Credit: Son Nguyen
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris named three Penn graduates to their incoming White House staff this week.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the Biden-Harris transition group introduced 27 further White House staffers to serve within the incoming administration, together with 2019 Penn Law graduate Ashley Williams as deputy director of Oval Office Operations and 1991 College graduate Michael Hochman as deputy staff secretary.
The transition group additionally named 2012 College graduate Sonya Bernstein as a COVID senior coverage advisor of the White House COVID-19 Response Team, in accordance to a separate press launch issued Tuesday.
The roll out completes the incoming administration’s aim of appointing 100 staffers by the top of this yr — double what the Obama administration had introduced by the top of 2008.
Before he was elected, Biden vowed to construct an administration that “appears like America,” and Biden and Harris proceed to emphasize the significance and advantages of a extra numerous staff. The group of 100-plus appointees is made up of 61% girls, 54% individuals of coloration, and nearly 20% first-generation Americans, in accordance to the press launch. Appointees who determine as LGBTQ account for 11% of all White House staff.
Many of the appointees are longtime Biden associates and Democratic get together aides who come from a variety of backgrounds, as reported by PBS NewsHour.
Williams, who’s the journey director for the transition group and served in the identical position on the Biden-Harris marketing campaign, would be the first Black woman to fill the position of deputy director of Oval Office Operations. Oval Office Operations staffers are largely responsible for managing the President’s private schedule, non-public engagements, and day-to-day affairs.
Williams has worked for the Biden household in plenty of roles, together with as senior assistant to Jill Biden on the White House through the Obama administration. She additionally labored as a particular advisor and director of particular initiatives on the United States Department of State for the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.
In May 2019, Williams concurrently obtained her Master’s diploma in Political Management from George Washington University and her Juris Doctorate from Penn.
Joining the Office of the Staff Secretary, Hochman will help in making ready the every day briefing ebook and making certain that particulars relating to actions, speeches, occasions, correspondence, and press releases are adequately vetted.
After majoring in Communication at Penn and receiving his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1995, Hochman gained intensive experience in each Federal and State courts and practiced with famend regulation companies. He has additionally served as an advisor and officer for a number of state and nationwide political campaigns and committees.
Hochman was additionally a detailed buddy and school roommate of Biden’s son, Beau, a fellow 1991 College graduate, in accordance to a earlier report by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Bernstein, who’s presently an advisor for COVID-19 on the Biden-Harris transition group, will be a part of members of the response group in efforts to “shortly implement a complete, whole-of-government COVID-19 response technique to include the pandemic, restore public belief, and shield all Americans,” in accordance to the Dec. 29 press launch.
After majoring in political science at Penn, Bernstein obtained her Master of Public Administration from the Fels Institute in 2012. Prior to her position with Biden’s administration, she served as assistant vice chairman at NYC Health + Hospitals and assistant secretary for well being & financial coverage for the State of New York. She has additionally served as deputy chief of staff and particular advisor to Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell on the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
With these new appointments underway, Biden is poised to take workplace in three weeks on Jan. 20, 2021.
