Burns Strider

Personal life

Strider was born in Grenada to Grenada County Sheriff Jesse "Big Daddy" Strider. Burns' oldest brother continues the legacy and serves as Grenada County Sheriff, and his family, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and others live in Grenada on the family farm. Strider, his wife, Karen, a native of Kentucky, two boys, and dog Marcel Truman live in Washington, DC. Strider attended Delta State University and Mississippi State University, receiving his bachelor's degree in History. He first interned for then-Congressman Mike Espy (D-MS) and then-Senator Al Gore (D-TN). He also served as a speechwriter to Mississippi Secretary of State Dick Molpus. He then spent three years as a Southern Baptist youth minister at International Baptist Church of Hong Kong, leading a youth group of more than twenty ethnic groups at the Southern Baptist Convention mega church.

Career

Strider first served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Ronnie Shows (D-MS), before moving into national leadership roles. He served in an array of leadership positions, including Director of the U.S. House Democratic Faith Working Group and Rural Working Group, the Director of Policy for the U.S. House Democratic Caucus, and regional Communications Director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He has also served as Vice President of American Bridge 21st Century and Senior Advisor to Correct the Record.

Strider also worked as Senior Advisor to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was with Pelosi that Strider began working to expand the voice and scope of progressive politics and issues with the American faith community. Strider is perhaps best known for his work as Senior Advisor and Director of Faith Outreach to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential campaign.

For his efforts, Religion News Service named Strider one of the 12 most influential Democrats in the nation on faith/values issues and politics. Strider has worked on over 100 campaigns, directed 20 of them, and developed a communications plan that was implemented in 60 different races.

He has also been a commentator for National Public Radio, has made appearances on CNN, CBN, and NBC, and has lectured at various universities and workshops around the nation including Princeton University, Harvard University, Trinity College, the University of Virginia, Mississippi State University, Delta State University, the University of Mississippi, Georgetown University, the Democratic National Convention, the National Leadership Council, and the Young Democrats of America training workshop, among others. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, Faithful Democrats, and Mississippi Business Journal. He is a social media expert on various platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

In October 2014, Burns Strider gave his first TEDx talk in Cape May, NJ. The theme of the event was "Pursuit of Happiness" and Strider's TEDx is called "The Happy Community in 3 Acts." In it, he talks about arriving at a happy community as a nation, and tells stories of friars, mammas, and governors.

In December 2014, Burns Strider was named to the Board of Governors at The Faith and Politics Institute. This continues his longstanding relationship with the organization, which works to bring people together and advance reflective leadership among members of Congress and congressional staff to bridge the divides that arise in a thriving democracy.