Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki | |
---|---|
File:Official Portrait of Jen Psaki.jpg Official portrait, 2021 | |
34th White House Press Secretary | |
Assumed office January 20, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Deputy | Karine Jean-Pierre TJ Ducklo |
Preceded by | Kayleigh McEnany |
White House Communications Director | |
In office April 1, 2015 – January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Jennifer Palmieri |
Succeeded by | Sean Spicer |
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State | |
In office April 5, 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 | Daniel Pfeiffer |
Succeeded by | Jennifer Palmieri |
White House Deputy Press Secretary | |
In office January 20, 2009 – December 19, 2009 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Leader | Robert Gibbs |
Preceded by | Tony Fratto |
Succeeded by | Bill Burton |
Personal details | |
Born | Jennifer Rene Psaki December 1, 1978 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Gregory Mecher (m. 2010) |
Children | 2 |
Education | College of William & Mary (BA) |
Jennifer Rene Psaki (/sɑːkiː/; born December 1, 1978)[1][2][3] is an American political advisor who serves as the 34th White House press secretary in the Biden administration.[4] Previously, she served as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and held various senior press and communications roles in the Obama White House.[5] She has also been a CNN contributor.[6]
Early life and education
Psaki was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to James R. Psaki and Eileen Dolan Medvey.[7] Her father is a retired real estate developer, and her mother is a psychotherapist.[8] She is of Irish, Greek, and Polish descent.[9] She graduated from Greenwich High School in 1996. In 2000, she graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in English and sociology.[10] She is a member of the Chi Omega sorority.[11] At William & Mary, Psaki was a competitive backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe athletic team for two years.[11][12]
Career
Early 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 and regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[13]
Obama administration
Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. senator Barack Obama, Psaki served as traveling press secretary.[13] 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.[14][15] 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.[16][17]
In 2012, Psaki returned to political communications as press secretary for President Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.[18] On February 11, 2013, Psaki became spokesperson for the United States Department of State.[18] Her hiring at the Department of State fueled speculation that she would replace White House press secretary Jay Carney when he left the White House,[19] but, on May 30, 2014, it was announced that Josh Earnest would replace Carney. In 2015, she returned to the White House as communications director and stayed through the end of the Obama administration.
On February 7, 2017, Psaki began working as a political commentator on CNN.[2]
Biden administration
In November 2020, Psaki left CNN and joined the Biden-Harris transition team.[20] Later that month, Psaki was named as the White House press secretary for the Biden administration.[21][22][23] She held her first press briefing in the evening of January 20, after the inauguration.[24]
Personal life
In 2010, Psaki married Gregory Mecher, a deputy finance director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[25] They have two children.[26]
References
- ^ Allen, Mike (December 1, 2013). "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. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ a b Concha, Joe (February 8, 2017). "Jen Psaki joins CNN". The Hill. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ Papp, Justin; Munson, Emilie (December 1, 2020). "Who is Jen Psaki? CT native expected to reset media relations as Biden's press secretary". CTInsider.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ^ "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Announce Members of White House Senior Communications Staff". President-Elect Joe Biden. November 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "Jen Psaki returns to White House". Politico. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- ^ "Jen Psaki". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ "Clipped From The Bridgeport Post". July 18, 1976. p. 30 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jennifer Psaki, Gregory Mecher". The New York Times. May 7, 2010. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ "Biden Picks Greek-American Jen Psaki to Lead Confirmation Team". The National Herald. November 19, 2020.
Psaki is of Irish, Greek and Polish descent with her Greek roots in Messinia through her father James R. Psaki
- ^ "Psaki '00 named White House communications director". College of William & Mary. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Sawicki, Stephen (February 2011). "Meeting the Press". Greenwich Magazine. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ "Women's swimming and diving roster". College of William & Mary. Archived from the original on June 16, 1997.
- ^ a b "Jennifer Psaki". Center for Responsive Politics. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ "Jen Psaki". WhoRunsGov. WashingtonPost.com. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. 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. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ Calmes, Jackie (September 20, 2011). "White House Deputy Communications Director Steps Down". The Caucus. NYTimes.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ Lewis, Charles J. (September 22, 2011). "Greenwich High alum resigns White House job". Greenwich Time. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ a b "Jen Psaki, Department Spokesperson". US Department of State. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ^ Rogin, Josh (February 15, 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.
- ^ Kate Sullivan (November 30, 2020). "Biden announces all-female senior White House communications team". edition.cnn.com. CNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ Linskey, Annie; Stein, Jeff. "Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Holds First Briefing | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
- ^ New White House press secretary holds 1st briefing this evening CBC. Retrieved January 21, 2021
- ^ McCarthy, Ellen (May 16, 2010). "OnLove Wedding: Jen Psaki and Gregory Mecher get married in Maryland". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Jen Psaki on X
- Archived copy of Psaki's official Twitter account from the Obama administration
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- 1978 births
- Living people
- American public relations people
- Connecticut Democrats
- Greenwich High School alumni
- Obama administration personnel
- People from Greenwich, Connecticut
- People from Stamford, Connecticut
- United States Department of State spokespeople
- White House Communications Directors
- William & Mary Tribe women's swimmers
- Biden administration personnel
- American people of Irish descent
- American people of Polish descent
- American people of Greek descent