Deltas

Joe Biden’s Minnesota Communications Director Is a Delta Sigma Theta Soror From Howard University

With the 2020 election getting closer and closer each day, we at Watch The Yard think it is important to highlight members of our community who are key players in the election.

We recently interviewed Rykia Dorsey Craig, the Minnesota Communications Director to the Joe Biden campaign, who is a Spring 2011 initiate of the Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at Howard University. Rykia, who is currently working in a top leadership role to get Joe Biden and Kamala Harris elected, has also served as the Communications Director for U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

We talked to her about her role and how being a member of a Black sorority and HBCU graduate helped shape her into the person she is today.

Read our exclusive interview below:

What does your position of Minnesota Communications Director at the Biden campaign entail?

I am responsible for developing and executing the campaign’s aggressive earned media strategy in Minnesota, which is a key battleground in this election. I manage a team of awesome communications pros who are dedicated to electing Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and democrats up and down the ballot in our state.

What career path led you to your current position?

I joined the Biden campaign after serving as Communications Director for U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43). I was previously a Press Coordinator at Third Way, and I began my career in public affairs and crisis communications at Burson-Marsteller (now Burson Cohn & Wolfe).

We are getting close to the election, what does a typical work day look like for you?

My day is filled with Google Meet video conferences, virtual press events, and calls with reporters and key stakeholders in our state. No day is the same, but at all times my team and I are working tirelessly to highlight Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ vision for our country and their plans to build back better on behalf of working families in our state.

As you’ve matured in your career and become, looking back, how do you think joining a Black fraternity/sorority has prepared you for where you are now?

I wouldn’t be where I am today were it not for the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Whether it’s the love, support, and sisterhood of my best friends, linesisters, and relatives who are members, the mentorship of my Alpha Chapter prophytes, or the countless examples of my sorors who have, since our founding, been catalysts for change — I am forever blessed by this sisterhood and I consider it a privilege to uphold our most sacred ideals in my life and career.

Watch The Yard would like to thank Rykia Dorsey Craig for taking time out of her busy campaign schedule to speak to us about her position.