Kenyan – American Polly Irungu Appointed As The First Official Photo Editor For Kamala Harris
A Kenyan has made history in the US by becoming the first official Photo Editor for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Polly Irungu announced the good news on her Twitter handle after bagging the prestigious role.
“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. Honored and grateful is an understatement,” Polly said.
Her Twitter profile indicates that she is a woman from a family of firsts.
The profile shows that she’s the founder of Black Women Photographers, a global community and directory of over 1,000 black photographers.
She said July 7, 2022, marked the second anniversary of its launch.
Polly’s appointment came less than a month after her mother, Jane Irungu, was elected the first Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Utah State University (USU) on July 1, 2022.
Jane’s profile in an article on the University’s website shows that she began her career as a high school teacher and then principal in Kenya before moving to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies.
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. Honored and grateful is an understatement.
The article was posted by the News Director at the Utah State University, Emilie Wheeler.
Polly replied to the post saying, “That’s my mom.”
The article does not state when Jane left Kenya but it reveals that she originally learned about USU as a sports fan.
“I had never been to Utah before I started interviewing for this position,” she said.
“But I was following Utah State very closely because I’m a college football nerd,” Jane told the writer of the article, Jen Wright, the Assistant Director for Strategic Communications at the university.
“I’m very grateful to be here and for the opportunity to be part of the USU community,” she added.