Updated December 3, 2020 - O'Neill and Associates
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Updated December 3, 2020
1Executive office of the President (EOP)
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support
the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal
government. To provide the President with the support that he or she needs to govern
effectively, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating
the President’s message to the American people to promoting our trade interests abroad.
The EOP is also referred to as a 'permanent government', with many policy programs, and
the people who implement them, continuing between presidential administrations. This is
because there is a need for qualified, knowledgeable civil servants in each office or agency
to inform new politicians.
With the increase in technological and global advancement, the size of the White House staff
has increased to include an array of policy experts to effectively address various fields.
There are about 4,000 positions in the EOP, most of which do not require confirmation from
the U.S. Senate.
Senior staff within the Executive Office of the President have the title Assistant to the
President, second-level staff have the title Deputy Assistant to the President, and third-level
staff have the title Special Assistant to the President.
The core White House staff appointments, and most Executive Office officials generally, are
not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, although there are a handful of exceptions
(e.g., the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chair and members of
the Council of Economic Advisers, and the United States Trade Representative). link
The following entities exist within the Executive Office of the President:
• Council of Economic Advisers
• Council on Environmental Quality
• Executive Residence
• National Security Council
• Office of Administration
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Office of the Vice President
• White House Office
2White House Office
In addition, the following entities exist within the White House Office, staff working directly
for and reporting to the President including West Wing Staff and the president’s closest
advisers
• Domestic Policy Council
o Office of National AIDS Policy
o Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships
o Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation
o White House Rural Council
• National Security Advisor
• National Economic Council
o Director Brian Deese
• Office of Cabinet Affairs
• Office of the Chief of Staff
o Chief of Staff: Ron Klain
o Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen O’Malley Dillon
• Office of Communications
o White House Communications Director: Kate Bedingfield
o Deputy White House Communications Director: Pili Tobar
o Office of the Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary: Jen Psaki
Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
o Media Affairs
o Research
o Speechwriting
• Office of Digital Strategy
• Office of the First Lady
o Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden: Julissa Reynoso Pantaleong
o Senior Advisor to Dr. Jill Biden: Anthony Bernal
o Policy Director to Dr. Jill Biden: Mala Adiga
o Communications Director for Dr. Jill Biden: Elizabeth E. Alexander
o Office of the Social Secretary
White House Social Secretary: Carlos Elizondo
• Office of Legislative Affairs
o Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs: Louisa Terrell
o Deputy Director of White House Office of Legislative Affairs: Reema Dodin
3o Deputy Director of White House Office of Legislative Affairs: Shuwanza Goff
• Office of Management and Administration
o White House Personnel
o White House Operations
o Telephone Office
o Visitors Office
• Oval Office Operations
o Director of Oval Office Operations: Annie Tomasini
• Office of Presidential Personnel
o Director of White House Office of Presidential Personnel: Cathy Russell
• Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs
o Office of Public Engagement
Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office
of Public Engagement: Congressman Cedric Richmond
Council on Women and Girls
o Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Director of White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: Julie
Chavez Rodriguez
o Office of Urban Affairs
• Office of Scheduling and Advance
• Office of the Staff Secretary
o Presidential Correspondence
o Executive Clerk
o Records Management
• Office of the White House Counsel
o White House Counsel: Dana Remus
• Office of the Vice President
o Chief of Staff to the Vice President Hartina Flournoy *New*
o Communications Director for the Vice President: Ashley Etienne
o Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President: Symone
Sanders
o Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President Rohini Kosoglu *New*
o National Security Advisor to the Vice President Nancy McEldowney *New*
4Biden – Harris Transition Confirmed White House Staff
Office of the President
White House Chief of Staff: Ron Klain
graduated summa cum laude Harvard Law School, Editor of the Harvard Law Review
Ron Klain served as the president-elect’s first Chief of Staff when he became Vice President
(2009-11); Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the president-elect’s
tenure as Chair of the Committee (1989-92); and Policy Advisor on the Judiciary Committee
staff (1986-87). Klain also worked as an advisor on President-elect Biden’s 1988 and 2008
Presidential campaigns.
Klain has devoted many years to public service, serving as White House Ebola Response
Coordinator (2014-15). At the conclusion of his work coordinating the US response,
President Obama said that Klain had taken on “a challenge that many called
insurmountable, and, in leading the team responsible for tremendous progress, helped
remind the world what makes America exceptional.” Earlier, in addition to his work with
then-Vice President Biden, Klain served as Chief of Staff for Vice President Al Gore, Chief of
Staff and Counselor to Attorney General Janet Reno, and Staff Director of the Senate
Democratic Leadership Committee. Klain was also Associate Counsel to President Clinton
and in charge of judicial selection. Through his work on the Judiciary Committee, and in the
Executive Branch, he has played a role in the selection or confirmation of eight Supreme
Court Justices.
Prior to joining the Biden for President campaign, Klain was Executive Vice President and
General Counsel of Revolution LLC. In 2005, prior to joining Revolution, Klain spent four
years as a partner and National Practice Group Chair at O’Melveny & Myers. Klain began his
legal career as a law clerk to Justice Byron White, for the Supreme Court’s 1987 and 1988
Terms. He was also General Counsel for the Gore Recount Committee in 2000.
Serving as an advisor on several Presidential campaigns, Klain has worked for Presidents
Obama and Clinton, and Democratic Presidential nominees Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary
Clinton and Joe Biden. Ron Klain graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Law School,
was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and won the Sears Prize for highest grade
average in 1985. He was a summa cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, where he
serves an Adjunct Professor. Klain is married to Monica Medina and they have three grown
children. link
5Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen O’Malley Dillon
Massachusetts Native and Tufts Graduate
Jen O’Malley Dillon served as the Campaign Manager for the Biden-Harris campaign. She
was the first female campaign manager for a successful Democratic presidential campaign.
A veteran of seven presidential campaigns, O’Malley Dillon has worked in leadership and
organizing positions on campaigns at every level – from state senate and mayoral races to
congressional, gubernatorial, and senate campaigns. Prior to joining the Biden campaign in
March 2020, she was the Campaign Manager for Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign
and was a founding partner at Precision Strategies, a communications, digital, and data-
targeting firm. Previously, she served as Deputy Campaign manager for President Obama’s
2012 re-election campaign, Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee, and
battleground states director for Obama’s 2008 campaign. In her 2012 role, she oversaw the
largest field, education, political outreach, and data analytics organization in the history of
presidential campaigns. A native of Massachusetts, O’Malley Dillon is a graduate of Tufts
University and a mom of three young children. link
Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White
House Office of Public Engagement: Congressman Cedric
Richmond
Congressman Cedric Richmond was National Co-Chairman of the Biden-Harris Campaign
and is currently a Co-Chair of the Biden-Harris Transition Team. Since 2011, Richmond has
represented Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of
Representatives. During his time in Congress, Richmond served on the House Ways and
Means Committee, the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Committee on
the Judiciary, the House Democratic Assistant to the Majority Whip, a member of the New
Democratic Coalition, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and, most recently,
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Richmond was a leader in helping
to enact landmark criminal justice reform and ensuring that the people of Louisiana’s 2nd
District were prepared for emergencies and natural disasters through his oversight of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency on the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Richmond is a graduate of Morehouse College and Tulane
University School of Law, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. link
Director of White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs:
Julie Chavez Rodriguez
6Julie Chavez Rodriguez served as a Deputy Campaign Manager on the Biden-Harris
Campaign. Before that, she was National Political Director and traveling Chief of Staff for
then-Senator Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Prior to launching Senator Harris’
campaign, she served as California State Director in her senate office. During the Obama-
Biden administration, Chavez Rodriguez served as Special Assistant to the President and
Senior Deputy Director of Public Engagement in the Office of Public Engagement. Before
joining the White House, Chavez Rodriguez served as the Director of Youth Employment at
the Department of the Interior and as Deputy Press Secretary to former Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar. Earlier in her career, she served as the Director of Programs at the
Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. A native of California, she is a graduate of the University of
California, Berkeley. link
Senior Advisor to the President: Mike Donilon
native of Rhode Island
Mike Donilon served as Chief Strategist for the Biden-Harris Campaign, where he was
responsible for overseeing message discipline and development, television advertising,
speechwriting, and polling and research. Previously, Donilon served as Counselor to then-
Vice President Biden in the White House. Donilon has been a nationally recognized
strategist, media consultant and pollster for nearly four decades, having been part of six US
presidential campaigns and more than 25 winning US Senate, gubernatorial, US House and
mayoral campaigns. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris campaign, Donilon was Managing
Director of the Biden Institute and assistant professor at the University of Delaware. A
native of Rhode Island, Donilon is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown
University Law Center. link
White House Counsel: Dana Remus
native of New Hampshire, Remus is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.
Dana Remus served as General Counsel of the Biden-Harris Campaign. Prior to that, she
was General Counsel of the Obama Foundation and President and Mrs. Obama’s personal
office. During the Obama-Biden administration, Remus was the Deputy Assistant to the
President and Deputy Counsel for Ethics. Previously, she was a Professor of Law at the
University of North Carolina School of Law, where she specialized in legal and judicial
ethics and the regulation of the legal profession. Remus clerked for U.S. Supreme Court
Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Judge Anthony J. Scirica of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit, and was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. A native of New
Hampshire, Remus is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School. link
7Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs: Louisa
Terrell
graduate of Boston College School of Law
Louisa Terrell currently oversees legislative affairs for the Biden-Harris Transition Team.
Terrell’s two decades of experience includes leadership roles in the public and private
sectors, including as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs in the Obama-
Biden administration. Prior to that, she served as an Advisor to Tom Wheeler, Chairman of
the Federal Communications Commission, and worked for several years on Capitol Hill,
including as Deputy Chief of Staff for then-U.S. Senator Biden and Chief of Staff for U.S.
Senator Cory Booker. Terrell’s work outside of government has included roles as the
Deputy General Counsel and Head of Public Affairs at McKinsey & Company, Executive
Director of the Biden Foundation, Senior Director for Federal Policy & Strategy at Yahoo!,
and Director of Public Policy at Facebook. Originally from Delaware, Terrell is a graduate of
Tufts University and Boston College School of Law, and lives in Washington, D.C. with her
husband and two daughters. link
Deputy Director of White House Office of Legislative Affairs:
Reema Dodin
Reema Dodin currently serves as a volunteer on the Biden-Harris Transition Team leading
legislative engagement for the confirmations process. She also serves as Deputy Chief of
Staff and Floor Director to the Senate Democratic Whip, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).
Prior to that, Dodin served as Senator Durbin’s Floor Counsel, Research Director and as an
aide to his Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. Dodin has served as a
volunteer voter-protection counsel on a number of campaigns, including the Obama for
America campaign. She is a Truman National Security Fellow, a New Leaders Council
Fellow, an Aspen Socrates alum, a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations,
and a member of the Jenkins Hill Society — a consortium of women in politics supporting
female politicians. Dodin is the co-author of a primer on House and Senate Floor
procedures through Brookings publications. Originally from California, Dodin is a graduate
of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign. link
Deputy Director of White House Office of Legislative Affairs:
Shuwanza Goff
first Black woman to hold the position
8Shuwanza Goff served as Floor Director for the House of Representatives under House
Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer. The first Black woman to hold the position, Goff
determined which bills came to the House floor, set the legislative schedule, and helped
craft the overall House Democratic agenda. Prior to that, Goff was Director of Legislative
Operations for Representative Hoyer when he was minority whip. Goff has also served as
Floor Aide, Floor Assistant, and Staff Assistant for Representative Hoyer. Originally from
Virginia, Goff is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and American University. link
White House Communications Director: Kate Bedingfield
2008 Communications Director for Senator Jean Shaheen Campaign
Kate Bedingfield served as Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director for
the Biden-Harris Campaign. She served as Communications Director for Vice President
Biden and as Associate Communications Director, Deputy Director of Media Affairs, and the
Director of Response in the Obama-Biden White House. Prior to the Obama-Biden
administration, Bedingfield served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator Jeanne
Shaheen on her successful 2008 Senate campaign, Deputy National Press Secretary on the
John Edwards for President campaign and Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 when Democrats won back the House.
Bedingfield has also served as the Chief Spokeswoman and Vice President of Corporate
Communications at the Motion Picture Association of America and as the Vice President of
Communications at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Originally from Georgia,
Bedingfield is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She lives in Washington, DC with her
husband, son and daughter. link
Deputy White House Communications Director: Pili Tobar
Pili Tobar served as the Communications Director for Coalitions on the Biden-Harris
Campaign. Before joining the campaign, Tobar served as the Deputy Director for America’s
Voice, where she advocated on behalf of immigrants. She has also served as the Hispanic
Media Director for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, National Director of
Hispanic Media and Western Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic National
Committee, Communications Director for Congressman Ruben Gallego, and
Communications Director for the Latino Victory Project. Originally from Florida and raised
in Guatemala, Tobar is a graduate of the University of Miami. She lives in Washington D.C.
with her wife and daughter. link
9White House Press Secretary: Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki currently oversees the confirmations team for the Biden-Harris Transition.
During the Obama-Biden administration, Psaki held several senior roles, including White
House Communications Director, State Department Spokesperson under then-Secretary of
State John Kerry, Deputy White House Communications Director and Deputy White House
Press Secretary during the financial crisis. She is a veteran of three presidential campaigns
having served as traveling press secretary during the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008, as
traveling press secretary and senior advisor in 2012 and as deputy press secretary for John
Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004. Psaki was a spokesperson at the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 when Democrats won back the House of
Representatives and has also served as Communications Director to former Congressman
Joe Crowley. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Transition Team, Psaki was the Vice
President for Communications and Strategy at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace and a CNN contributor. Psaki is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and
lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. link
Principal Deputy Press Secretary: Karine Jean-Pierre
Karine Jean-Pierre was Senior Advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden and Chief of Staff to
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Prior to her role on the
campaign, she served as Chief Public Affairs Officer for MoveOn.org and an NBC and MSNBC
Political Analyst. Jean-Pierre served as Regional Political Director for the White House
Office of Political Affairs during the Obama-Biden administration and as Deputy
Battleground States Director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She served
as Southeast Regional Political Director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, Deputy
Campaign Manager for Martin O’Malley for President, Campaign Manager for the ACLU’s
Reproductive Freedom Initiative, and Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Legislative and
Budget Affairs for two members in the New York City Council. Previously, she worked at
the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics, pushing major companies to change their
business practices. Born in Martinique and raised in New York, Jean-Pierre is a graduate of
Columbia University. link
Counselor to the President: Steve Ricchetti
Steve Ricchetti served as Chairman of the Biden-Harris campaign. Throughout his decades
of public service, Ricchetti has held senior roles on Capitol Hill and at the White House,
including as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden, Assistant
to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, Deputy Assistant to the
President for Legislative Affairs for President Clinton during the impeachment hearings,
and Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1992, when
10women won a record number of seats. Before joining the Obama-Biden administration in
2009, Ricchetti was the founder and president of an independent government relations and
political consulting firm. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris campaign, Ricchetti was
Managing Director of the Penn Biden Center. A native of Ohio, Ricchetti is a graduate of
Miami University and George Mason University School of Law. link
Director of Oval Office Operations: Annie Tomasini
native of Boston and graduate of Boston University
Annie Tomasini serves as President Elect Biden’s Traveling Chief of Staff, where she
ensures the execution of day to day affairs and provides strategic counsel to the President
Elect. Tomasini has served the Biden family for over a decade in several positions,
including as Deputy Press Secretary for Vice President Biden and Press Secretary for
Senator Biden when he was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Previously, Tomasini was Senior Director of State, Local, and Community Relations and
Strategic Outreach at Harvard Public Affairs and Communications, where she oversaw the
relationships with Harvard University’s external stakeholders, host communities, and state
and local government. She began her career at Rasky Partners Inc, one of the largest public
relations firms in New England. Tomasini also serves on the non-profit Board of Directors
for the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester. A native of Massachusetts, Tomasini is a graduate
of Boston University. link
Director of White House Office of Presidential Personnel: Cathy
Russell
Former resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University; former Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as Senior
Counsel to Senator Patrick J. Leahy; graduated from Boston College
Ambassador Cathy Russell serves on the Advisory Board of the Biden-Harris Transition
Team and served as Vice Chair of the Biden-Harris Campaign. Before that, Ambassador
Russell was a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University. During the Obama-Biden administration, Ambassador
Russell served for all eight years at the White House and the U.S. Department of State,
including as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Second Lady Dr. Jill
Biden and the U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, where she led efforts to
integrate women’s issues into US foreign policy. Previously, she served as the senior
advisor on international women’s issues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, as the Staff Director
of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as Senior Counsel to Senator Patrick J. Leahy.
Ambassador Russell serves on multiple boards and advisory committees, including board
11co-chair of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, a board member of Women for Women
International, as well as a member of the Sesame Street Global Advisory Group, the
Leadership Council for Women in National Security Steering Committee, the National
Security Action Advisory Council, the Thomson Reuters Trust Women Foundation, and the
U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. A native of Pennsylvania, Ambassador Russell graduated
from Boston College and the George Washington University Law School. link
12Office of First Lady
Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden: Julissa Reynoso Pantaleong
graduate of Harvard University
Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon is a partner at the law firm of Winston & Strawn. During the
Obama-Biden administration, Reynoso served as U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay and as
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere in the U.S. Department of
State, where she developed comprehensive security and rule of law strategies for Central
America and the Caribbean. Reynoso serves on the boards of several nonprofit and
advocacy organizations, and was on the faculty of Columbia Law School and Columbia’s
School of International and Public Affairs. She serves as trustee for New York-Presbyterian
Hospital and for Columbia University, and is on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and the Truman National Security Project.
Reynoso was born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the United States at the age of
seven, and grew up in the Bronx, New York City. She clerked for Judge Laura Taylor Swain
of the Southern District of New York, and is a graduate of Harvard University, the
University of Cambridge, and Columbia Law School. link
Senior Advisor to Dr. Jill Biden: Anthony Bernal
Anthony Bernal was Deputy Campaign Manager and Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden on the
Biden-Harris Campaign. Bernal has served as a trusted advisor and assistant to the Biden
family for more than a decade. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Chief of Staff in the Office
of Dr. Biden. He served for all eight years of the Obama-Biden administration in multiple
leadership roles, including as Director of Scheduling and Trip Director for Dr. Biden, and as
Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to Dr. Biden. He was also
Director of Scheduling for Dr. Biden during the 2008 Obama-Biden campaign and served on
the Obama-Biden Transition Team as Director of Scheduling and Advance for Dr. Biden.
Bernal began his career in public service at the White House under both President Bill
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore on their scheduling and advance teams. Following the
2000 election, Bernal held a number of positions outside of government, including
international relations work at the Coca-Cola Company and AARP, and as Director of
Financial Administration of the Democratic National Convention Committee and Chief of
Staff at the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, a non-profit biotechnology company. A
native of Arizona, he is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso and attended
Carleton College. link
13Policy Director to Dr. Jill Biden: Mala Adiga
Mala Adiga served as a senior advisor to Dr. Jill Biden and a senior policy advisor on the
Biden-Harris Campaign. Previously, Adiga was Director for Higher Education and Military
Families at the Biden Foundation. During the Obama-Biden administration, Adiga served as
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs at the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues as Chief of
Staff and Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large, and as Director for Human Rights on
the National Security Staff. Prior to that, she was Counsel to the Associate Attorney General
in the Department of Justice. Before entering government service, Adiga worked on the
Obama-Biden 2008 presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, she was a litigation
associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago and clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Philip
Simon in the Northern District of Indiana. A native of Illinois, Adiga is a graduate of Grinnell
College, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and the University of Chicago
Law School. link
Communications Director for Dr. Jill Biden: Elizabeth E.
Alexander
Elizabeth E. Alexander served as a Senior Advisor on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Alexander
spent the first years of the Obama-Biden administration as the Press Secretary to Vice
President Biden, a role which followed her time as then-Senator Biden’s Communications
Director on Capitol Hill. She has worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys’
offices in Washington, DC and Alexandria, Virginia, where she also served as a counselor to
the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Previously, Alexander worked as Press
Secretary for the United Nations Foundation, Press Secretary to Democratic National
Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, Communications Director for Congressman Adam
Schiff, and Deputy Press Secretary for Senator Chuck Schumer. Before joining the Biden-
Harris campaign, Alexander was a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, where she
led the firm’s gender inclusion and workplace equality communications offering. Originally
from Texas, Alexander is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Georgetown University
Law Center. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and two young sons. link
White House Social Secretary: Carlos Elizondo
Carlos Elizondo was a Special Assistant to the President and Social Secretary to Vice
President and Dr. Jill Biden for all eight years of the Obama-Biden administration, the first
Hispanic American appointed to this position. In this role, he had responsibility for
planning, managing, and successfully executing all events hosted by the Vice President and
his family, to include visits by world leaders, members of Congress, business leaders, and
other high-ranking dignitaries and celebrities. During the Clinton-Gore administration,
Elizondo served in both the White House and in the Office of the U.S. Chief of Protocol,
14where he managed numerous state visits, Papal visits, the Centennial Olympic Games, the
NATO 50th Anniversary Summit and other international summits. Elizondo has held
several positions outside of government, including Senior Director of Presidential Events at
Georgetown University, Manager of Special Activities and Protocol at Walt Disney World,
and as an Estate Manager overseeing operations for a private family estate. Originally from
Texas, Elizondo is a graduate of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He
and his partner reside in Washington, D.C. link
15Office of the Vice President
Chief of Staff to the Vice President Hartina Flournoy *New*
Tina Flournoy currently serves as Chief of Staff to former President Bill Clinton. Prior to
joining President Clinton’s team, Flournoy was Assistant to the President for Public Policy
at the American Federation of Teachers, an international union representing over 1.6
million members, where she directed the work of the legislative, political, field and
mobilization, and human rights and community outreach departments. Flournoy has held a
number of positions in the Democratic Party over the past three decades, including serving
as the head of Governor Howard Dean’s Democratic National Committee transition team;
traveling chief of staff to 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joseph
Lieberman; Finance Director for the Gore 2000 Presidential Campaign; Deputy to the
Campaign Manager in the 1992 Clinton-Gore Presidential Transition Office; and, in the
White House Office of Presidential Personnel during the Clinton-Gore Administration. She
also served as General Counsel for the 1992 Democratic National Convention and Counsel
for the Democratic National Committee under Chairmen Paul Kirk and Ron Brown. After
law school, Flournoy served as law clerk to the Honorable Julia Cooper Mack of the District
of Columbia Court of Appeals. Originally from Georgia, Flournoy is a graduate of
Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center. link
Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President Rohini Kosoglu
*New*
Rohini Kosoglu currently serves as Senior Advisor to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on
the Biden-Harris Transition Team and previously served as Senior Advisor on the Biden-
Harris Campaign. Before that, she was a Spring 2020 resident fellow at the Institute of
Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Kosoglu has a
dedicated career in public service and was the first South Asian American woman to serve
as Chief of Staff in the United States Senate. She served as Vice-President Elect Harris’ Chief
of Staff for her Senate office and later for her presidential campaign. Before that, she was
Policy Director for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, where she oversaw economic,
health care and budget issues. She has negotiated several bipartisan bills into law and
served as a senior health care advisor during the drafting and passage of the Affordable
Care Act. She also previously served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow of
Michigan. Originally from New Jersey, Kosoglu is a graduate of the University of Michigan
and George Washington University and is a mother to three young children. link
National Security Advisor to the Vice President Nancy
McEldowney *New*
Ambassador Nancy McEldowney served for over 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service,
including as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria and as Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of
Mission in Turkey and Azerbaijan. During her time at the Department of State, she served
16as Director of the Foreign Service Institute, where she led the foreign affairs training facility
for the U.S. government, and also served as Interim President and Senior Vice President of
the National Defense University. Earlier in her career, she was a leading policy advisor on
Europe, including working for President Clinton as Director of European Affairs on the
National Security Council staff, and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she led the U.S. government’s engagement
with NATO, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe. Ambassador McEldowney is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and
is on advisory boards for Soldier Strong, Foreign Policy for America, National Security
Action, and the US Diplomatic Studies Foundation. Most recently, Ambassador McEldowney
served as a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service
program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Originally
from Florida, Ambassador McEldowney is a graduate of New College of Florida, Columbia
University and the National Defense University. link
Communications Director for the Vice President Ashley Etienne
Ashley Etienne served as a Senior Advisor on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Before that,
Etienne served as Communications Director and Senior Advisor to Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi, the first woman and person of color to hold the position. Etienne was Special
Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Cabinet in the Obama-
Biden administration and also led communications on President Obama’s signature My
Brother’s Keeper initiative. Prior to the Obama-Biden administration, she served as Deputy
Communications Director and Spokesperson for then-House Democratic Leader Pelosi,
Communications Director for House Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, Spokesperson for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and as
a Spokesperson in Virginia for the Obama-Biden Campaign in 2008. Etienne has provided
strategic counsel to clients while at Dewey Square Group and as president of her own
consulting firm, Etienne & Associates. Originally from Texas, Etienne is a graduate of Sam
Houston State University and Johns Hopkins University. link
Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President:
Symone Sanders
Symone Sanders served as a Senior Advisor on the Biden-Harris campaign. In 2016,
Sanders became the youngest presidential press secretary while working on U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders’s then-presidential campaign. Before joining the Biden-Harris campaign,
Sanders was a CNN political commentator and served as principal of the 360 Group LLC,
where she provided strategic communications guidance to organizations, businesses,
individuals, campaigns and candidates. Sanders is the former chair of the Coalition of
Juvenile Justice Emerging Leaders Committee and former member of the Federal Advisory
Committee on Juvenile Justice, where she worked to raise the profile of young voices in the
fight for juvenile justice reform and bring millennial perspectives to policy conversations.
17Originally from Nebraska, Sanders is a graduate of Creighton University. She currently lives
in Washington D.C. with her partner. link
Staff Positions to still be announced in the coming weeks link
KEY WHITE HOUSE STAFF
• Chairperson, National Economic Council
• Director, Domestic Policy Council
18The Cabinet – CONFIRMED Nominees and Appointees
Confirmation Team
Confirmations teams typically guide nominees through the process, including preparing for
hearings, navigating meetings with senators, and handling incoming pressure from outside
groups. The Biden team is also preparing a possible public relations blitz to "introduce
nominees to the American people," a transition official said, including the possibility of
having Cabinet nominees speak publicly before their confirmation hearings take place. link
It was announced this week that President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Jen Psaki to lead his
team overseeing Senate confirmation process for his future Cabinet nominations, Politico
reports. Psaki previously served as former President Obama’s White House.
Communications director Olivia Dalton, a former Biden Senate aide and campaign
consultant, will run communications and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin’s floor
director, Reema Dodin, to manage legislative strategy.
• Director Nomination team: Jen Psaki
• Communications Director: Olivia Alair Dalton
• Legislative Director: Reema Dodin
• Deputy Outreach Director for Confirmations: Jorge Neri
19NATIONAL SECURITY
Biden will nominate officials to lead the federal government's domestic and international
security efforts. These officials will oversee U.S. intelligence and defense as well as
spearhead relations with world leaders and international coalitions. All of these officials
must be confirmed by the Senate.
• Secretary of State - Anthony Blinken
• Secretary of Defense
• Secretary of Homeland Security – Alejandro Mayorkas
• CIA Director
• Director of National Intelligence – Avril Haines
• Ambassador to the United Nations – Linda Thomas-Greenfield
These Officials do not need to be confirmed by the Senate:
• National Security Advisor – Jake Sullivan
• Special Presidential Envoy for Climate – Fmr. Secretary John Kerry
Secretary of State: Antony Blinken
Antony Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations over three
decades, and has advised President-elect Biden on foreign policy since 2002.
From 2015 to 2017, Blinken served as Deputy Secretary of State under the Obama-Biden
administration. In that role, Blinken helped to lead diplomacy in the fight against ISIL, the
rebalance to Asia, and the global refugee crisis, while building bridges to the innovation
community. Before that, Blinken served as Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy
National Security Advisor to President Obama. He chaired the Deputies Committee, the
administration’s principal forum for formulating foreign policy. During the first Obama
term, he was National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden. Blinken served as
Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to
2008 and was a member of President Clinton’s National Security Council staff from 1994 to
2001.
Prior to serving as foreign policy advisor during the Biden-Harris campaign and transition,
Blinken served as managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global
Engagement and was the Herter/Nitze Distinguished Scholar at the Johns Hopkins School
of Advanced International Studies. Before entering public service, Blinken was a reporter
for The New Republic magazine, writing extensively on foreign policy. He is the author of
Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe, and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis. He has also served as a
contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and a global affairs analyst for CNN.
20Blinken is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School. Blinken graduated from
high school in Paris, where he lived from ages nine to eighteen. link
Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas
Would be first Latino to run DHS and tasked with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. A
Cuban-born naturalized American citizen
Alejandro Mayorkas is the first Latino and immigrant nominated to serve as Secretary of
Homeland Security. He has led a distinguished 30-year career as a law enforcement official
and a nationally-recognized lawyer in the private sector. Mayorkas served as the Deputy
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the Obama-Biden Administration
from 2013 to 2016, and as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from
2009 to 2013. During his tenure at DHS, he led the development and implementation of
DACA, negotiated cybersecurity and homeland security agreements with foreign
governments, led the Department’s response to Ebola and Zika, helped build and
administer the Blue Campaign to combat human trafficking, and developed an emergency
relief program for orphaned youth following the tragic January 2010 earthquake in
Haiti. Mayorkas also created the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate to
better ensure the integrity of the legal immigration system.
Mayorkas began his government service in the Department of Justice, where he served as
an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, specializing in the
prosecution of whitecollar crime. After nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor, he
became the youngest United States Attorney in the nation, overseeing prosecutions of
national significance, including the investigation and prosecution of financial fraud,
violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, public corruption, violent crime,
cybercrime, environmental crime, international money laundering, and securities fraud.
Mayorkas has also led a distinguished legal career in the private sector, at O’Melveny &
Myers and most recently WilmerHale, where he has specialized in strategic counseling and
crisis management. He serves several non-profit organizations focused on providing legal
services to the poor, refugee resettlement, and education for underprivileged youth.
Mayorkas was born in Havana, Cuba and was the highest-ranking Cuban American to serve
in the Obama-Biden Administration. Mayorkas received his bachelor’s degree with
distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Loyola Law
School. link
Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines
Would be the first woman to lead the intelligence community
21Avril Haines has worked with President-elect Biden in various roles for more than a
decade, and will become the first woman to serve as Director of National Intelligence.
During the Obama administration, Haines served as Assistant to the President and
Principal Deputy National Security Advisor from 2015-2017, during which time she led the
National Security Council’s (NSC) Deputies Committee. From 2013-2015, Haines was the
Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; she was the first woman to hold both of
these positions. Avril began her service in the Obama administration in 2010 as the NSC
Legal Advisor. From 2007-2008, Haines served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee while President-elect Biden served as chairman. Haines has
led the Transition’s National Security and Foreign Policy Team since its founding in June
2020. Prior to that time, she served in various roles including Senior Research Scholar at
Columbia University; a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory; and a member of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public
Service. Haines received her bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Chicago
and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. link
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Linda Thomas-
Greenfield
Retired Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat, is returning to public
service after retiring from a 35-year career with the U.S. Foreign Service in 2017. From
2013 to 2017 she served as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, where
she led the bureau focused on the development and management of U.S. policy toward sub-
Saharan Africa. Prior to this appointment, she served as Director General of the Foreign
Service and Director of Human Resources (2012-2013), leading a team in charge of the
State Department’s 70,000-strong workforce.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s distinguished Foreign Service career includes an
ambassadorship to Liberia (2008-2012), and postings in Switzerland (at the U.S. Mission to
the United Nations), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. In Washington, she
served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of African Affairs (2006-
2008), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (2004-2006).
Since 2017, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has led the Africa Practice at Albright
Stonebridge Group, a strategic commercial diplomacy firm chaired by former Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright. She was also the inaugural Distinguished Resident Fellow in
African Studies at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy from fall 2017 to spring 2019.
She joined ISD in spring 2017 as a Senior State Department Fellow. Ambassador Thomas-
Greenfield earned a B.A. from Louisiana State University and a M.A. from the University of
22Wisconsin, where she worked towards a PhD. She received an honorary Doctor of Law
degree from the University of Wisconsin in May 2018. link
National Security Advisor: Jake Sullivan
Has held teaching posts at Yale Law School, Dartmouth College, and the University of New
Hampshire
Jake Sullivan is currently a senior policy advisor to President-elect Biden and formerly
served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to then-Vice
President Joe Biden in the Obama-Biden administration. He previously served as Director
of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and as Deputy Chief of Staff to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During his time in government, Sullivan was a lead
negotiator in the initial talks that paved the way for the Iran nuclear deal and played a key
role in the U.S.-brokered negotiations that led to a ceasefire in Gaza in 2012. He also played
a key role in shaping the Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy at both the State Department and
the White House.
In the years following his service in the Obama-Biden administration, Sullivan was a Senior
Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he helped conceive and
design a bipartisan task force project on a foreign policy for the middle class. He also held
teaching posts at Yale Law School, Dartmouth College, and the University of New
Hampshire. He co-founded and co-chaired the advisory board for National Security Action,
a nonprofit national security advocacy organization, and served on the advisory boards of a
number of organizations involved in foreign policy and national security. Sullivan was also
a senior policy adviser on the Hillary for America presidential campaign in 2016. link
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate: Former Secretary John
Kerry
position marks the first time that the National Security Council will include an official
dedicated to climate change
John Kerry served as America’s 68th Secretary of State, the first sitting Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman to serve as Secretary in over a century.
Secretary Kerry elevated environmental challenges as diplomatic priorities, from oceans to
hydrofluorocarbons. He was a key architect of the Paris Climate Accord, and signed the
historic agreement to reduce carbon emissions with his granddaughter on his lap. The New
York Times described Kerry as “America’s Mr. Diplomacy,” leading on challenges from
nuclear non-proliferation to extremism.
23A Yale University graduate, Kerry volunteered for the Navy, serving two tours of duty in
Vietnam. He was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple
Hearts. Kerry was elected Massachusetts’ Lieutenant Governor in 1982 and US Senator in
1984.
In 2009, Kerry became Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The first
hearing he Chaired was on climate change. He also led Senate efforts to ratify a landmark
nonproliferation treaty, successfully intervened in Afghanistan’s election crisis, and
negotiated bipartisan domestic climate change legislation.
Kerry’s 2018 memoir, Every Day Is Extra, was a best-seller. He has most recently been Yale
University’s Distinguished Fellow for Global Affairs and Visiting Distinguished Statesman at
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace spearheading programming on climate
change and oceans. He co-founded World War Zero to unite unlikely allies on climate
change and is a Board Member of the American Security Project.
He and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry have a blended family of two daughters, three sons, and
seven grandchildren. link
24ECONOMIC POLICY
As the U.S. continues to fight through a recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic,
increased focus will be on whom Biden picks to lead his economic, financial and trade
policies. Many of these nominees will play crucial roles in determining further coronavirus
relief aid. These positions must also be confirmed by the Senate.
• Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen
o Deputy Secretary of the Treasury: Wally Adeyemo
• U.S. Trade Representative
• Secretary of Commerce
• Chief of Small Business Administration
• Director, Office of Management and Budget: Neera Tanden
• Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers: Cecilia Rouse
• Member of the Council of Economic Advisers: Jared Bernstein
• Member of the Council of Economic Advisers Heather Boushey
• Director of the National Economic Council: Brian Deese
Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen
Would be the first person to have served as Treasury Secretary, Chair of the Council of
Economic Advisors, and Chair of the Federal Reserve
If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department in its 231-year
history
Janet Yellen served as the 15th Chair of the Federal Reserve, the first woman to lead
America’s central banking system since its creation. Among the most accomplished and
decorated economists in modern history, if confirmed, she will become the first woman to
lead the Treasury Department in its 231 years of existence, and the first person to ever
serve as Treasury Secretary, Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Chair of the Council of
Economic Advisers.
Prior to her leadership of the Federal Reserve, Yellen served as the body’s Vice Chair from
2010 to 2014 following an earlier term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and as
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She served as Chair of the Council
of Economic Advisers under President Clinton, has held a litany of high-profile leadership
roles with national and international economics organizations, and has forged a prolific
career as a professor of economics, including as a faculty member at the University of
California at Berkeley for the last 40 years. Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Yellen
received her bachelor of arts degree from Brown University and her Ph.D. in economics
from Yale University. link
25Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Neera
Tanden
Career has focused on pursuing policies designed to support working families, foster broad-
based economic growth, and curb rampant inequality
Relied on food stamps and Section 8 housing as a child — a social safety net that offered her
single mother the foundation she needed to land a good job and punch her family’s ticket to
the middle class
Would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to lead the OMB
Neera Tanden currently serves as President & CEO of the Center for American Progress, an
organization dedicated to advancing policies that increase opportunity for every American.
A veteran of multiple presidential administrations, Tanden has been a leading architect and
advocate of policies designed to support working families, foster broad-based economic
growth, and curb inequality throughout her career. Her experience as a child relying on
food stamps and Section 8 housing — a social safety net that offered her single mother the
foundation she needed to land a good job and punch her family’s ticket to the middle class
— instilled in her the true necessity of an economy that serves the dignity and humanity of
all people. If confirmed, Tanden would be the first woman of color and the first South Asian
American to lead the OMB.
Prior to her tenure as President & CEO, Tanden held the post of Chief Operating Officer at
the Center for American Progress. She currently serves on the New Jersey Restart and
Recovery Commission, and previously served as senior adviser for health reform at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services developing policies and provisions of the
Affordable Care Act, as director of domestic policy for the first Obama-Biden presidential
campaign, and in a variety of other roles in government and on the campaign trail. A native
of Bedford, Massachusetts, Tanden received her bachelor of science degree from UCLA and
her JD from Yale Law School. link
Deputy Secretary of Treasury: Wally Adeyemo
Served the in the Obama-Biden administration as Deputy Director of the National Economic
Council and Deputy National Security Advisor
First Chief of Staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and current president of the
Obama Foundation
Wally Adeyemo currently serves as the president of the Obama Foundation, the non-profit
organization founded by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to
continue their work in service to their community, our nation, and the world. A leader with
26deep experience across both the economic and national security space, Adeyemo has
served as a trusted adviser to the country’s foremost policymakers in times of crisis.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Adeyemo served as the President’s senior
international economic adviser and held a broad range of posts, including Deputy National
Security Advisor, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, the first chief of staff of
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and senior advisor and deputy chief of staff at
the Department of the Treasury. Before and after his service in the Obama-Biden
Administration, he has advised a range of leading non-profit and private sector
organizations, including the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Born in Nigeria
and raised in southern California’s Inland Empire, Adeyemo received his bachelor of arts
degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his JD from Yale Law School. If
confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first African American Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
link
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers: Cecilia Rouse
Former member of the Obama-Biden Council of Economic Advisers, and dean of the Princeton
School of Public and International Affairs
If confirmed, she will become the first African American woman to lead the Council of
Economic Advisers in the 74 years of its existence
Cecilia Rouse currently serves as Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International
Affairs. If confirmed, she will become just the first African American and just the fourth
woman to lead the CEA in the 74 years of its existence. A renowned labor economist with
expertise centered in the economics of education and equality, she is an accomplished
leader who has held prominent roles across academia and government service.
Before taking on her current role as Dean in 2012, Rouse served as a member of the Council
of Economic Advisers in the Obama-Biden Administration and on the National Economic
Council in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant to President Clinton. Rouse
joined the Princeton faculty in 1992 and has authored landmark papers on a variety of
economic policy issues. Originally from California, Rouse received her bachelor of arts
degree and her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. link
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers: Jared Bernstein
Served as Vice-President Biden’s Chief Economist during in the first years of the Obama-Biden
Administration
Former social worker, with a distinguished career in economics, putting working people at
the center of his work and advocacy
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