The job is responsible for any events that the President and First Lady host. Most of those events are in the White House, but I did work on other events outside of the White House. Each year, they have a big party in front of the United Nations congregation in New York, they have the G-20 and G-10, and many other events. I got into some trouble at the time. I went into the role as not just a learning experience but trying to figure out how I take the skills that I’ve learned up until that point and use them in a way that’s beneficial to the President and First Lady.
My background is in business, and I thought of it as the marketing of the brand. I wanted to bring to life what they promised America through events and through the selection of entertainers. The goal was to give them the best that America has to offer across all types of arts. Whether it’s country singing, jazz, artists, storytellers, poets, actors, Olympians, or chefs. I wanted to bring people together in a way that was different than ever before. Not just meeting the First Lady and President, but mix it up a bit to be more inclusive and exciting.
For example, the Easter Egg Roll was the largest one that’s ever been done. We created a lottery system to get in and gave people 2 hours before the next group arrived. That had never been done before. In the past, people would stay all day, and only so many could go. So, we used this idea of inclusion to make it a larger event. I got to use my lottery and event planning background to bring things together. It was a very different experience than the previous Easter Egg Rolls. We wanted it more rounded, more reflective of who the Obamas are and how they wanted to bring America into the People’s House. Working for that administration, I did about 352 events in 14 months.
