Christina Burns (born March 1, 1992), known professionally as Dasha Burns, is an American journalist who is the White House Bureau Chief for ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' since January 2025. She previously worked as a national correspondent at

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

from 2016 to 2025.

Early life and education

Burns immigrated from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

when she was eight years old. Dasha Burns grew up in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. She graduated from

La Costa Canyon High School La Costa Canyon High School (LCC) is a public high school in Carlsbad, California. It is an International Baccalaureate World School and is part of the San Dieguito Union High School District, serving northwestern San Diego County. Established ...

in 2010 and went on to attend the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. In college she was a producer at CalTV, acted in university plays on campus, and served as a Matsui Center fellow at the United Nations Information Center Washington in 2014.

Career

After graduating, through 2016, Burns worked as a media writer and strategist for a consulting agency, while writing

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

s for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. From May 2016, Burns worked as an associate producer and then producer for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television morning news and talk program ''

Weekend Today Weekend editions of '' Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC, began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on September 20, 1987. After NBC expanded ''Today'' to seven days a week in the 1990s ...

''. In March 2019 she became a television reporter for

, reporting from the field. In February 2022, Burns was promoted from the County to County project, to

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

focusing on the

2022 United States elections Elections in the United States, Elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the term of president Joe Biden, all 435 seats in ...

in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In October 2022, Burns was the first journalist to have an in-depth face to face interview with Pennsylvania senatorial candidate

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...

since his

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'' reported that Fetterman's wife,

Gisele Barreto Fetterman Gisele Barreto Fetterman (; born February 27, 1982) is a Brazilian-born American activist and nonprofit executive. She is a founder of the non-profit Freestore 15104 and a co-founder of the non-profits For Good PGH and 412 Food Rescue. She is m ...

, accused the reporter of

ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against physically or mentally disabled people. Ableism characterizes people as they a ...

and said that Burns should face "consequences" for the interview. After Fetterman debated Republican candidate

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Oz ( ; ; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz (), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sinc ...

, several members of the media said that Burns was owed an apology from Gisele Fetterman and members of the media.

Personal life

In March and April 2020, Burns shared her experience of missing work due to contracting the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

virus. In 2019, she married Ben Winkel.

References

External links

* * https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashaburns * https://www.nbcnews.com/author/dasha-burns-ncpn1043236 *https://www.instagram.com/dashaburns {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Dasha 1992 births 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American women television journalists Living people NBC News people University of California, Berkeley alumni La Costa Canyon High School alumni Ukrainian emigrants to the United States