Saying that "speaking honestly and directly to the American people will be a hallmark of my administration," President-Elect Joe Biden has named additional members to his communications team. "These staff members recognize the important role they play in communicating fact-based information to the public..." said incoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
The President-Elect is clearly trying to pivot from the highly charged and often intensely adversarial relationship that President Trump and his communications team had with the press.
Also Read: Reporters Committee Says Trump Has Crossed Dangerous Line
The new communications appointments include a former on-air reporter for TV stations in Nashville and Oklahoma, a former CBS News intern, and former spokesfolk and communications strategists from the Mike Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders campaigns.
Mariel Sáez who is deputy communications director for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and women's media director for the campaign, will be director of broadcast media. She has been a top staffer to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) for a decade.
Kate Berner, who had been deputy communications director for messaging for the campaign, will be deputy communications director. Berner was director of outreach for the Obama Administration and director of outreach and deputy director of administration for then Vice President Biden.
Also Read: Biden Names Bedingfield Communications Director
Rosemary Boeglin, who was the "rapid response" spokesperson for the campaign, will be assistant press secretary. Before joining the Biden campaign, she had been Northeast press secretary for the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). She is also former press secretary to New York mayor Bill DeBlasio.
Paige Hill will be senior regional communications director, having most recently been senior advisor for communications for the campaign for the Georgia post-election litigation and recount. Hill is a former on-air reporter for TV stations in Nashville and Oklahoma City.
Megan Apper, a former reporter for BuzzFeed News, who led research for the transition team, has been named director of research for the new Administration.
Amanda Finney, who has been associate director of policy and communications for Sidewalk Labs, will be chief of staff to the press office and special assistant to the press secretary. Finney is formerly national deputy women's outreach director for the campaign of Mike Bloomberg, and was an organizer for the Obama campaign in 2012. She also worked in marketing and communications for Microsoft.
Mike Gwin, who was deputy rapid response director for the campaign, will be director of rapid response for the White House press office. His experience includes regional press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and as a spokesperson for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.
Meghan Hays, deputy communications director for strategic planning for the campaign, will be director of message planning. Her resume includes executive director of enterprise communications at MGM Resorts.
Jennifer Molina has been named senior director of coalitions media. She has been Latino Media Director for the campaign and before that was communications director for the League of Conservation Voters and press secretary to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has been nominated to be the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kevin Munoz has been named assistant press secretary. He is currently a member of the transition team working on the Department of Homeland Security. He has the Florida press secretary for the campaign and before that an account executive at nonprofit ad agency SS+K.
Vadant Patel, who has been regional communications director for the campaign, will be assistant press secretary. His resume includes communications director for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
Emma Riley has been named chief of staff for the Office of Communications. She has been deputy communications director for the campaign in Pennsylvania. Her campaign resume includes Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run.
Remi Yamamoto will be senior advisor for communications to the chief of staff. Yamamoto has been the traveling secretary for the Biden campaign, beginning in the primary and continuing through the transition. Her resume includes the Clinton 2016 presidential campaign and strategic communications for Precision Strategies.
Named press assistants: Angela Dela Cruz Perez, who was a press assistant/intern on the campaign and is a former intern at CBS News' political unit; Amijah Townsend-Holmes, who held the same job for the campaign; and Michael Kikukawa, who was rapid response coordinator for the Democratic National Committee "war room" and was also been director of LGBTQ media for the DNC.
