Chat away…profiles of the team pt.2

Rob Nabors

“He’s our Congress whisperer,” Obama adviser David Plouffe said of Nabors in a recent article in the Washington Post. “Rob’s got a great instinct for where the deal lies, what Democrats are willing to do, what Republicans are willing to do. He’ll say, ‘Here’s what’s going on, here are what the odds are of success.’ He doesn’t ever paint a rosier picture than exists.”

“He is very methodical and takes you through things point by point,” added David Krone, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid’s chief of staff in the same piece. “And if it is a point that is a priority [for the president], he makes that clear.”

*****

Gina McCarthy

She’s a tough-talking and enthusiastic Bostonian. McCarthy, who hails from Dorchester, Mass., is Irish Catholic and speaks with a pronounced Boston accent. The approach she’s taken to her work at EPA earned her the nickname “Obama’s green quarterback” from some environmentalists.

McCarthy once described in a speech getting to yell “Play ball!” at a Red Sox game. “Now, there’s nothing cooler than that,” she said. “I did it with real gusto. Should I do it again? Play balllll!” ( Also known for her sense of humor.)

Gina McCarthy @barackobama likely pick 4 EPA draws criticism from GOP but respect from industry njour.nl/Ywhno7twitter.com/DaRiverZkind/s… — The lovely Plains (@DaRiverZkind) February 15, 2013

*****

Bruce Reed

 Understated. Self-effacing. Nonthreatening. Refreshingly old-fashioned.

Don’t let these cool descriptors from friends and colleagues fool you: As the vice president’s chief of staff, Bruce Reed plays Mr. Fix-It, guiding Joe Biden’s role as a driving force behind the Obama administration’s agenda.

*****

Danielle Gray

Last year, after Duke’s Blue Devils triumphed over the University of North Carolina with a last minute basket, Danielle Gray emailed a photo of the game-winning shot to every government official with even the slightest connection to UNC. She was gloating. A lot.

But within the White House, Gray is known for a whole lot more than being an unrelenting and at times obnoxious Duke fan. She helped get two women confirmed on the Supreme Court. She was one of the lawyers who worked to have Obamacare upheld. She’s recently been promoted to Cabinet Secretary, where she’ll essentially weigh each cabinet secretary’s priorities with those of the president.

*****

Miguel Rodriguez

Rob Nabors, a White House deputy chief of staff and Rodriguez’s predecessor as chief liaison to Congress, said Rodriguez exudes “a dedication to his boss and getting the job done that really is sort of refreshing.”

“There is no aggrandizement of him or his views on anything that he does,” Nabors added. “I couldn’t tell you what his position on anything was beyond ‘This is what the president wants me to do, I’m going to go figure out how to get it done.’

*****

Sylvia Matthews Burwell

Obama to nom Sylvia Burwell to run OMB: aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/as… Banking huff.to/a7a6NW on Savings 4 the Pooryoutu.be/6vUoFabbcLY — The lovely Plains (@DaRiverZkind) March 3, 2013

*****

Julia A. Pierson

 

 President Obama on Tuesday appointed Julia A. Pierson, a longtime Secret Service agent, as the first woman to head the agency best known for protecting the president, vice president and their families.

The appointment represented a milestone for law enforcement, putting a woman at the top of an agency with a storied past and a Hollywood-fueled image of Clint Eastwood-style men with sunglasses and earpieces stoically guarding the commander in chief at home and abroad.

*****

GM TOD! Get to know some of the key players that help President Obama, that you may have never heard off.