David Matos Simas (born January 5, 1970) is an American lawyer, former government official, and a former politician. He is the CEO of the

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), ...

* Also available at
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
/ref> and served in Barack Obama's administration as the White House Director of Political Affairs from 2014 to 2016.

Early life and education

Simas was born and raised in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

, the son of

Portuguese American Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship. Americans and ...

immigrant parents, Antonio and Deolinda Simas. Simas lost two of her fingers in a faulty machine at the silver factory where she worked when Simas was a child. The Portuguese immigrant lawyer who worked on the case inspired Simas to become a lawyer. He attended

Coyle and Cassidy High School Coyle & Cassidy High School and Middle School (formerly St. Mary's High School, Monsignor Coyle High School, and Coyle and Cassidy High School) was a private, Catholic Diocesan school located in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. The school ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stonehill College. He later earned a Juris Doctor from the

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 stud ...

in 1995.

Career

Simas began his political career working as an intern in Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office in 1989. He was later elected to the Taunton School Board in 1993 and the Taunton City Council in 1997 and 1999. He later served as president of the council and worked as an advisor to the mayor of Taunton. After leaving the city council he served as an assistant register of deeds for the Northern district office of the Bristol County Registry of Deeds. He was later elected as the new Register of Deeds of the Northern district of Bristol County in 2004.David M. Simas (D)
/ref> He won reelection in 2006 but later resigned to accept a position in Governor Deval Patrick's administration. He formerly served as deputy general counsel to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

Post Audit and Oversight Bureau and practiced law with the law firm of Gay & Gay Associates, PC. He worked as deputy chief of staff to

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

Deval Patrick from 2007 until 2009. In 2009, he joined the Obama

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

as a deputy assistant to the president, working under Senior Advisor David Axelrod. He worked as director of opinion research for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and then served as a liaison between the president and Democratic officials for two and a half years. Simas was appointed CEO of the Obama Foundation in December 2016.

Personal life

Simas married his high school sweetheart, Shauna. They have two daughters and live in Hyde Park in Chicago.

References

External links

Letter from David Simas, CEO - The Obama Foundation
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Simas, David 1970 births American political consultants Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Boston College Law School alumni Living people Obama administration personnel Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Stonehill College alumni 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Massachusetts lawyers