White House Staff Dana
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Colleen Ryan Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady Colleen Ryan was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, and her family are close friends of the First Lady. Colleen Ryan currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady, where she oversees the day to day activities of Ms. Fitzpatrick’s office. Ms. Fitzpatrick’s offices include Social, Projects/Policy, Press, Correspondence, Scheduling, Speechwriting, and Advance. Mrs. Ryan also provides guidance on the issues in which Ms. Fitzpatrick is involved, including the ChildFIRST initiative, Defense of Literacy Act, international women’s issues, and education, as well as White House social functions. Ms. Ryan is known to be dating Brett Newbanks, and there are rumors of their engagement. As they work in separate offices, and are both valuable staffers, there has been no major negative reactions, though in practice they often work together, and there have been some mumblings about propriety. Ms. Ryan suggested she might leave for the public sector, however she was asked explicitly to stay. The First Lady trusts her very strongly and it is felt she is one of the few people who can "keep Margaret Fitzpatrick under control." Ms. Ryan previously
served as Senior Advisor in the State Department's Bureau of International
Organizations. Prior to that appointment, she served as Senior Advisor
to the Secretary and White House Liaison at the State Department. Before
joining the State Department, Mrs. Ryan was Special Assistant to the President
for White House Management, where she oversaw six operational units in
direct support of the President, First Lady and White House staff. From
1992-96, she served in the Clinton Administration as Director of White
House Personnel. Mrs. Ryan received her bachelor's degree in International
Studies from the University of Connecticut and took an M.A. from Radcliffe.
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Office of the First Lady (OFL) The activities of the First Lady are important to the Administration. The First Lady supports high profile public image work which supports the work of the OSI. The First Lady, Margaret Fitzpatrick is from a noted Massachusetts political family. Her primary political initiative has been the ChildFIRST and "Protection of Literacy" act, developed largely by the OSI. It is widely perceived
that she is closer to the VPOTUS and her in-law Senator Di Giardino, than
the POTUS. It is no secret among staffers that the Kents are not on very
intimate terms.
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