Who is Maya Harris, Kamala Harris' sister? Plus, key moments from her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

 

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago all week, providing the latest updates on the Democratic National Convention.

Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, often reflects on how her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, encouraged and inspired her journey. On this historic night, her younger sister, Maya Harris—one of the vice president's closest confidants—also paid tribute to their mother. Maya Harris became emotional as she imagined what Gopalan would have said seeing her eldest daughter accept the Democratic party's presidential nomination.

"I can just picture her smiling and saying how proud she is of Kamala," Maya Harris shared. "And then, without skipping a beat, she'd say, 'That's enough. You have work to do.'"

Maya Harris, like her sister Kamala, is a lawyer with a notable career. She served as campaign chairperson for Kamala's 2020 presidential campaign and was a senior policy adviser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. Harris has also held significant roles at the Ford Foundation, where she was vice president of democracy, rights, and justice. She graduated from Stanford Law School.