{{short description|American politician and journalist}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Juli Briskman | birth_name = Juli Ellyn Klyce | image = Juli Briskman.jpg | caption = Juli Briskman | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|3|16}} | occupation = Politician, marketing analyst, journalist | known_for = Gesture towards American President [[Donald Trump]] | children = 2 | alma_mater = [[Ohio State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[Johns Hopkins University]] ([[Master of Business Administration|MBA]]) | office = Member of the [[Loudoun County Board of Supervisors]] from the [[Algonkian Regional Park|Algonkian]] District | term_start = January 1, 2020 | predecessor = Suzanne Volpe | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | website = {{URL|https://www.loudoun.gov/algonkian}} }}
'''Juli Ellyn Briskman''' ({{née}} '''Klyce'''; born March 16, 1967) is an American politician, marketing analyst, and journalist. She is a [[Board of supervisors|supervisor]] for the Algonkian District of [[Loudoun County, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudoun.gov/2232/Algonkian-Supervisor-Juli-E-Briskman|title=Algonkian District Supervisor Juli E. Briskman|website=Loudoun County Official Website|accessdate=January 23, 2020}}</ref> Briskman garnered international attention for [[the finger|flipping off]] President [[Donald Trump]] in [[Sterling, Virginia]], as he returned from a golfing trip in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Arnholz |first1=Jack |title=Cyclist who famously flipped off Trump motorcade wins election in Virginia |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cyclist-famously-flipped-off-trump-motorcade-wins-election/story?id=66791339 |website=ABC News |publisher=ABC News |access-date=April 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210828171418/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cyclist-famously-flipped-off-trump-motorcade-wins-election/story?id=66791339 |archive-date=August 28, 2021 |language=en |date=November 6, 2019 |quote=Juli Briskman,... lost her job after a photographer took a picture of her raising her middle finger to Trump's presidential motorcade... |url-status=live}}</ref> She once again received international attention when she was elected to the [[Loudoun County Board of Supervisors]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/09/trump-middle-finger-julie-briskman-virginia|title='I don't regret it': how Juli Briskman went from giving Trump the finger to winning an election|work=The Guardian|last=Noor|first=Poppy|date=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
== Early life == Briskman is originally from the [[Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio|Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area]] and graduated from [[Worthington High School]], where she was a field hockey athlete, in 1985.<ref name=Columbus>{{cite web|url=https://www.dispatch.com/news/20171107/woman-who-flipped-off-trump-says-she-learned-values-growing-up-in-central-ohio|title=Woman who flipped off Trump says she learned values growing up in central Ohio|work=The Columbus Dispatch|access-date=November 6, 2019|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109082725/https://www.dispatch.com/news/20171107/woman-who-flipped-off-trump-says-she-learned-values-growing-up-in-central-ohio|url-status=dead}}</ref> She graduated from [[Ohio State University]] in 1990, with a degree in journalism. She worked for the school newspaper, ''[[The Lantern]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 21, 2017 |title=Flipping the Bird: How an Ohio State Alumna Hit Virality |url=https://www.thelantern.com/2017/11/flipping-the-bird-how-an-ohio-state-alumna-hit-virality/ |access-date=November 3, 2025 |work=The Lantern}}</ref> She received an [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]] in [[marketing]] from [[Johns Hopkins University]]'s [[Carey Business School]] in 1998.<ref name="WaPo1">{{cite news |last=Portnoy |first=Jenna |date=September 12, 2018 |title=The cyclist who flipped off Trump's motorcade is running for public office |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/the-cyclist-who-flipped-off-trumps-motorcade-is-running-for-public-office/2018/09/11/c12cc2d2-b5dc-11e8-a7b5-adaaa5b2a57f_story.html |access-date=November 3, 2025 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>
== Career == Briskman interned for the ''[[Kuwait Times]]'', where she made news for escaping to [[Saudi Arabia]] as the [[Invasion of Kuwait|Iraqis invaded Kuwait]]. She worked at the [[U.S. Department of State]] as a community liaison officer for eight years, including at embassies in [[Riga]], [[Latvia]] and [[Almaty]], [[Kazakhstan]]. After leaving the State Department, she was in the admissions and marketing departments at Village Green Day School. She was a [[marketing analyst]] at several companies until the beginning of 2019, including as [[chief marketing officer]] of a health-care company in [[Chantilly, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://loudounnow.com/2018/09/12/loudouner-known-for-flipping-off-trump-runs-for-supervisor/|title=Loudouner Known for Flipping Off Trump Runs for Supervisor|work=Loudoun Now|date=September 12, 2018 }}</ref> She received a certificate in [[digital marketing]] from [[Georgetown University]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://upichealth.com/juli-briskman/ |title=Biography: Juli Briskman, Chief Marketing Officer |website=UPICHealth.com |publisher=UPIC Health |location=Chantilly, VA |access-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110011643/https://upichealth.com/juli-briskman/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== Middle finger controversy === On October 28, 2017, Briskman was riding her bike in [[Sterling, Virginia]], when the Trump motorcade passed her as he departed [[Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="Ruiz">{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/juli-briskman-flipped-off-trump-wins-virginia-election|title=Juli Briskman, Who Was Fired for Flipping Off Trump, Has Won an Election in Virginia|work=Vogue|publisher=Condé Nast |location=New York, NY|last=Ruiz|first=Michelle|date=November 6, 2019}}</ref> She [[The finger|flipped her middle finger]] as Trump rode by, which was caught on camera by a photographer.<ref name=holpuch>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/06/juli-briskman-trump-middle-finger-wins-office-virginia|title=Woman who gave Trump the finger elected in Virginia|last=Holpuch|first=Amanda|date=November 6, 2019|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=November 7, 2019}}</ref> Briskman had worked as a marketing analyst for [[Akima (company)|Akima]], a government contractor, for eight months until she was fired for using the viral photo as her [[Facebook]] cover photo and her [[Twitter]] profile picture.<ref name="Ruiz"/> She sued for wrongful termination as another employee also had "obscene content," which it was her job to flag, on his social media accounts, but was allowed to remove it. Her claim was not upheld in court because Virginia's at-will employment laws do not cover free speech,<ref name="Ruiz"/> but the judge granted Briskman the full severance pay she was owed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/she-flipped-off-president-trump--and-got-fired-from-her-government-contracting-job/2017/11/06/4cf1af9a-c2da-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html|title=She flipped off President Trump — and got fired from her government contracting job|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>
=== 2019 election === In 2019, Briskman, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], was elected to the Algonkian District seat of the [[Loudoun County Board of Supervisors]], defeating eight-year incumbent Suzanne M. Volpe.<ref name=WaPo1/><ref name="Ruiz"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-who-flipped-off-trump-juli-briskman-cyclist-finger-president-motorcade-wins-virginia-election-loudoun-county/|title=Woman who was fired for flipping off Trump wins election in Virginia|work=CBS News|last=Silverstein|first=Jason|date=November 7, 2019}}</ref> She described herself as running on policies such as environmentalism, education, and women's rights, rather than the notice she received for flipping off the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/cyclist-who-flipped-off-trump-wins-local-election/|title=Cyclist who flipped off Trump wins local election|work=The Times of Israel|date=November 7, 2019 }}</ref> The ''Washington Post'' described her victory as "fabulous revenge,"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/juli-briskmans-fabulous-revenge-run-and-the-people-getting-elected-to-get-even/2019/11/07/9d935920-017c-11ea-9518-1e76abc088b6_story.html|title=Juli Briskman's fabulous revenge run, and the people getting elected to get even|newspaper=The Washington Post|last=Dvorak|first=Petula}}</ref> and [[Gerard Baker]] of London's ''[[The Sunday Times|The Times]]'' noted that it highlighted President Trump's perceived issues with suburban American women.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/trumps-fate-rests-with-suburban-women-llhtph36d|title=Trump's fate rests with suburban women|work=The Times|last=Baker|first=Gerard|date=October 14, 2023 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>
She was re-elected in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Julie Briskman Elections |url=https://www.vpap.org/candidates/324880/elections/ |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref>
== Personal life == Briskman moved to Loudoun County in the early 2000s. She is the mother of two with her ex-husband.<ref name=WaPo1/> Briskman has also worked part-time as a [[yoga]] instructor.<ref name=Columbus/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website}} * {{VPAP|324880}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briskman, Juli}} [[Category:1967 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century American women journalists]] [[Category:21st-century American journalists]] [[Category:21st-century American women politicians]] [[Category:21st-century Virginia politicians]] [[Category:21st-century American women writers]] [[Category:American marketing people]] [[Category:American yoga teachers]] [[Category:County supervisors in Virginia]] [[Category:Johns Hopkins Carey Business School alumni]] [[Category:Journalists from Ohio]] [[Category:Journalists from Virginia]] [[Category:Women in marketing]] [[Category:Ohio State University School of Communication alumni]] [[Category:People from Sterling, Virginia]] [[Category:People from Worthington, Ohio]] [[Category:Politicians from Columbus, Ohio]] [[Category:Protests against Donald Trump]] [[Category:United States Department of State officials]] [[Category:Virginia Democrats]] [[Category:Women in Virginia politics]] [[Category:Writers from Columbus, Ohio]]