News". December 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Raz, Guy (July 13, 2018). "Sally Kohn: What Is The Opposite Of Hate?". NPR. You know, that pairing is going to lead to some hating, that probably combined with the whole lesbian thing. Maybe add in the Jewish thing.
  7. ^ "Link" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Have We Lost the Capacity To Be Civil? with Sally Kohn, episode #95 of Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  9. ^ LA, Live Talks. "Sally Kohn with Reza Aslan, May 2".
  10. ^ "Sally Kohn on Real Time with Bill Maher". Vimeo. June 4, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "Search for sally kohn". Fox News.
  12. ^ "Stop Hating Trump Voters". Huffington Post. April 10, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  13. ^ Weaver, Hilary (April 10, 2018). "Sally Kohn Says Everyone Can Unlearn Hate". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Kohn, Sally (October 6, 2021). "Bernie Sanders is right: It's time to support Hillary Clinton now". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Kohn, Sally (February 20, 2015). "I'm gay. And I want my kid to be gay, too". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "The Arena: - Sally Kohn Bio". Politico.
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