Donna Brazile, author, syndicated columnist and Democratic political strategist and commentator, will be the keynote speaker of the 2016 Hearst Speaker Series, sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Brazile will speak in the Nebraska Union Auditorium at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 as part of the Hearst Speaker Series on Diversity and Modern Media, which this year focuses on politics.

Brazile regularly appears on CNN and ABC’s “This Week” and is the vice chair of civic engagement and voter participation for the Democratic National Committee.

“The Hearst Speaker Series is designed to explore issues relating to all forms of diversity in contemporary media,” said Maria Marron, dean of the journalism college. “This year’s series will focus on politics in the media, and Donna Brazile has occupied a front row in the political arena for many years.”

Brazile was the first African-American to manage a presidential campaign (2000, Al Gore). She is the former interim national chair of the Democratic National Committee and former chair of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute.

Her best-selling memoir, “Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pot in American Politics,” is a behind-the-scenes look at her tenacious political career, which started when she was 9 years old campaigning for a city council candidate who promised a playground in her neighborhood.

One of Brazile’s passions is encouraging young people to vote, work within the system to strengthen it and run for public office, according to her website.

This is the second season of the Hearst Speaker Series. In its inaugural season, the journalism college hosted former Fort Worth Star-Telegram Associate Editor Bob Ray Sanders, Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff.

Admission is free, and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on Brazile, click here.

For more information on the speaker series, click here.