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White House Office of Public Engagement

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The Office of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs, also known simply as the Office of Public Liaison, is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

Under President Barack Obama, senior advisor Valerie Jarrett oversees the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs, with Christina Tchen as Director of Public Liaison.[1]

History

Historically, the OPL has been responsible for communicating and interacting with various interest groups. Under President Richard Nixon, Charles Colson performed public liaison work. President Gerald Ford first formalized the public liaison office after he took office in 1974, appointing Nixon administration veteran William J. Baroody, Jr. to head the office. Under Baroody, "OPL became an instrument for projecting the image of a truly open administration (in contrast to Nixon’s) and to secure Ford’s reelection. Under Baroody’s direction, the office incorporated outreach efforts with consumers and women that had been located elsewhere in the White House, and the overall staff grew to approximately thirty. At the core of its activities was an aggressive campaign of regional conferences that enabled the nation’s first un-elected president to tour the country in a campaign-like atmosphere and prepare the way for an eventual reelection campaign."[2]

Future cabinet secretary and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole headed OPL under President Ronald Reagan from 1981-1983. Directors during Bill Clinton's administration included future cabinet secretary Alexis Herman, Maria Echaveste, Minyon Moore and Mary Beth Cahill.[3]

Obama administration

The Obama administration calls the office "the front door to the White House, through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President."

In April 2009, Kalpen Suresh Modi was named an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison.[4] His role was said to include outreach to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and the arts community.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Leadership Bios
  2. ^ White House Transition Project. p. 4.
  3. ^ White House Transition Project. p. 21.
  4. ^ The Atlantic
  5. ^ CNN.com: Actor Kal Penn joining the Obama administration
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