Gayle Jessup White

Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s historic estate.

A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. She’s written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello.

She is a direct Jefferson descendant, and is also related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello—the Hemingses and the Hubbards. She lives in Virginia.

She details her search for her family history through her book Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy (Amistad, November 16, 2021).