Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki | |
---|---|
White House Press Secretary | |
Designate | |
Assuming office January 20, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden (elect) |
Deputy | Karine Jean-Pierre |
Succeeding | 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 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 | 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 |
Education | College of William & Mary (BA) |
Jennifer Rene Psaki (/sɑːkiː/; born December 1, 1978)[1][2] is an American political advisor who was White House Communications Director from 2015 to 2017. Previously, she was a spokesperson for the Department of State and held various press and communications roles in the Obama White House.[3] She has also been a CNN contributor.[4]
In November 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced he has selected Psaki as White House Press Secretary.[5]
Early life and education
Psaki was born in Stamford, Connecticut and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1996. In 2000, she graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in English.[6] She is a member of the Chi Omega sorority.[7] At William & Mary, Psaki was a competitive backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe athletic team for two years.[7][8]
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.[9]
Obama administration
Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Psaki served as traveling press secretary.[9] 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.[10][11] 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.[12][13]
In 2012, Psaki returned to political communications as press secretary for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[14] On February 11, 2013, Psaki became spokesperson for the United States Department of State.[14] 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,[15] 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.[16]
On November 29, 2020, Psaki was named White House Press Secretary for the Biden administration.[17]
Personal life
In 2010, Psaki married Gregory Mecher, a deputy finance director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[18] They have two children.[19]
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.
- ^ a b Concha, Joe (February 8, 2017). "Jen Psaki joins CNN". The Hill. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ "Jen Psaki returns to White House". Politico. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- ^ "Jen Psaki". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Psaki '00 named White House communications director". College of William & Mary. 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. 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.
- ^ 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. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Linskey, Annie; Stein, Jeff. "Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB". Washington Post.
- ^ McCarthy, Ellen (May 16, 2010). "OnLove Wedding: Jen Psaki and Gregory Mecher get married in Maryland". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ https://twitter.com/jrpsaki?s=09
External links
- Media related to Jen Psaki at Wikimedia Commons
- Jen Psaki on Twitter
- Archived copy of Psaki's official Twitter account from the Obama administration
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- 1978 births
- American people of Greek descent
- American people of Polish descent
- American public relations people
- Obama administration personnel
- Living people
- People from Greenwich, Connecticut
- People from Stamford, Connecticut
- United States Department of State spokespeople
- White House Communications Directors
- William & Mary Tribe women's swimmers
- Connecticut Democrats
- Greenwich High School alumni