Kenyan-born photojournalist, Polly Irungu, announced that she has landed a job at the White House.
Kenyan journalist lands White House job
Meet the two Kenyan ladies working for the US White House
In her announcement, Ms Irungu said that she was fortunate to be the first person to hold the role at the office of US Vice President Kamala Harris.
“New chapter, I’m excited to announce that I’m the first official Photo Editor for the Office of the Vice President to the Biden-Harris Administration. Honoured and grateful is an understatement,” she shared.
This good news comes as she celebrated two years of founding the Black Women Photographers, a global community and directory of over 1,000 black photographers across the world.
The movement was started after she experienced how tough it was for black women photographers to get recognition and jobs.
Polly is a celebrated and accomplished photojournalist with more than 15 awards and honours. She attended the University of Oregon where she graduated with a degree in Journalism.
She worked as a digital editor at New York Public Radio before venturing into self-employment and has worked with companies such as Twitter, WeTransfer and the National Press Photographers Association.
Irungu previously teamed with Nikon USA to award selected photographers approximately USD 50,000 in grants and cash prizes to help their businesses and encourage other women.
One of the fortunate participants of the programme, Wanjiku Gitau, received USD5,000.
In 2020, her work was featured on the US Times Square billboards.
Times Square is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with an estimated 50 million visitors a year.
She was born in Nairobi and has lived around the world from Topeka, Kansas, Eugene, Oregon, New York and is now based in Washington, D.C.
Polly joins fellow Kenyan White House staffer Joy Ngugi who serves in the Office of Digital Strategy in President Biden’s administration.
“Some personal news: I’m honoured and excited to announce that I’ve joined the White House as a Producer in the Office of Digital Strategy. I’m filled with gratitude and ready for the work ahead,” she announced in 2021.
Ms Ngugi, a visual storyteller, was born in Kenya before moving to the United States. She grew up in Southwest Michigan and worked on films in the US, Kenya, and Honduras.
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