Office of the Vice President Announces Staff Changes

Washington, DC – The Office of the Vice President announced today that Courtney O’Donnell, Director of Communications to Second Lady Jill Biden, will leave the White House to move to Berlin, Germany with her family where she plans to work on projects based in Europe. O’Donnell will be succeeded by Melanie Kaye, who most recently worked at a DC-area advertising and communications consulting firm.

Dr. Jill Biden said:  “Since Inauguration Day, Courtney has served as a trusted advisor to me and our entire team.  Her creativity and strategic thinking helped us build campaigns to showcase the strengths of community colleges, support our nation’s military families, fight breast cancer, and draw attention and resources to the issues in the Horn of Africa.   Her expertise, graceful demeanor and tireless work ethic have been invaluable not just to me but to the entire office of the Vice President.  Joe and I are extremely grateful for her tremendous contributions and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

Melanie Kaye comes to the White House from GMMB, where she provided strategic communications counsel on a variety of issues, including public health topics such as cancer, tobacco and obesity, health care reform, workforce and workplace issues, and education, among others. Before that, she served as Press Secretary to former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, both in his office and during his successful 2006 re-election campaign. Melanie also worked as a reporter for several years for publications including The Hill newspaper.  A native of Wisconsin, Kaye received her Bachelors of Arts from St. Norbert College and began work on her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin’s Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.