Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki | |
---|---|
White House Director of Communications | |
Assumed office April 1, 2015 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Jennifer Palmieri |
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State | |
In office February 11, 2013 – March 31, 2015 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Deputy | Marie Harf |
Preceded by | Victoria Nuland |
Succeeded by | John Kirby |
White House Deputy Communications Director | |
In office December 19, 2009 – September 22, 2011 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Dan Pfeiffer |
Succeeded by | Jennifer Palmieri |
White House Deputy Press Secretary | |
In office January 20, 2009 – December 19, 2009 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Tony Fratto |
Succeeded by | Bill Burton |
Personal details | |
Born |
Jennifer Rene Psaki December 1, 1978 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | College of William and Mary (BA) |
Jennifer Rene "Jen" Psaki (pronounced /sɑːkiː/; born December 1, 1978)[1] is the current White House Communications Director. She previously served as a spokesperson for the United States Department of State, and has served in various press and communications roles in the Obama White House.[2]
Early life
Psaki, of Greek[3] and Polish[4] ancestry, was born in Stamford, Connecticut. She graduated from Greenwich High School in 1996 and the College of William & Mary in 2000. She is a member of the Chi Omega sorority.[5] At William & Mary, Psaki was a backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe athletic team for two years.[5][6]
Career
Psaki began her career in 2001 with the re-election campaigns of Iowa Democrats Tom Harkin for the U.S. Senate and Tom Vilsack for Governor. Psaki then became deputy press secretary for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. From 2005 to 2006, Psaki served as communications director to U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[7]
Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Psaki served as traveling press secretary.[7] After Obama won the election, Psaki followed Obama to the White House as Deputy Press Secretary and was promoted to Deputy Communications Director on December 19, 2009.[8][9] On September 22, 2011, Psaki left this position to become senior vice president and managing director at the Washington, D.C. office of public relations firm Global Strategy Group.[10][11]
In 2012, Psaki returned to political communications as press secretary for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[12] On February 11, 2013, Psaki became spokesperson for the United States Department of State.[12] Her hiring at the Department of State fueled speculation that she would likely replace White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when he left the White House,[13] but, on May 30, 2014, it was announced that Josh Earnest would replace Carney.
Personal life
In 2010, Psaki married Gregory Mecher, a deputy finance director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[14]
References
- ↑ "WELCOME TO DECEMBER! -- THE SENTENCE IN TODAY'S NYT that will make a few people with .gov addresses cringe -- WHAT OBAMA BOUGHT at Politics and Prose". POLITICO.
- ↑ "Jen Psaki returns to White House". Politico. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- ↑ "The Greek associate of Barack Obama - ellines.com".
- ↑ "Topics - Bio, News, Photos - Washington Times".
- 1 2 Sawicki, Stephen (February 2011). "Meeting the Press". Greenwich Magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Women's swimming and diving roster". College of William & Mary. Archived from the original on June 16, 1997.
- 1 2 "Jennifer Psaki". Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Jen Psaki". WhoRunsGov. WashingtonPost.com. July 23, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Allen, Mike (December 19, 2009). "Jen Psaki named Deputy Communications Director -- Summit accepts Obama deal -- Health reform could effectively pass at 1 a.m. Monday -- Shannon Flaherty b'day". Mike Allen's Playbook. Politico.com. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Calmes, Jackie (September 20, 2011). "White House Deputy Communications Director Steps Down". The Caucus. NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Lewis, Charles J. (September 22, 2011). "Greenwich High alum resigns White House job". Greenwich Time. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- 1 2 "Jen Psaki, Department Spokesperson". US Department of State. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ↑ Rogin, Josh (15 February 2013). "What Jen Psaki faces as the new State Department spokeswoman". The Cable. FP Group, a division of the Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013.
- ↑ McCarthy, Ellen (16 May 2010). "OnLove Wedding: Jen Psaki and Gregory Mecher get married in Maryland". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jennifer Psaki. |
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Victoria Nuland |
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State 2013–2015 |
Succeeded by John Kirby |
Preceded by Jennifer Palmieri |
White House Director of Communications 2015–present |
Incumbent |