Jen Psaki

Background

Jennifer Rene Psaki, born December 1, 1978, in Stamford, Connecticut, is the eldest of three daughters. She was born to Eileen Medvey and Dimitrios R. Psaki. Psaki has Greek, Irish, and Polish ancestry. She is an American political advisor who graduated from Greenwich High School in 1996. In 2000, she graduated with a degree in English and Sociology from the College of William & Mary. Psaki became a member of the Chi Omega sorority and was a backstroke swimmer for Willliam & Mary Tribe, an athletic team, for two years.

Psaki is well known for her roles in the Barrack Obama and Joe Biden administrations. She began her political career in 2001 with the re-election campaigns of Tom Harkin and Tom Vilsack, Iowa Democrats. Psaki was a deputy press secretary in John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. Psaki then served as a communications director to U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley. During Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, she served as his traveling press secretary. After Obama won, Psaki moved into the White House and became his Press Secretary. In December 2009, Psaki got promoted to deputy communications director. She left the position in September 2011 to become the senior vice president and managing director at the Washington D.C. public relations office. For Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, she returned as a press secretary, and in February 2013, she became the spokesperson for the United States Department of State. In February 2017, Psaki started working on C.N.N. as a political commentator and left in November 2022 to join the Biden-Harris transition team. That same year, she got appointed press secretary for Joe Biden’s administration.

Psaki married Gregory Mecher, a former chief of staff to Steve Driehaus and Joe Kennedy, who are both congressmen. Psaki and Mecher are married with two children.