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Joshua DuBois (born 1982) is an executive and former government official who served as the head of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in the
Executive Office of the President of the United States The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenc ...
from 2009 to 2013. In February 2013 he stepped down to write a book of devotionals based on the ones he sends Obama, start a consultin
firm
and become the weekly religion and community solutions columnist for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
''. DuBois has been included among "The Root 100" and Ebony Magazine's "Power 150" lists of the most influential African Americans in the country. He also appeared on the cover of ''Christianity Today'' magazine as one of the 33 most influential Christian leaders under 33. In September 2017 it was announced that DuBois would become a CNN Contributor.


Education

DuBois graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in political science. From there, he went on to
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
's
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...
, where he earned a master's degree in public affairs in 2005. Meanwhile, he worked as an aide to Representative
Rush D. Holt, Jr. Rush Dew Holt Jr. (born October 15, 1948) is an American scientist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party and son of former West Virginia U.S. Senator Rush D. Holt Sr ...


Career

After watching Barack Obama's speech to the
2004 Democratic National Convention The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North Car ...
on television, DuBois decided to work for Obama, then a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Eventually, Obama hired him as a Senate aide. In 2008, DuBois was religious affairs director for the Obama presidential campaign. In the White House, DuBois managed President Obama's fatherhood initiative, as well as the administration's work on religion in foreign affairs. He also began the tradition of the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast. DuBois served as an informal spiritual advisor to President Obama, and still sends the President a devotional message each morning. Obama remarked at the National Prayer Breakfast that these devotions "mean the world to me." DuBois is now co-founder of Gauge, a market research firm. He is also CEO of Values Partnerships, a consulting firm which leads social impact campaigns for films and TV shows and advises clients on issues related to culture, race and religion. DuBois has written for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine, including the cover story, "The Fight for Black Men." DuBois grew up in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, the son of an African Methodist Episcopal
pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
, Antoni Sinkfield and his mother, Kristy Sinkfield is a strategist at a leading academic medical center. His early religious education was in the
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
. He is a member of
Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...
Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
. On April 7, 2014, DuBois delivered the annual William Belden Noble Lecture at Harvard University. He was named to Oprah's ''SuperSoul100'' list of visionaries and influential leaders in 2016.


References


External links


Obama's man of faith
Michael Paulson, ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', July 10, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Josh 1982 births 20th-century Methodists African-American Christians African-American religious leaders American Pentecostal pastors Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Obama administration personnel People from Nashville, Tennessee People of the African Methodist Episcopal church Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni