Biden appoints Jen Psaki press officer, senior all-female communications team

Elizabeth E. Alexander, Director of Communications for the First Lady

Elizabeth E. Alexander was a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign. Alexander spent the early years of the Obama-Biden administration as Vice President Biden’s press secretary, a role that followed his stint as Senator Biden’s director of communications on Capitol Hill. She has worked as a federal prosecutor in the offices of the United States attorneys in Washington, DC and Alexandria, Virginia, where she also served as an advisor to the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Previously, Alexander worked as a press secretary for the United Nations Foundation, press secretary to Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, communications director to Congressman Adam Schiff and deputy press secretary to Senator Chuck Schumer. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris campaign, Alexander was Senior Managing Director of FTI Consulting, where she led the company’s communications offering on gender inclusion and equality in the workplace. 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.

Kate Bedingfield, White House Director of Communications

Kate Bedingfield was deputy campaign manager and communications director for the Biden-Harris campaign. She served as Vice President Biden’s director of communications and deputy director of communications, deputy director of media affairs and director of the Obama-Biden White House response. Prior to the Obama-Biden administration, Bedingfield was communications director for US Senator Jeanne Shaheen for her 2008 Senate campaign, assistant to the national press secretary for the John Edwards campaign for president, and regional press secretary. for the Congressional Democratic campaign committee in 2006 when the Democrats reconquered the House. Bedingfield has also served as chief spokesperson and vice president of corporate communications at the Motion Picture Association of America and 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.

Ashley Etienne, Vice President’s Communications Director

Ashley Etienne was a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign. Previously, Etienne was Director of Communications and Senior Advisor to House President Nancy Pelosi, the first woman and person of color to hold this position. Etienne served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Obama-Biden administration’s cabinet and also led communications on President Obama’s signature initiative My Brother’s Keeper. Prior to the Obama-Biden administration, she served as deputy director of communications and spokesperson for then-Democratic leader Pelosi, director of communications for House Democrats on the Government Review and Reform Committee, spokesperson of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and as the Virginia Spokesman for the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008. Etienne has provided strategic advice to clients within the Dewey Square Group and as chairman of his own consulting firm, Etienne & Associates. Originally from Texas, Etienne is a graduate of Sam Houston State University and Johns Hopkins University.

Karine Jean Pierre, Deputy Principal Press Officer

Karine Jean-Pierre was a senior advisor to President-elect Joe Biden and chief of staff to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for the Biden-Harris campaign. Prior to her role in the campaign, she was chief public affairs officer for MoveOn.org and political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Jean-Pierre was Regional Political Director in the Office of Political Affairs at the White House during the Obama-Biden administration and Deputy Director of Battlefield States for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. She was Regional Policy Director Southeast for President Obama’s 2008 Campaign, Deputy Director of Martin O’Malley’s Campaign for President, Campaign Director for the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Initiative, and Deputy Chief of Staff and director of legislative and budgetary affairs for two members of the New York City Council. Previously, she worked at the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics, pushing large companies to change their business practices. Born in Martinique and raised in New York, Jean-Pierre is a graduate of Columbia University.

Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary

Jen Psaki is currently overseeing the confirmations team for the Biden-Harris transition. During the Obama-Biden administration, Psaki held a number of leadership positions, including White House communications director, State Department spokesman 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 three presidential campaign veteran having served as a traveling press secretary during the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008, as a traveling press secretary and senior advisor in 2012, and as an assistant press secretary for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004. Psaki was a spokesperson on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006, when Democrats recaptured the House of Representatives, and also served as communications director for former Congressman Joe Crowley. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Transition Team, Psaki was vice president of 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.

Symone Sanders, Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President

Symone Sanders was a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign. In 2016, Sanders became the youngest presidential press secretary while working on U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris campaign, Sanders was a political commentator on CNN and was a director of 360 Group LLC, where she provided strategic communications advice to organizations, businesses, individuals, campaigns and candidates. Sanders is the former chair of the Coalition of Juvenile Justice Emerging Leaders Committee and a former member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, where she worked to raise awareness of young voices in the fight for juvenile justice reform and provide millennial perspectives to political discussions. . A native of Nebraska, Sanders is a graduate of Creighton University. She currently lives in Washington DC with her partner.

Pili Tobar, White House Deputy Director of Communications

Pili Tobar was communications director for the coalitions on the Biden-Harris campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, Tobar served as Deputy Director of America’s Voice, where she advocated for immigrants. She has also served as the Director of Hispanic Media for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, National Director of Hispanic Media and Western Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee, Director of Communications for Congressman Ruben Gallego and Director communications 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 DC with his wife and daughter.