Melody Barnes

Melody Barnes


Director of the Domestic Policy Council
In office January 20, 2009 – January 2, 2012
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman
Preceded by	Karl Zinsmeister
Succeeded by	Cecilia Muñoz
Personal details
Born	(1964-04-29) April 29, 1964
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Marland Buckner
Alma mater	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (JD)

Melody C. Barnes (born April 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and political advisor. Formerly an aide and chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barnes later worked at the Center for American Progress, a think tank, before joining Senator Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. After Obama took office as president, Barnes was appointed director of the Domestic Policy Council, serving in that post from January 2009 to January 2012. After leaving the White House, Barnes assumed roles at the Aspen Institute and New York University.

Early life and education

Barnes was born on April 29, 1964, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia.^[1] Barnes' father Charles H. Barnes Jr. was a civilian employee of the U.S. Army, and her mother Mary Frances Rogers Barnes (1934-2014) was a teacher.^[1]^[2]

Barnes earned her B.A. with honors in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989.^[3]^[4] Barnes is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.^[5]

Career

Pre-White House

In 1989, Barnes began her career as an attorney with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York City as an associate in corporate finance and financial institutions.^[3]^[4]

Barnes then worked at the Raben Group, where she lobbied for the American Civil Liberties Union, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, American Constitution Society, and Center for Reproductive Rights.^[1] Barnes served as director of legislative affairs at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as assistant counsel of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the House Judiciary Committee.^[1]^[6] In the latter role, Barnes worked on the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992.^[1]^[6]

Barnes was general counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 1998, and chief counsel from 1998 to 2003.^[1]^[7]

From 2003 to July 2008, Barnes was at the Center for American Progress, a think tank. She was executive vice president for policy at the center from 2005 to 2008.^[3] Barnes was involved in the launch of the center's Initiative on Faith and Public Policy.^[8] She worked under CEO John D. Podesta, who later served as co-chairman of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.^[1]

Barnes was senior domestic policy advisor to Senator Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.^[3] After the election, Barnes served on the Obama-Biden Transition Project leadership team.^[3] Barnes served as co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the transition.^[8]

Prior to joining the White House, Barnes served on the board of a Washington, D.C. charter school, as well as the boards of EMILY's List and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.^[1]

White House

After Obama took office in January 2009, Barnes became Assistant to the President and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.^[3]

In October 2009, Barnes played golf with Obama at Fort Belvoir, becoming the first woman to play golf with the president during Obama's presidency. (Obama had previously been criticized for previously playing golf and basketball only with male staffers).^[9]^[10]

Barnes was one of several African-American women in important Obama administration positions, along with Valerie Jarrett, Mona Sutphen, Susan Rice and Cassandra Butts.^[11]

As a former staffer for Ted Kennedy, Barnes was also one of a number of former congressional staffers in the Obama White House, alongside Jim Messina (formerly aide to Senator Max Baucus), Pete Rouse and Jeanne Lambrew (Senator Tom Daschle), Phil Schiliro (formerly aide to Representative Henry Waxman), and Lisa Konwinski (former aide to Senator Kent Conrad). Paul Starr writes that Obama's choice to surround himself with these former senior aides to key congressional leaders on health care was instrumental in passing the health-care reform legislation through Congress.^[12]

Barnes chaired the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which in May 2010 released a 124-page report with 70 recommendations to combat the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States.^[13]

In November 2011, the White House announced that Barnes would be leaving.^[14] She departed in January 2012.^[3]

Post-White House

After leaving the White House, Barnes became chief executive officer of Melody Barnes Solutions LLC, a strategy firm advising major financial institutions and other clients. She joined the boards of directors of Ventas, Inc. in 2014,^[4] and Booz Allen Hamilton in 2015.^[7]

Barnes is chair of the Aspen Institute's Forum for Community Solutions.^[3]^[15]

Since 2013,^[4] Barnes has also been vice provost for global student leadership initiatives at New York University, and senior fellow at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.^[3]

Awards and honors

In 2016, Barnes received the "Strong Men & Women in Virginia History" award from the Library of Virginia and Dominion Power.^[16]

Personal life

On June 13, 2009, Barnes married Marland Buckner Jr., a former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Harold Ford, Jr., in Washington.^[17]^[18]

In 2007, Barnes was featured in a Washingtonian magazine list of ten well-dressed Washington women.^[1]^[19]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Robert Pear, Melody C. Barnes, New York Times (November 25, 2008).
↑ Mary Frances Rogers Barnes, 80, educator, Richmond Free Press (December 2, 2014).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Melody C. Barnes, Vice Provost for Global Student Leadership Initiatives, New York University.
1 2 3 4 Ventas Elects Former White House Domestic Policy Director Melody Barnes to Board of Directors (press release) (September 17, 2014).
↑ The Receiving Lineup: Melody Barnes and Marland Buckner, Washington Post (April 3, 2016).
1 2 Melody Barnes: Former Domestic Policy Advisor, White House.
1 2 Melody C. Barnes, Director, Booz Allen Hamilton.
1 2 Michael A. Fletcher, Domestic Adviser May Play Greater Role Under Obama, Washington Post (November 25, 2008).
↑ Michael D. Shear, A first for Obama: Woman joins presidential golf outing, Washington Post (October 26, 2009).
↑ Mark Leibovich, A First for President Obama: Female Aide Joins Round of Golf, New York Times (October 25, 2009).
↑ Trymaine Lee, Melody Barnes, Former Obama Adviser, Talks Life After The White House, Huffington Post (February 24, 2012).
↑ Paul Starr, Remedy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle over Health Care Reform (Yale University Press, 2010), p. 200.
↑ Robin Givhan, White House task force issues report on fighting childhood obesity, Washington Post (May 12, 2010).
↑ Mike Allen, Melody Barnes leaving White House, Politico (November 24, 2011).
↑ Salass, Nader (July 2, 2013). "WATCH: Former Obama Cabinet Member Shares Youth Job Tips". Huffington Post.
↑ Melody C. Barnes (1964–), Richmond, Attorney and Government Official, 2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History, Library of Virginia.
↑ Rachel L. Swarns, Vows: Melody Barnes and Marland Buckner Jr., New York Times (June 20, 2009).
↑ Ellen McCarthy, OnLove: After Years of Friendship, Melody Barnes and Marland Buckner Said 'I Do', Washington Post (June 21, 2009).
↑ Leslie Milk, Ten Well Dressed Women: Melody Barnes, Washingtonian (October 1, 2007).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melody Barnes.

Appearances on C-SPAN
- C-SPAN Q&A interview with Barnes, January 14, 2007
Melody Barnes on Charlie Rose
"Melody Barnes collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
Works by or about Melody Barnes in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Political offices
Preceded by Karl Zinsmeister	Director of the Domestic Policy Council 2009–2012	Succeeded by Cecilia Muñoz

Barack Obama's Executive Office of the President

Office	Name	Term	Office	Name	Term
White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy	Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jack Lew Denis McDonough Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle Rob Nabors	2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15	National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan	Jim Jones Thomas E. Donilon Susan Rice Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough Tony Blinken Avril Haines Douglas Lute^†	2009–10 2010–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–13 2013–14 2015– 2009–13
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations	Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco Anita Decker Breckenridge	2009–11 2011–14 2014–	Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security	Ben Rhodes John O. Brennan Lisa Monaco	2009– 2009–13 2013–
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning	Mark B. Childress Kristie Canegallo	2012–14 2014–	Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff	Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson	2009–10 2011–12
Senior Advisor to the President	David Axelrod David Plouffe Daniel Pfeiffer Shailagh Murray	2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 2015–	White House Communications Director	Anita Dunn Daniel Pfeiffer Jennifer Palmieri Jen Psaki	2009 2009–13 2013–15 2015–
Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President	Pete Rouse Brian Deese Pete Rouse John Podesta	2009–10 2015– 2011–13 2014–15	Deputy White House Communications Director	Jen Psaki Jennifer Palmieri Amy Brundage	2009–11 2011–14 2014–15
Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of Public Engagement Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director, National Economic Council	Valerie Jarrett Christina Tchen Jon Carson Paulette Aniskoff Cecilia Muñoz David Agnew Jerry Abramson Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling Jeffrey Zients	2009– 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–10 2011–14 2014–	White House Press Secretary Deputy Press Secretary Director of Special Projects Director of Speechwriting White House Counsel	Robert Gibbs Jay Carney Josh Earnest Bill Burton Josh Earnest Eric Schultz Stephanie Cutter Jon Favreau Cody Keenan Greg Craig Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler Neil Eggleston	2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2014– 2010–11 2009–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–11 2011–14 2014–
Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board	Diana Farrell Brian Deese Jason Furman Paul Volcker	2009–11 2011–13 2009–13 2009–11	Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs	Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors Miguel Rodriguez Katie Beirne Fallon Amy Rosenbaum	2009–11 2011–13 2013–2016 2016–
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors	Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee Jason Furman	2009–10 2010–13 2013–	Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs	Lisa Konwinski Amy Rosenbaum	2009– 2014–2016
Member of the Council of Economic Advisors	Katharine Abraham	2011–	Executive Clerk	George T. Saunders^† David Kalbaugh	2009–12 2012–
Member of the Council of Economic Advisors	Cecilia Rouse	2009–	Director, Office of Political Affairs	Patrick Gaspard David Simas	2009–11 2013–
Director, Office of Management and Budget	Peter R. Orszag Jack Lew Jeffrey Zients Sylvia Mathews Burwell Brian Deese Shaun Donovan	2009–10 2010–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014 2014–	Chief Technology Officer Chief Information Officer	Aneesh Chopra Todd Park Megan Smith Vivek Kundra Steven VanRoekel Tony Scott	2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–11 2011–14 2015–
Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget	Jeffrey Zients	2009–13	Director, Office of Presidential Personnel	Nancy Hogan Johnathan McBride Valerie Green	2010–14 2014–15 2015–
Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget	Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom Brian Deese	2010 2011–13 2013–15	Director of Scheduling and Advance Director, White House Military Office	Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle White Crutchfield George D. Mulligan Jr. Emmett Beliveau	2009–11 2011– 2009–13 2013–
United States Trade Representative	Ron Kirk Michael Froman	2009–13 2013–	Cabinet Secretary	Chris Lu Broderick Johnson	2009–13 2013–
Director, Domestic Policy Council	Melody Barnes Cecilia Muñoz	2009–12 2012–	Deputy Cabinet Secretary	Liz Sears Smith Rachana Bhowmik Michael Robertson Gaurab Bansal	2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 2015–
Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council	Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman	2009–11 2011–	Staff Secretary	Lisa Brown Rajesh De Douglas Kramer Joani Walsh	2009–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014–
Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships	Joshua DuBois Melissa Rogers	2009–2013 2013–	Assistant to the President for Management and Administration	Bradley Kiley Katy Kale Maju Varghese	2009–13 2013–15 2015–
Director, Office of Health Reform	Nancy-Ann DeParle	2009–11	Director, Oval Office Operations	Micaela Fernandez Brian Mosteller	2009–12 2012–
Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform	Jeanne Lambrew	2009–2011	Personal Aide to the President	Reggie Love Marvin Nicholson	2009–11 2011–
Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy	Carol Browner	2009–11	Personal Secretary to the President	Katie Johnson Anita Decker Breckenridge Ferial Govashiri	2009–11 2011–14 2014–
Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change	Heather Zichal Dan Utech	2009–2013 2013–	Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President	Eugene Kang	2009–11
Director, Council on Environmental Quality	Nancy Sutley Michael Boots	2009–2014 2014–	Director, Office of National AIDS Policy	Jeffrey Crowley Grant Cofax Douglas Brooks	2009–2011 2012–2014 2014–
Chief of Staff to the First Lady	Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen	2009 2009–10 2011–	Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy	Gil Kerlikowske Michael Botticelli	2009–14 2014–
White House Social Secretary	Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard Deesha Dyer	2009–10 2010–11 2011–15 2015–	Director, Office of Urban Affairs	Adolfo Carrión Jr. Racquel Russell	2009–2010 2010–
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy	John Holdren	2009–

^*Senate-confirmation pending. †Remained from previous administration (s).

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