Angela Rye


Angela Rye is an American attorney and the Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm in Washington, DC. She is a liberal political commentator on CNN and an NPR political analyst.
She served as the executive director and general counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus for the 112th Congress.
She currently is running the boards of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee, Seattle University School of Law Alumni, and Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network. She serves as a senior advisor to the Government Technology and Services Coalition and is a member of the Links, Incorporated.

Early life

Rye grew up in the Madrona section of Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Seattle's all-girls Holy Names Academy, the University of Washington, and Seattle University School of Law. Her father is Seattle community activist Eddie Rye, Jr..

Career

Rye began her career in legislative advocacy at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, an umbrella association of 120 historically black colleges and universities in the United States. Here, she served as the Coordinator of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs. Prior to this, she worked in district office of Congresswoman Maxine Waters and served as the Western Region Director of the National Black Law Students Association.
Upon moving to Washington, DC, Rye co-founded IMPACT, an organization aiming to encourage young professionals in economic empowerment, civic engagement, and political involvement. Under her leadership, IMPACT formed critical partnerships with the National Bar Association, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, National Urban League, Rainbow/PUSH, Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, Black Leadership Forum, and many other organizations. In 2013, Rye founded IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm.
Rye is the only recurring guest on The Breakfast Club radio station. On December 6, 2016, Twitter users began championing her name to Charlamagne The God after he received backlash from tweeting he wished women of color had a platform "like Tomi Lahren did." This led to the two conversing and fostering a friendship they retain. In January 2017, she made her first appearance and since frequents the show almost quarterly to discuss updates on the Trump administration, current policy change, and other pop culture topics.
She also served as the Senior Advisor and Counsel to the House Committee on Homeland security, where she developed the general political strategy, focusing on modernizing government contracting practices and opening doors of opportunity for small businesses. She then served as the Executive Director and General Counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus for the 112th Congress. During her time as director, she was "tasked with developing the overall legislative and political strategy for the Caucus".
Rye is a political commentator for CNN and has been featured as an on-air personality on several media outlets, including HuffPost Live, TV One, and BET.

Opinions

Rye has said that statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, like those of Robert E. Lee, should be taken down because they were slave owners.