Alyssa Mastromonaco

Alyssa Mende Mastromonaco (born February 22, 1976)[1] is an American author, podcaster, spokeswoman, and former government official. She served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for operations in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014.[2][3][4] She was the youngest woman to hold that position.[5] She was later President of Global Communications Strategy & Talent at A&E Networks[6][7] and the chief operating officer of Vice Media.[8] She has also been a contributing editor at Marie Claire magazine.[9] Since 2017, Mastromonaco has been a podcaster with Crooked Media.

Alyssa Mastromonaco
Mastromonaco at the White House in 2009
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
In office
January 27, 2011 – May 22, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJim Messina
Succeeded byAnita Decker Breckenridge
Personal details
Born
Alyssa Mende Mastromonaco

(1976-02-22) February 22, 1976
Rhinebeck, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
David Krone
​
(m. 2013)​
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison (BA)

Early life and education

Mastromonaco grew up in Rhinebeck, New York. Her father was a business consultant and her mother was a high school lunch aide.[4]

In 1994, she graduated from Rhinebeck High School.[10] During high school Mastromonaco worked in various jobs, including her first job as a checkout person at a grocery store called Kilmer's IGA.[11]

Mastromonaco went to the University of Vermont for two years, majoring in French with a minor in Japanese. She then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1998.[4][12][13]

Career

The summer after her sophomore year of college, after seeing then-Congressman Bernie Sanders speak on campus, Mastromonaco was hired by Philip Fiermonte to work as an intern for Sanders in his Burlington, Vermont, district office. At that time, Sanders was campaigning for his fourth term in the United States House of Representatives. Mastromonaco has said that the experience inspired her to work in government after seeing how it was possible to help people doing constituent work on a grassroots level. Although she had transferred to Wisconsin to study French, the summer working for Sanders shifted her passion from studying French and Japanese to studying political science.[14] She cites Fiermonte as a great mentor during an important time in her life.[5] The next summer, Mastromonaco was invited to work for Sanders in Washington, D.C.[11]

After college Mastromonaco wanted to continue working in government but couldn't find a job, so she worked as a real-estate investment-trust paralegal, which she said was instrumental in teaching her how to work well as part of a team.[5] The job was in the World Trade Center.[15][11]

In 2000, Mastromonaco moved to Boston and got her first job in politics as a staff assistant to Senator John Kerry. For a short time, after 9/11, she worked at a Republican lobbyist group, Richard Berman's American Beverage Institute, as director of membership.[11][16][17] In 2002, Mastromonaco was hired as Press Secretary for Congressman Rick Boucher of Virginia, but in December 2002 went back to work for Kerry. In 2004, Mastromonaco was hired as the director of scheduling for Kerry's presidential campaign.[9][18]

Obama administration

Starting in February 2004, Mastromonaco joined the then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama's campaign during his run for United States Senate. She was hired as Director of Scheduling.[19] The team who made up that office included Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Robert Gibbs, and Pete Rouse.[15]

From 2007 to 2008, Mastromonaco was Political Director for Obama's Political Action Committee (PAC), Hopefund, during the 2006 midterm elections.[20] The mission of the PAC was to teach young people who had no experience in the political process how to be field and community organizers.[11] Following Obama's announcement in February 2007, Mastromonaco served as Director of Scheduling and Advance for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.[4]

In November 2008, Mastromonaco was appointed Director of Scheduling and Advance in the administration of President Barack Obama.[4][21]

In January 2011, she was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.[20] In November 2011, The New Republic magazine listed Mastromonaco on its "2011 List Issue" as being one of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.[22] Along with Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, it was the first time a presidential administration had two women deputies in power.[23] She was notable for her long institutional memory, the ability to understand logistics, and her low-key approach to the position.[24][25]

In May 2014, Mastromonaco left her position as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.[15][24][26] She was replaced by Anita Decker Breckenridge.[27]

Post-White House

In June 2014, Mastromonaco was hired as a contributing editor at Marie Claire.[28][29] In January 2015, Mastromonaco joined Vice Media as chief operating officer.[8] She left Vice after two years for its parent company, A&E Networks. She left this role in 2018.[30]

Mastromonaco's first book, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House, was published by Twelve in March 2017.[31]

In 2017, Mastromonaco became a contributor to Crooked Media. There, she co-hosts the podcast Hysteria and appears on other Crooked Media podcasts.[32][33]

Personal life

In November 2013, Mastromonaco married David Krone, who had worked with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and was his Chief of Staff from 2008 to 2015.[34][35] They were married by Justice Elena Kagan at the Supreme Court.[24] As of 2015, the couple lives in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City.[36][37]

Boards and memberships

Published books
  • Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?, Hachette Book Group, 2017, ISBN 978-1-4555-8822-0, ISBN 978-1-4555-8821-3
  • So Here's the Thing . . .: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older, and Trusting Your Gut, Grand Central Publishing, 2019, ISBN 978-1-5387-3155-0

References
  1. "A Mastromonaco – United States Public Records". FamilySearch.
  2. "'Obama's People': A Who's Who". The New York Times. January 18, 2009.
  3. Murray, Shailagh (December 22, 2008). "The Busy Life of Obama Scheduler Alyssa Mastromonaco". The Washington Post.
  4. "Barbara K. Fergus Women in Leadership Lecture Featuring Alyssa Mastromonaco – 2014 Fergus Leadership Lecture". John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Ohio State University. November 13, 2014.
  5. "Alyssa Mastromonaco, A&E Television Networks LLC: Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  6. Andreeva, Nellie (December 21, 2016). "Vice Media COO Alyssa Mastromonaco Joins A+E Networks As President Of Global Communications Strategy & Talent". Deadline. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  7. Steel, Emily (November 16, 2014). "Vice Hires Alyssa Mastromonaco, Former Official in Obama White House, as a Top Executive". The New York Times.
  8. Cherlin, Reid (April 29, 2013). "Alyssa Mastromonaco: The White House Gatekeeper". Marie Claire.
  9. Tumulty, Brian (January 28, 2011). "Rhinebeck native promoted to Obama deputy chief of staff". Poughkeepsie Journal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011.
  10. Amoruso, Sophia (July 14, 2016). "#Girlboss Radio: Alyssa Mastromonaco, COO of Vice Media & Former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Obama". Nasty Galaxy. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  11. Price, Jenny (Summer 2010). "Right On Schedule". On Wisconsin.
  12. "Board of Visitors: Political Science". Department of Political Science. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  13. Handler, Chelsea (October 20, 2016). "That's When Madea Was Born" (Video interview). Chelsea. Netflix.
  14. Rose, Charlie (April 17, 2014). "Alyssa Mastromonaco" (Video interview, includes transcript). Charlie Rose.
  15. Retter, Daphne (July 18, 2002). "People on the move". Congressional Quarterly Daily Monitor.
  16. "Alyssa Mastromonaco". WhoRunsGov.com. The Washington Post. June 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009.
  17. Mastromonaco, Alyssa (July 17, 2014). "Being informed and fashionable is natural for women". The Washington Post.
  18. McCormick, John (June 11, 2007). "Chicago is heart, brain center of Obama campaign". Chicago Tribune.
  19. Tapper, Jake (January 27, 2011). "Jay Carney to Be New W.H. Press Secretary". ABC News.
  20. "Alyssa Mastromonaco named White House Director of Scheduling and Advance". Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team. November 25, 2008. Archived from the original on November 26, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
  21. The Editors (October 12, 2011). "Washington's Most Powerful, Least Famous People. Alyssa Mastromonaco: White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations". The New Republic. {{cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  22. Newton-Small, Jay (January 5, 2016). "Meet the Obama White House's 'Smurfettes'". Time.
  23. Calmes, Jackie (March 8, 2014). "Long Wielding Power Behind the Scenes, Now Taking Her Leave". The New York Times.
  24. Golden, Melissa (July 31, 2013). "Alyssa Mastromonaco for Marie Claire". The Golden Hour. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  25. Rose, Charlie (April 17, 2014). "Longtime Obama aide Alyssa Mastromonaco on working with the president and leaving the White House". CBS This Morning. CBS News.
  26. Favole, Jared A. (March 19, 2014). "Meet Anita Decker Breckenridge, Obama's New Deputy Chief of Staff". The Wall Street Journal.
  27. O'Shea, Chris (June 18, 2014). "Alyssa Mastromonaco Joins Marie Claire". Adweek.
  28. "Alyssa Mastromonaco Named Contributing Editor to Marie Claire". Hearst. June 18, 2014.
  29. "Mastromonaco exits A+E communications post". New York Post. July 10, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  30. "Back at the White House, this time to protest: ex Obama aide has some advice". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  31. "Crooked Media Announces New Site, Pod, Store, and Network of Very Fine People on Both Sides | Crooked Media". Crooked Media. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  32. "Hysteria". Crooked Media. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  33. Horowitz, Jason (November 21, 2014). "The Making of a Washington Power Couple". The New York Times.
  34. Horowitz, Jason (April 10, 2015). "David Krone Leaves Latest Washington Stint, Quietly". The New York Times.
  35. Halberg, Morgan (December 10, 2015). "Political Power Couple Alyssa Mastromonaco and David Krone Make Moves to Tribeca". The New York Observer.
  36. Horowitz, Jason (November 21, 2014). "Reid Is Unapologetic as Aide Steps on Toes, Even the President's". The New York Times.
  37. "Board of Directors – HeadCount". HeadCount.
  38. "Board of Trustees". John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
  39. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. August 20, 2014 – via National Archives.
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