Office of Digital Strategy

White House Director of Digital Strategy
Incumbent
Christian Tom
since June 30, 2023
Executive Office of the President
White House Office
Reports toWhite House Chief of Staff
AppointerPresident of the United States
DeputyTericka Lambert

The Office of Digital Strategy (ODS) is an Executive Branch agency that promotes the U.S. President's messaging through digital and social media. It is part of the White House Office and is led by the Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy, who reports to the White House Chief of Staff. The incumbent director is Christian Tom.

Role

The Office of Digital Strategy (ODS) manages the President's and the White House's online communications across social media, digital influencers and creators, and creative production. ODS manages the White House Video Team and the Creative Design Shop, as well as whitehouse.gov. The department also collaborates with other internal teams as well as external ones, including Congressional offices and Cabinet agencies, on digital initiatives and event coverage.[1]

Obama administration

Nate Lubin headed the office for part of president Barack Obama's tenure.[2] Jason Goldman succeeded Lubin in 2015, serving as the first-ever U.S. Chief Digital Officer.[3] Clay Dumas was the chief of staff for the Office of Digital Strategy, and Ashleigh Axios also worked in the office during Obama's presidency.[4] Peter Welsch also had a role.[5]

Trump administration

Ory Rinat was the chief digital officer for Donald Trump's administration.[6] The Trump administration reworked the Whitehouse.gov website and managed various social media tools, including Twitter, to communicate its messaging.[7]

Biden administration

Rob Flaherty was appointed Director of Digital Strategy after serving on the Joe Biden presidential campaign as Digital Director and as the Digital Director for the Presidential Transition of Joe Biden. The Office of Social Media, headed by Dan Scavino during the Trump Administration, was transitioned back to the Office of Digital Strategy. Christian Tom took over the role in late June, 2023.[8]

Organization

The Office of Digital Strategy, under the administration of Joe Biden as of July 2024, is as follows.

  • Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy: Christian Tom[8]
    • Chief of Staff for the Office of Digital Strategy: Evan Romero
      • Staff Assistant: Deterrian Jones
    • Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Digital Strategy: Patrick Stevenson[8]
      • Director of Partnerships: Marian Dimaano[9]
        • Deputy Director of Partnerships: Morgan MacNaughton[10]
      • Director of Digital Engagement: Ariana Mushnick[11]
        • Digital Engagement Coordinator: Sam Schmir[10]
    • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Digital Strategy: Tericka Lambert[12]
      • Director of Platforms: Angela Krasnick[13]
        • Deputy Director of Platforms: Megan Coyne[14]
        • Deputy Director of Platforms: Avery Whitehead[13]
        • Deputy Director of Platforms: Andy Volosky[15]
      • Creative Director: Meena Yi[11]
        • Deputy Creative Director: Abbey Pitzer[16]
        • Graphic Designer: Shae Greene[16]
      • Video Director: Melanie Duran[17]
        • Official Videographer for the President: Jenna Sumar
        • Director of Presidential Video Production: Joy Ngugi[18]
        • Senior Video Producer: Aaron Wilson Watson[11]
        • Senior Video Producer: Stephanie Shen[10]

References

  1. ^ "Internship Departments". The White House. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ Most Read Politics (2015-05-01). "White House digital strategy director to step down Friday". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  3. ^ Farhi, Arden. "New senior adviser and chief digital officer at the White House". CBS News. CBS New. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  4. ^ Bereznak, Alyssa (2017-02-08). "The Digital Presidency of Donald Trump". The Ringer. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  5. ^ "News: News: Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering: Indiana University Bloomington". luddy.indiana.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. ^ "Ory Rinat | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  7. ^ Samuelsohn, Darren. "Trump needs time to make whitehouse.gov great again". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  8. ^ a b c House, The White (2023-06-30). "Statement from President Joe Biden on Christian L. Tom". The White House. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  9. ^ "Marian Dimaano". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  10. ^ a b c "White House". Open The Books. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  11. ^ a b c Tani, Max; Thompson, Alex (2022-09-30). "Transition from hell". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  12. ^ Stokols, Eli; Egan, Lauren (2023-06-30). "How Biden prepped for a SCOTUS thumping". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  13. ^ a b Tani, Max; Thompson, Alex; Bice, Allie (2022-06-29). "Karine's tough debut". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  14. ^ Ross, Garrett (2022-08-27). "POLITICO Playbook: What's underneath all those redactions". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  15. ^ Andrew Miller, Cameron Cawthorne (2024-07-09). "New White House digital staffer cheered social media ban on Trump: 'What took them so long?'". Fox News. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  16. ^ a b "100 Creative Interviews: Wisdom We're Taking From Our Subjects". The Creative Factor. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  17. ^ Thompson, Alex (2022-08-10). "Biden gets some closure". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  18. ^ "ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON WHITE HOUSE OFFICE PERSONNEL" (PDF). POLITICO. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-26.