White House Staff

Dana Power
Assistant to the President for Communications

Dennis Athey
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff

Dan O'Sullivan
Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President

Mary Nemeth
Assistant to the President for Speechwriting and Policy Advisor

Ed Petzold
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff

Drew O'Brien
Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary

Judith Kanheman
Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary

Karen Lawn
Assistant to the President and White House Counsel

Marcia Mandi
Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

Colleen Ryan
Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady

Sonny Yocius
Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary

Helen Doster
Deputy Assistant to the President for Communications

Eric Corbin
Deputy Assistant to the President, Assistant to the Vice President

Chris Varga
Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

Matt Flaig
Assistant to the Vice President and Chief of Staff

Salvatore Lawless
Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel

Brett Newbanks
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy

Tom Wadsworth
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Public Liaison

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Dennis Athey - Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff

Born: Durham North Carolina

Education: He attended Duke University, where he played baseball, and received an M.A. in Political Science from George Washington University.

Background: He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1979-1987. From 1987 to 1992 he was Director of Public relations for Kline-Smith Pharmaceuticals. In 1992 he came to Washington to serve Bill Clinton as Deputy Director of Health Education and Welfare, and later became Deputy Chief of Staff.

Athey returned to the private sector in 1998 and served as Director of the National Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association, a Non-Profit trade association based in Raleigh-Durham.

Athey acted as campaign coordinator for James Kent in the southern U.S. in the 2008 race, and was considered integral in a South Carolina victory that effectively sealed Kent's nomination. He became close to Kent during the remainder of the race, and was seen as instrumental in bringing John Russo on board Kent's Campaign. There was some speculation that Athey brokered a deal in which Russo "threw" the race after Ohio, strengthening Kent's hand, in return for being named as VP.

Athey is seen as a strong friend of the Vice President, and the First Lady. He is more distant from President Kent than previous, for example he chose not to accompany Kent on the current trip, leaving that to Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Walker.

Friends:

Eric Corbin - Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of Presidential Speechwriting and Assistant to the Vice President. Athey defended Corbin earlier this year after an issue involving a speech on PAFTA. Corbin's career seemed in question, and it is suspected he may resign at the end of the term.

Rivals:

Dan O'Sullivan - Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President. O'Sullivan rapidly eclipsed Athey at the White House, filling a role similar to that of Karl Rove in relation to Andrew Card.

Position Description

The Office of the Chief of Staff, Executive Office of the President is that of "Gatekeeper" for the President. The Chief of Staff:

1) Organizes the President's Schedule
2) Controls Access to the President
3) Helps the President shape Policy

The issue of a "weak" or "strong" Chief of Staff has been discussed. In the Bush Administration, Andrew Card was a fairly weak Chief of Staff, while Karl Rove was a strong Senior Advisor.

During the past year there has been some substantial tug of war in the Office of the Chief of Staff as Dan O'Sullivan has become increasingly integral to the President. While the official reason for this has been moving onto an election footing for the 2012 election, there are deeper underlying issues.

Chief of Staff

Wikipedia