Crowdfunding company GoFundMe said this week it has hired Dan Pfeiffer, President Obama’s former communications director and senior advisor, as its new vice president of communications and policy.
Pfeiffer’s move from the Beltway to Silicon Valley is the latest in a growing list of White House alums who are joining some of tech’s biggest and brightest companies.
Here are some of the most notable ex-Obama staffers in tech today:
Jay Carney
Previous post: Press secretary (2011-2014)
Now: Senior VP of corporate affairs, Amazon (AMZN)
The ex-Washington bureau chief of TIME magazine (TIME) made the move into the public sector, first as Vice President Joe Biden’s director of communications, then as Obama’s chief point person with the media. Carney joined Amazon in March and penned a rebuttal against the New York Times’ unflattering story of the company.
David Plouffe
Previous post: Obama’s campaign manager and senior advisor (2011-2013)
Now: Chief advisor and board member, Uber
Pfeiffer’s predecessor—credited as one of the masterminds behind Obama’s 2008 campaign win—joined Uber as its senior vice president for policy and strategy last year to help with the company’s image and branding. He has since joined the board. Other Obama alums joining Plouffe at Uber, include ex-assistant press secretary Jessica Santillo and ex-director of strategic and message initiatives Jordan Burke.
Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean
Previous post: Special assistant to the President and White House director of research (2009-2011)
Now: Head of communications, Nuna
Jarvis-Shean worked at CNBC before jumping on board Obama’s team as its research guru. She then left and joined Silicon Valley darling Tesla (TSLA) as its director of global communications. Jarvis-Shean is now head of communications at Nuna, a health-based startup.
Katie Jacobs Stanton
Previous post: Obama’s director of citizen participation (2009-2010)
Now: VP of global media, Twitter (TWTR)
Stanton has made a circuitous route to tech and back, as she was hired away from Google (GOOG) to be the specially-created director of “citizen participation” under Obama, using online tools to engage with netizens. She left in 2010 to take up a leading post in Twitter, and to dream up engagement opportunities for the company’s global audience.
Michael Masserman
Previous post: Obama’s campaign regional political director and executive director for export policy, promotion, and strategy (2008-2014)
Now: Director of international government relations, Lyft
First a part of Obama’s nascent team as political advisor in the North Carolina primary, Masserman climbed the ranks to work in the Department of Commerce on export policy initiatives. He now helps Lyft work with governments on smoothing out policy issues.
Semonti Stephens
Previous post: Deputy communications director to the First Lady (2009-2013)
Now: Product communications manager, Square (SQ)
Stephens was Michelle Obama’s right hand on publicizing issues such as tackling childhood obesity and support for military families. She left the First Lady to join the newly publicly listed Square, working on projects such as its cash advance program, Square Capital.
Kyle O’Connor
Previous post: Speechwriter and special assistant to the President (2009-2014)
Now: Communications strategist, Nest
A part of the legion of talented speechwriters in Obama’s team—and one of the youngest Presidential speechwriters in history—O’Connor now lends his communications input at smart home company and the Google-owned Nest.
Nick Papas
Previous post: Assistant press secretary (2011-2013)
Now: Director of public affairs, Airbnb
Aside from being the press secretary, Papas also worked as the communications director for the White House’s Office of Health Reform before joining Airbnb in April 2013. Other Obama alums at the online rental services company include ex-assistant press secretary Clark Stevens and Courtney O’Connell, ex-aide to Jill Biden.
