Jennifer Brigid O'Malley Dillon (born September 28, 1976) is an American political strategist and
campaign manager
{{Political campaigning
A campaign manager, campaign chairman, or campaign director is a paid or volunteer individual whose role is to coordinate a political campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote ( ...
serving as the
White House deputy chief of staff
The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...
under President
Joe Biden. She was the manager of Biden's
2020 presidential campaign. O'Malley Dillon previously served as the manager of
Beto O'Rourke's 2020 presidential campaign. She is the first female presidential campaign manager for a winning Democratic ticket.
Early life and education
O'Malley Dillon's great-grandparents were
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...
immigrants from
Gorumna Island, County Galway. Born in the
Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
neighborhood of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, she has three siblings. Her parents are Kevin O'Malley, a school administrator, and Kathleen O'Malley.
When O'Malley Dillon was a child the family relocated from Jamaica Plain to
Franklin, Massachusetts
The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their o ...
, to be closer to her father's job.
O'Malley Dillon attended
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
, where she majored in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and was captain of the university's
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
team.
In 1998, she earned her bachelor's degree.
O'Malley Dillon decided she wanted to work in politics while on a family vacation to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Career
O'Malley Dillon's first role in politics was answering phones for
Massachusetts attorney general
The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...
Scott Harshbarger
Luther Scott Harshbarger (born December 1, 1941) is an American attorney and Democratic politician. He served as the 56th Massachusetts Attorney General from 1991 to 1999. In 1998, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts but l ...
. She joined
Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign as a field organizer in 1999 and rose to become a regional field director by the end of the campaign. She worked as a field director for the U.S. Senate campaigns of
Tim Johnson and
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasure ...
. In 2003, she worked as Iowa field director for
John Edwards's 2004 presidential campaign, and, after Edwards left the race, became deputy campaign manager for Senator
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...
's reelection campaign.
In 2007, O'Malley Dillon again went to work for
John Edwards
Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
on his
2008 presidential campaign as his Iowa state director and later deputy campaign manager. After Edwards was again eliminated, she joined
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's
presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
for the general election as battleground states director. After Obama's election, she worked on the
presidential transition as associate director of personnel, and then was hired as the executive director of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
under
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
.
In 2011, O'Malley Dillon joined
Obama's 2012 reelection campaign as deputy campaign manager, contributing to
Project Narwhal Project Narwhal is the name of a computer program used by the 2012 campaign by Barack Obama. It was contrasted in the Mitt Romney presidential campaign by Project Orca, so named because the orca is one of the few predators of the narwhal. Develo ...
. After Obama's reelection, she co-founded the political consulting firm Precision Strategies with fellow Obama campaign alumni
Stephanie Cutter
Stephanie Cutter (born October 22, 1968) is an American political consultant. She served as an advisor to President Barack Obama during his first presidential term, and was deputy campaign manager for his 2012 re-election campaign. She previo ...
and Teddy Goff. She led Precision's consulting effort for the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
in the
2015 Canadian federal election
The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister.
The election was held to elect m ...
.
After the
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, O'Malley Dillon chaired the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
's Unity Reform Commission. In 2019, she was involved in an effort by Democratic Party data and political personnel to create a data exchange to allow for greater information sharing between Democratic campaigns and allies, a project that party leaders see as crucial for catching up with the Republican data program.
Later in 2019, she was hired as manager of
Beto O'Rourke's 2020 presidential campaign.
Through Precision, O'Malley Dillon also advised Gates Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
; the
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifetime ...
, founded by
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...
and his wife,
Priscilla Chan
Priscilla Chan (born February 24, 1985) is an American philanthropist and a former pediatrician. She and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in December 2015, with a p ...
;
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
; and
Lyft
Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic ...
; her deferred compensation and severance from Precision was at least $420,000.
In April 2020, O'Malley Dillon was announced as the new manager for
Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. She succeeded
Greg Schultz
Greg Schultz (born 1981) is an American political advisor. He served as the campaign manager and general election strategist for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign, the senior advisor to Vice President Biden under President Barack Obama, a ...
and
Anita Dunn
Anita Dunn ( Babbitt; born January 8, 1958) is an American political strategist serving as a senior advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, having originally held the post from January 20, 2021 to August 12, 2021, and returning May 5, 2022.
Previo ...
, who had shared campaign management duties for the previous month and remained with the campaign as senior advisors.
O'Malley Dillon was the first person to serve as Biden's campaign manager who was not related to him. Biden's sister,
Valerie Biden Owens
Valerie Biden Owens (November 5, 1945) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and former educator. She is the younger sister of Joe Biden, the 46th and current President of the United States. In 2016, president Barack Obama nom ...
, had served as Biden's campaign manager for all his previous campaigns, but only served in a senior advisory role in his 2020 presidential campaign. On November 16, 2020, it was announced that O'Malley Dillon would assume the role of
White House deputy chief of staff
The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...
in the administration.
Personal life
O'Malley Dillon is married to Patrick Dillon. They have three children. Her second cousin is
Matt O'Malley
Matthew Joseph O'Malley is an American politician and businessman who served as president of the Boston City Council in 2021. He was elected as the District 6 representative in a special election on November 16, 2010, and was re-elected in 2011 ...
, President of the
Boston City Council
The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
Jen O’Malley Dillon profilefrom the Biden-Harris Administration website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OMalley Dillon Jen
1976 births
American campaign managers
American people of Irish descent
American Roman Catholics
Biden administration personnel
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Living people
People from Franklin, Massachusetts
Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Washington, D.C., Democrats