Eddie Lee leads the Office of Public Engagements outreach to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. He most recently worked as the Youth Outreach Director on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Prior to that, Lee served as the New Media Director at the U.S. Department of Education. He previously worked as a State New Media Director on the Obama Presidential Campaign. He is also the founder and co-director of a non-profit film production and community activism organization. Lee grew up in Overland Park, KS, and is a graduate of Harvard University.
We create and coordinate opportunities for direct dialogue between the Obama Administration and the American public, while bringing new voices to the table and ensuring that everyone can participate and inform the work of the President.
The Office of Public Engagement is the embodiment of the President’s goal of government inclusive, transparent, accountable and responsible.
Jarrod Neal Bernstein was appointed Director of Jewish Outreach in October of 2011. From April of 2009 to September of 2011 Jarrod served first as the Local Afirs and then as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Afirs for United States Department of Homeland Security. At DHS he worked to coordinate the Departments outreach to Mayors and Governors across the country as well as working to ensure that priorities of state and local governments were reflected in the operations and policies of the Department. During his tenure at DHS Bernstein worked extensively on the rehallie schneir white housesponse to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the earthquake in Haiti, as well as the dissemination of intelligence information to state and local governments during periods of increased threat.
Jon Carson is the Director of the Office of Public Engagement. Previously, he served as the Chief of Staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Before joining the Administration, Jon was the National Field Director for President Barack Obamas campaign in 2008 and worked on the Obama transition team.
She previously worked on the Obama for America campaign in 7 states. Lauren is a native of Des Moines, Iowa and a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH.
Ronnie Cho is the White House Liaison to Young Americans. Prior to joining the White House, he was an editor at the Newsweek Daily Beast Company in New York City where he wrote and edited content related to social justice, innovation and social entrepreneurship. In 2009, Cho worked at the Federal Communications Commission as part of the team that wrote the National Broadband Plan and also served as Associate Director, Office of Legislative Afirs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Phoenix, Arizona native has worked on several political and issue campaigns including Senator John Kerrys 2004 presidential campaign, former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitanos 2006 gubernatorial race and most recently on the Obama for American campaign beginning in Iowa in 2007. He was also featured in the HBO documentary By The People: The Election of Barack Obama that followed President Obamas historic campaign. He went to Arizona State University.
Anne Filipic serves as Deputy Director of Public Engagement. In this role, she oversees the team charged wiAbout the Office of Public Engagement hallie schneir white houseth building relationships with constituency group leaders across the country, connecting them and their communities with the programs of the federal government. Prior to joining the White House, Filipic served as Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Afirs at the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, she held a number of leadership roles on the 2008 Obama for America campaign, including Field Director for the Iowa Caucus and Colorado General Election Director.
Dorsainvil serves as the Deputy Director of Advance and Special Events for the Office of Public Engagement and the Office of Intergovernmental Afirs. In this role, she coordinates engagement events, bill signings, and policy briefings while providing scheduling guidance and logistical support for the outreach missions of OPE and IGA.
Jarrett also served as a director of corporate and not for profit boards, including Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board of Trustees, and Vice Chair of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. She was a Director of the Local Initiative Support Corporation, The Joyce Foundation, and a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry.
Heather Foster directs African American Outreach at the White House Office of Public Engagement. Before joining the White House, Heather served as the Policy and Outreach Advisor at the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Education. Heather advised ith and community organizations on administration policy and encouraged partnerships with struggling schools across the country. Heather also worked on the Obama Presidential Campaign serving on the national ith outreach team in Chicago, Illinois. Heather is a Georgia native, proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a graduate of Northwestern University.
Richardson began working for President Obama at his Senate Office in August 2005, serving as Deputy to the Policy Director. Shortly after Obama announced his presidential run, Richardson joined the Obama for America campaign as the State Policy Director for Iowa, a role she assumed in several states throughout the presidential primary. In July 2008 Richardson became the Policy Director at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and also joined the DNC as part of then-Senator Obamas Congressional Liaison team. After the presidential general election, she joined the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team.
Francesca (Cesi) Lpez de Quesada is a Staff Assistant at the Office of Public Engagement. She oversees social media and online amplification among different constituency groups and agencies.
also responsible for writing New Yorks Emergency Public Information Plan, still in use today.
Michael received a B.S. from the University of Illinois, and a J.D. from the University Of Illinois College Of Law.
Monteiro serves as the liaison to Arab Americans, ith-based and secular belief communities and also assists in coordinating the White House Mentorship Program. He worked for then-Senator Obama in his Senate office in 2006 before joining the Obama for America campaign in Chicago as the national Deputy Director of Religious Afirs. A graduate of the University of Maryland and the Howard University School of Law, he previously worked at the United States Supreme Court, two Washington, D.C. law firms, and spent a year teaching at a local public charter school.
Kyle Lierman works as the liaison to both the sports community and ethnic communities across the country. Prior to his position in the Office of Public Engagement, Kyle ran for State Delegate in his hometown of Bethesda, Maryland. He served as a Special Assistant on the Obama-Biden Transition Team, and as a field organizer for Obama for America. Kyle is a graduate of George Washington University, where he majored in business.
Stephanie Valencia is currently Deputy Director of the Office of Public Engagement overseeing critical engagement programs like Champions of Change and the Community Leaders Briefing Series. She has served in the White House Office of Public Engagement since February 2009 where she originally handled outreach to the Latino community, immigration, and housing. She also worked on Puerto Rico issues. Prior to joining the Administration, Stephanie served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team and was Deputy Latino Vote Director on the Obama Campaign. Stephanie also served as Press Secretary to United States Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), serving as his spokeswoman and media advisor. Stephanie also worked in the House of Representatives as Special Assistant and Press Secretary to the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Congressman John B. Larson from Connecticut. She also served as Press Secretary Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. Stephanie started her career as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow and is a graduate of Boston College. She was born in raised in New Mexico and she and her husband and their two dogs reside in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez is the Associate Director of Latino Afirs and Immigration for the Office of Public Engagement at the White House. Most recently Julie served as the Director of Youth Employment at the Department of the Interior under Secretary Ken Salazar. Prior to joining the Administration, Julie served as the Director of Programs for the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, a non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by the Chavez mily to educate the nation about his life and work. In 2001, Julie helped launch the Chavez Foundations service-learning pro
Bernstein holds a BA in Political Science from Johns Hopkins and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.
Michael Strautmanis is the Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. In this role, Michael is responsible for coordinating communication and engagement strategies. In addition, he will serve as a senior advisor to the Presidents Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Formerly, Michael was the Chief of Staff to the Senior Advisor for the offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Afirs.
Greg works with the business, nonprofit, advocacy, and technology communities to engage with the Administration on critical energy, climate, and technology issues. Before joining the Obama-Biden Administration, Greg was the CEO and co-founder of Green Harvest Technologies (GHT), an applications and marketing company that developed a line of clean and green consumer products using biobased plastics and fibers. Prior to GHT, Greg was the General Manager of the Politics and Public Policy division for a nonprofit software and strategy provider and a partner and Managing Director of CTSG, a 75-person technology and consulting firm. Greg has also been a speechwriter, worked at the U.S. Peace Corps, and been a speaker on technology, business, and sustainability at national conferences and retreats. Greg received his B.A. in Political Science and History from Yale University.
Alexander currently serves as Special Assistant to Michael Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor. Previously, Alex was an intern in the Office of Public Engagement working closely with Greg Nelson on energy, environment and tech outreach before moving to Goldman Sachs as an analyst in their government afirs division. Alex is a proud New York City native and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
Raul Alvillar is the interim liaison to the LGBT community and works on a myriad of other portfolios. He most recently served as a Congressional Relations Officer in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was responsible for managing HUDs relationships with congressional, state, and local officials. Prior to HUD, Raul worked on the Obama for America campaign where he served as the Western Political Director. Raul started his career as the volunteer coordinator for the Gore Lieberman 2000 campaign in New Mexico. He is originally from Belen, New Mexico.
Lauren Kelly oversees the Community Leaders Briefing Series, a weekly series aimed at connecting grassroots and community leaders with the tools and resources of the federal government. Prior to joining the OPE team, Lauren spent two years working at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Karen Richardson is an Associate Director responsible for conducting outreach to the international community, which includes domestically-based advocacy and non-governmental organizations, amongst others, working on a variety of foreign policy issues. Her portfolio also includes conducting outreach to the health care and seniors community, a role she assumed in January 2009 as health care outreach coordinator for the White House Office of Health Reform and the White House Office of Public Engagement. Richardson has also been Senior Advisor to Ambassador Melanne Verveer at the U.S. State Department.
Valerie B. Jarrett is a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama. She is also the Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls and she oversees the Offices of Intergovernmental Afirs; Public Engagement; Urban Afirs; and Olympic, Paralympic, and Youth Sport.
Brad Jenkins is an Associate Director heading up coalition-building programs across a range of communities including nonprofits, foundations, labor, and business. Before joining the White House, Brad was a Founding Vice President of Business Forward, a national business group that helps bring more innovators and entrepreneurs into the policy process. Prior to Business Forward, Brad was the National Deputy Director of Special Projects for the Obama Campaign in Chicago, directing the intersection between the Field campaign and new media operations with a particular focus on youth media and the online voter registration platform. Prior to joining the campaign, Brad spent 6 years as an investment professional in New York and San Francisco. Brad grew up in Hamilton, NJ and received his B.A. in English from the University of Virginia.
The Office of Public Engagement helps open the two-way dialogue, ensuring that the issues impacting our nation’s proud and diverse communities have a receptive team dedicated to their voices heard within the Administration, and even more importantly helping their concerns be translated into action by the appropriate bodies of the Federal Government.
From 2002 to 2007 he was the chief spokesman with the New York City Office of Emergency Management where he managed the citywide public
As part of the Government accessible to its citizens, the Office of Public Engagement acts as a point of coordination for public speaking engagement for the Administration and the various departments of the Executive Offices of the President. The Office of Public Engagement removes obstacles and barriers for engagement and works to improve public awareness and involvement in the work of the Administration.
Erin Hannigan manages the White House Champions of Change program. Prior to joining the White House, Hannigan worked at the United States Department of Agriculture as the Deputy Director of External and Intergovernmental Afirs as well as a Staff Assistant in the Office of Congressional Relations. Before joining USDA, Hannigan worked on the Presidential Inaugural Committee and the Obama for America campaign where she worked in six states, including Iowa. Raised in Orland Park, Illinois, Hannigan is a graduate from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, she was the Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company. She also served as Co-Chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, and Senior Advisor to Obamas presidential campaign.
Dale, who is partially blind, coordinates the Administrations efforts to see that people with disabilities are on a level playing field with all Americans. Originally from Chicago, Dale previously served as the National Disability Director for the Obama for America campaign. He also served on the Arts Policy Committee and the Disability Policy Committee for then-Senator Obama.
Borrin most recently served as Deputy Press Secretary in the Office of Senator Joseph Biden. Prior to working in the Senate, she was a finance assistant for Unite Our States, the political action committee for which Biden served as the honorary chair. A native Atlantan with longtime involvement in the Jewish community, Borrin attended Washington University in St. Louis, during which time she interned for United Jewish Communities and the Biden Senate Office. She graduated magna cum laude in political science and international and area studies.
Prior to his time with the President, Michael practiced complex litigation and employment law in Chicago at Sidley Austin. He then joined the Clinton Administration as Chief of Staff to the General Counsel at the United States Agency for International Development. After his time at USAID, Michael moved to the Hill where he worked for then-Congressman Rod Blagojevich as his Legislative Director.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Los Angeles, California, Richardson has a BA from Howard University, a JD from Howard University School of Law, and a Masters in International Afirs from the London School of Economics.
Sara works with Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy, Kareem Dale. Prior to joining the White House team, she worked as a field organizer on the Obama for America campaign in New York State, worked in public afirs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and also taught English. Sara earned her bachelors degree in political science from Hamilton College and her masters degree in international relations and security from the Universit Toulouse Capitole in France.
Michael has been with the President since his election as the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois, where he served as then-Senator Obamas Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff. He continued serving then-Senator Obama on the campaign where he became Senior Counsel for Obama for America, playing a leading role in political outreach as a member of the Congressional Relations team. Upon the Presidents election, Michael joined Obamas presidential transition team as Chief Counsel and the Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Afirs.
information efforts around dozens of large scale emergencies. He was
Prior to his service at DHS, he served as Deputy Commissioner of Community Afirs in the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. There he was responsible for community crisis management and outreach around mayoral programs. These outreach efforts involved working with diverse communities across the Five Boroughs of New York City to ensure community engagement in the policy process.
About the Office of Public Engagement hallie schneir white house,microsite content 1px solid 999999microsite content width: 900px !important.goodgov-feature 180.goodgov-feature h3 10px 0 !importantspan.goodgov-tout-title font-mily: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif; bold; 1.2em; 880000; text-transform:uppercase; img.ethics-tout-img left; margin-20p.ethics-tout 0 0 20a.visit-link text-transform: uppercase; bold; text-decoration: none !important; 10block-views-bios-block_1 display: none; width:976 margin-left: 8.bio-title display: none; 666; font-mily: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
Victoria McCullough is the Assistant to Jon Carson the Director of the Office of Public Engagement. Prior to joining OPE, Victoria worked for Legislative and Intergovernmental Afirs Team at the Department of Homeland Security and the 2008 Obama campaign. Victoria graduated from Rhodes College and hails from Lewsiburg, Tennessee, where she first learned a passion for community service.
Page serves as the lead for Veterans, Wounded Warrior and Military Family Outreach. She previously worked on the Obama-Biden Transition Team as well as the Obama for America Campaign 2008. Page is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Army veteran and from a proud military mily. She studied political science at the University of Illinois.
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President Obama believes that change starts with youThe President has always believed that the best ideas dont just come from Washington. They come from individuals and communities all across the country. They come from people like you. To bring about real, lasting change the President needs you to stay engaged, share your stories, and add your voice to help address the challenges of the 21st century so we can win the future.
The Office of Public Engagement is the open front door to the White House.
Ari Matusiak serves as executive director of the White House Business Council, one of the Administrations main vehicles for engaging the private sector and civic leaders on jobs and the economy. Ari has extensive experience in community and economic development and developing strategic connections between the public and private sectors. He is the co-founder and former chairman of Young Invincibles, a national organization dedicated to improving the economic opportunities for 18 to 34 year olds. Prior to moving to Washington, Ari was vice president for strategy and community impact at The Rhode Island Foundation, one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the country. While in Rhode Island, Ari also directed HousingWorks RI, a statewide affordable housing coalition and campaign. In that role, he led a successful statewide referendum campaign for affordable housing production that leveraged nearly $500 million in additional investment, doubled the production of affordable housing and created thousands of good paying jobs in the state. Ari graduated with honors from Brown University and from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Public Interest Law Scholar. He is originally from Wisconsin and is a diehard Green Bay Packers n.
Prior to that, Ms. Jarrett has held positions in both the public and private sector, including the Chairman of the Chicago Transit Board, the Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley, and Deputy Corporation Council for Finance and Development. She also practiced law with two private law firms.
Carson also managed Tammy Duckworths 2006 general election campaign in Illinois 6th Congressional District and has worked on many political campaigns over the last decade, including Al Gores 2000 presidential campaign. Jon served in the Peace Corps in southern Honduras for two years, building water systems for rural villages. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and received a Masters Degree in Geography from the University of California-Los Angeles.
Dale graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelors degree in Advertising in May 1995. He received his JD/MBA in May 1999 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating Cum Laude.
Galbraith has most recently served as a Deputy Associate Counsel for Presidential Personnel in the White House. He has also previously worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona and as a Legislative Assistant to United States Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota. During the Obama Campaign for Change, Galbraith served as the Convener of the Native American Domestic Policy Committee organizing a nationwide group of tribal leaders and activists in developing policy proposals for the campaign. Galbraith is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, and graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law. During law school, Galbraith served as the Vice-President of the Native American Law Students Association and clerked for the Native American Rights Fund in Washington, DC.
Prior to this role, Dorsainvil served as a Staff Assistant in the Office of Public Engagement working on the White House Council on Women and Girls and Lesbian, Gay, Biual, and Transgender Outreach. Dorsainvil previously served as a White House Intern in the Office of the First Lady in 2009 and subsequently advanced official domestic and international visits for the President and First Lady. She graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Womens Studies and Global Health.
Before joining OPE, Cesi worked in the private sector, most recently for a strategic communications firm in Washington, DC. Cesi is a graduate of Columbia University and Institut dEcoles Politques (Sciences-Po). She is originally from Miami, Fl.
Together, side by side with the citizens who have demanded a government they can be a part of, a government that works, The Office of Public Engagement will build the open and transparent government President Barack Obama has promised.
Jarrett received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.
Prior to joining the White House, Gautam served as the Deputy White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of Defense and as the Outreach Lead for DoDs Dont Ask, Dont Tell Working Group. Gautam has previously worked for the Obama campaign, Democratic National Committee, and Progressive Majority, and is a graduate of Stanford University.
