PERSON: Krystal Ball

Host

Krystal Marie Ball is a co-host on msnbc’s ensemble show The Cycle, which airs Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. ET. She’s also a political writer, former congressional candidate and CPA. Her writing has appeared in publications such as US News and World Report, the Atlantic, the Huffington Post, and Politico; she has been a featured speaker at Columbia, Princeton, and George Washington University; and a guest lecturer at the New School in New York City. Krystal is a Contributing Writer for the Truman Doctrine, a national security oriented blog run by the Truman National Security Project. Truman recently awarded Krystal the ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ award for excellence in media.

Following her congressional campaign, Krystal was number 21 on Forbes Magazine’s ‘Most Powerful Women in the Mid Term Elections’ list. The Week magazine rated her as one of the Top Eight Political Stars of 2010, along with Marco Rubio, Scott Brown and Chris Christie. Profiled all over the United States for her innovative use of Social Media in politics, Ball’s compelling political vision for her party has been featured as far away as The China Post. Krystal is a native Virginian and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia. In addition to her work in politics and media, Krystal is also a Certified Public Accountant, software designer and mom.

— msnbc.com