Ellen Moran reflects on her career in American politics and public affairs, and discusses her work in the Obama administration, in which she served as White House communications director from January to April 2009, and chief of staff to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke from April 2009 to 2011. Moran recounts the development of her interest in politics, and speaks widely about her work at EMILY's Li st, providing details about the organization's efforts to elect women to public office; the importance of small-dollar donations to the organization; its service as a distributor of information about women in politics; and its support of Hillary Clinton's campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party primary election. She also outlines her approach to modernizing the communications operations of the White House upon her arrival in 2009, and describes the challenge of adapting to the emergence of new, digital, and social media. Moran also provides an overview of the scope of Commerce Department activities, and recounts the importance of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Commerce Department offices and programs; the effort to expand broadband access across the country; the conduct of the decennial census and the counting of undocumented Americans; SelectUSA and initiatives to promote foreign direct investment in the U.S.; and her participation in Commerce Department foreign travel and international trade missions. Also discussed are the prominence of women among the senior staff of the Obama White House; Moran's involvement in union politics during the mid-2000s; the reception of Gary Locke and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in China; and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
Presidents--United States; Communication policy--United States; Women--Political activity--United States; Internet access--Government policy--United States; Moran, Ellen; Obama, Barack; SelectUSA (Firm); United States; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
43 pages
Note (Biographical)
Ellen Moran is an American public servant, political operative, and communications professional. In the Obama administration, she served as White House communications director from January to April 2009, and chief of staff to Secretary of Commerce Gar y Locke from April 2009 to 2011. Before joining the administration, Moran was executive director of EMILY's List, and prior to that she worked in the political department at the AFL-CIO, coordinating Walmart's corporate accountability activities. She has also worked with the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and several political campaigns
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on January 13, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Ellen L. Moran, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023