People in the news

Jackie Norris

Senior Adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service (since June 2009)

(The White House)

Why She Matters

Norris is an Iowa insider who spent two years working for President Barack Obama in Iowa and was instrumental in both his Democratic caucus and general election victories there.

After the campaign, she was named chief of staff for Michelle Obama. She returned to Washington, where she began her career as a congressional staffer before moving to the White House to work for Al Gore.

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At a Glance

  • Career History: Chief of staff for First Lady Michelle Obama (January 2009 to June 2009); High school government and history teacher (2002 to 2005)
  • Hometown: Ossining, New York
  • Alma Mater: State University of New York-Geneseo; Iowa State
 

Path to Power

Norris, a New York native, went to college at SUNY's Geneseo campus. After graduation, she worked on Capitol Hill, spending seven years in the office of Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.) before going to the White House. There Norris worked as Vice President Al Gore's scheduler and as director of Scheduling and Advance for HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

In 1998, she left the White House and moved to Iowa, where she worked on Tom Vilsack's (D) gubernatorial campaign. She also served as Gore's political director for Iowa during the 2000 presidential election.

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The Issues

Norris worked as state director for both the Iowa caucuses in January 2008 and then for the general election. Massive turnout characterized the 2008 Iowa caucuses, which Obama won overwhelmingly. His victory there acted as a springboard for the Democratic primaries that followed. During the general election, Obama won Iowa with 54 percent of the vote.

But Norris' job in the White House didn't have anything to do with her expertise in Iowa. Michelle Obama had an ambitious public agenda in addition to being First Mom.In Chicago, she worked with Public Allies, a public service program that trains people to be community leaders. She said she would like to continue her work with that group and others that promote public service.

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The Network

Norris and her husband John Norris are Iowa's premier political power couple. John was former Gov. Tom Vilsack's (D-Iowa) chief of staff and ran for Congress himself in 2002 before running Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.) successful campaign during the Iowa caucuses in 2004. Norris also worked as a scheduler for both Vice President Al Gore and HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. She joined Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007 and became chief of staff for Michelle Obama after the campaign.

 

Additional Resources

  1. Wolffe, Richard, "Michelle, On the move; The First Lady readies her family for Washington," Nov. 5, 2008
  2. Wheaton, Sarah, "Iowa operative is Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff," The Caucus Blog, The New York Times, Nov., 21, 2008
  3. Thomas, Beaumont, "Iowan Norris to be named Michelle Obama's chief aide," Des Moines Register (Iowa), Nov. 21, 2008
  4. Wolffe, Richard, "Michelle, On the move; The First Lady readies her family for Washington," Nov. 5, 2008
  5. Wheaton, Sarah, "Iowa operative is Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff," The Caucus Blog, The New York Times, Nov., 21, 2008;
  6. The Situation Room, "Obama announces crucial choices for administration," CNN Transcripts, Nov. 24, 2008
  7. Henderson, O. Kay, "Obama chooses Jackie Norris as state director," Radio Iowa: The Blog, June 25, 2008
  8. Conger, Kim, "Jackie Norris, Michelle Obama's new chief of staff, is Iowa State political science alumna," College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University, Nov. 25, 2008