Jen O'Malley Dillon

American political strategist (born 1976)
Jen O'Malley Dillon
O'Malley Dillon in the White House Oval Office in 2023
White House Deputy Chief of Staff
In office
January 20, 2021 – February 8, 2024
Serving with Bruce Reed and Natalie Quillian
PresidentJoe Biden
Chief of StaffRon Klain
Jeff Zients
Preceded byEmma Doyle
Succeeded byAnne Tomasini
Personal details
Born
Jennifer Brigid O'Malley

(1976-09-28) September 28, 1976 (age 47)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpousePatrick Dillon
Children3
RelativesMatt O'Malley (cousin)
EducationTufts University (BA)

Jennifer Brigid O'Malley Dillon (born September 28, 1976)[1] is an American political strategist and campaign manager serving as a top leader of Joe Biden's 2024 presidential campaign.[2] She was a White House deputy chief of staff during Biden's first three years as president, after managing his 2020 presidential campaign. She was the manager of Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign of the same year. She is the first female presidential campaign manager for a winning Democratic ticket.[3]

Early life and education

O'Malley Dillon's great-grandparents were Irish Catholic immigrants from Gorumna Island, County Galway.[4][5] Born in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, she has three siblings. Her parents are Kevin O'Malley, a school administrator, and Kathleen O'Malley.[6] When O'Malley Dillon was a child the family relocated from Jamaica Plain to Franklin, Massachusetts, to be closer to her father's job.[6]

O'Malley Dillon attended Tufts University, where she majored in political science and was captain of the university's softball team.[6] In 1998, she earned her bachelor's degree.[7][8] O'Malley Dillon decided she wanted to work in politics while on a family vacation to Washington, D.C.[6]

Career

O'Malley Dillon's first role in politics was answering phones for Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger. She joined Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign as a field organizer in 1999 and rose to become a regional field director by the end of the campaign. She worked as a field director for the U.S. Senate campaigns of Tim Johnson and Mary Landrieu. In 2003, she worked as Iowa field director for John Edwards's 2004 presidential campaign, and, after Edwards left the race, became deputy campaign manager for Senator Tom Daschle's reelection campaign.[7][8]

In 2007, O'Malley Dillon again went to work for John Edwards on his 2008 presidential campaign as his Iowa state director and later deputy campaign manager. After Edwards was again eliminated, she joined Barack Obama's presidential campaign for the general election as battleground states director. After Obama's election, she worked on the presidential transition as associate director of personnel, and then was hired as the executive director of the Democratic National Committee under Tim Kaine.[7][8]

In 2011, O'Malley Dillon joined Obama's 2012 reelection campaign as deputy campaign manager, contributing to Project Narwhal.[9] After Obama's reelection, she co-founded the political consulting firm Precision Strategies with fellow Obama campaign alumni Stephanie Cutter and Teddy Goff. She led Precision's consulting effort for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election.[7][8]

After the 2016 United States presidential election, O'Malley Dillon chaired the Democratic National Committee's Unity Reform Commission. In 2019, she was involved in an effort by Democratic Party data and political personnel to create a data exchange to allow for greater information sharing between Democratic campaigns and allies, a project that party leaders see as crucial for catching up with the Republican data program.[10] Later in 2019, she was hired as manager of Beto O'Rourke's 2020 presidential campaign.[7][8][11]

Through Precision, O'Malley Dillon also advised Gates Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Bill Gates; the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan; General Electric; and Lyft; her deferred compensation and severance from Precision was at least $420,000.[12]

Jen O'Malley Dillon in 2021

In April 2020, O'Malley Dillon was announced as the new manager for Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. She succeeded Greg Schultz and Anita Dunn, who had shared campaign management duties for the previous month and remained with the campaign as senior advisors.[10] O'Malley Dillon was the first person to serve as Biden's campaign manager who was not related to him. Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens, had served as Biden's campaign manager for all his previous campaigns, but only served in a senior advisory role in his 2020 presidential campaign.[13] On November 16, 2020, it was announced that O'Malley Dillon would assume the role of White House deputy chief of staff in the administration.[14][15]

In January 2024, it was reported that O'Malley Dillon planned to leave the White House to become Biden's 2024 reelection campaign chair.[16]

Personal life

O'Malley Dillon is married to Patrick Dillon. They have three children. Her second cousin, Matt O'Malley, served on the Boston City Council from 2010 to 2022, and served as its acting president for most of 2021.[6]

References

  1. ^ Jen O'Malley Dillon [@jomalleydillon] (September 29, 2018). "For my birthday I'm honoring women by giving them money. Here's my list so far-Will take requests" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Epstein, Reid J. (January 23, 2024). "Two Top Biden Aides Are Taking the Reins of His Re-election Campaign". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Smith, Chris. ""She Is a Master": Joe Biden's Campaign Manager Told the Political Future—And Was Right". Vanity Fair. No. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  4. ^ O'Malley / Conneely Family History
  5. ^ Weaver, Courtney (November 20, 2020). "History maker: how Jen O'Malley Dillon steered Joe Biden's run to the White House". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e King, Alison (16 November 2020). "Who Is Mass. Native Jennifer O'Malley Dillon? Meet Biden's New Deputy Chief of Staff". NBC Boston. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Beto for America". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Jen O'Malley Dillon". Precision Strategies. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Christmas, S. A. (2014, June 10). Vice President for Legal Investigations letter complaining of violations of the FEC Act by Obama for America, etc. [Letter written January 8, 2014 to Office of General Counsel, Federal Election Commission]. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/6772/15044380595.pdf
  10. ^ a b Scherer, Michael (March 12, 2020). "Joe Biden appoints Jen O'Malley Dillon as new campaign manager". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Svitek, Patrick (March 25, 2016). "Beto O'Rourke hires former top Obama aide as campaign manager". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Schwartz, Brian (2021-03-20). "Biden's closest advisors have ties to big business and Wall Street with some making millions". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  13. ^ Gibson, Jenna; O'Keefe, Ed (March 12, 2020). "Biden taps new campaign manager as focus shifts to general election". CBS News. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Merica, Dan; Zeleny, Jeff (November 16, 2020). "Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon to get top White House job". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  15. ^ Korecki, Natasha; Thompson, Alex (November 16, 2020). "Biden begins to fill top White House positions". Politico. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  16. ^ Saenz, MJ Lee, Jeff Zeleny, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Arlette (2024-01-24). "Biden's top White House advisers will move to campaign | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

  • Appearances on C-SPAN Edit this at Wikidata
  • Jen O'Malley Dillon at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • Jennifer O'Malley Dillon at Ballotpedia
  • Jen O’Malley Dillon profile from the Biden-Harris Administration website
Political offices
Preceded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff
2021–present 		Incumbent
  • v
  • t
  • e
Office Name Term Office Name Term
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients 2023–pres. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan 2021–pres.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon 2021–pres. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer 2021–pres.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed 2021–pres. Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall 2021–pres.
Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti 2021–pres. White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt 2023–pres.
Deputy White House Communications Director Pili Tobar 2021–pres. Senior Advisor to the President Mike Donilon 2021–pres.
Kate Berner 2021–pres. Anita Dunn 2021, 2022-pres.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre 2022–pres.
Director, Public Engagement Stephen K. Benjamin 2022–pres. Deputy Press Secretary Vacant 2022–pres.
Director, Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez 2023–pres.
Director, Speechwriting Vinay Reddy 2021–pres. Chair, Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein 2023–pres.
Director, Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty 2021–pres. Director, Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden 2023–pres.
Director, Legislative Affairs Shuwanza Goff 2023–pres. White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan 2021–pres.
Director, Presidential Personnel Gautam Raghavan 2022–pres. Director, Oval Office Operations Annie Tomasini 2021–pres.
White House Staff Secretary Stefanie Feldman 2023-pres. Personal Aide to the President Stephen Goepfert 2021–pres.
Director, Management and Administration Dave Noble 2022–pres. Chief of Staff to the First Lady Vacant 2022–pres.
Director, Scheduling and Advance Ryan Montoya 2021–pres. Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar 2022–pres.
White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo 2021–pres. Director, Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young 2021–pres.
Chief of Staff to the Vice President Lorraine Voles 2022–pres. United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai 2021–pres.
White House Chief Usher Robert B. Downing 2021–pres. Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta 2021–pres.
Director, White House Military Office Vacant 2022–pres. Chair, Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory 2021–pres.
(s) Indicates nominee requiring Senate confirmation.