Julie Chávez Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| Senior Advisor to the President | |
| In office June 15, 2022 – May 16, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Cedric Richmond |
| Succeeded by | Tom Perez[a] |
| Director of theWhite House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – May 16, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Deputy | Gabe Amo |
| Preceded by | Douglas Hoelscher |
| Succeeded by | Tom Perez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1978-04-07)April 7, 1978 (age 47) Delano, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Cesar Chávez (grandfather) Helen Fabela Chávez (grandmother) |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
Julie Chávez Rodriguez (born April 7, 1978)[1] is an American former political consultant and was the campaign manager for Vice PresidentKamala Harris's2024 presidential campaign, transitioning to that role from PresidentJoe Biden's2024 re-election campaign.
From 2008 to 2016, Chávez Rodriguez served in theObama administration, initially working for theUnited States Secretary of the Interior and later in theWhite House Office of Public Engagement. In 2016, She was appointed state director for SenatorKamala Harris and from 2017 to 2019 served on Harris’s2020 presidential campaign. In 2020, Biden, the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, hired Chávez Rodriguez as senior advisor for Latino outreach in hispresidential campaign. In 2021, Chávez Rodriguez was appointed to be the director of Biden'sWhite House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In 2022 she was appointedsenior advisor to the president, and, in 2023, as his campaign manager.
Rodriguez was born inDelano, California.[2] She was raised inTehachapi in a family of well-known labor activists affiliated with theUnited Farm Workers of America organization. She is the daughter of Linda Chávez Rodriguez andArturo Rodriguez, and the granddaughter of American labor activist, Helen Fabela Chávez, and American labor leader,César Chávez. Her parents were full time volunteers for the UFWA. Rodriguez would often attend labor rallies with her parents and grandparents and assist them in UFWA community outreach activities.[1]
Rodriguez attendedTehachapi High School, and later attended theUniversity of California, Berkeley, where she received a bachelor's degree inLatin American Studies in 2000.[3]
During her summer breaks, Rodriguez worked at theAFL–CIO. She also spent summers volunteering with the UFWA, organizing strawberry pickers inWatsonville, California.[2]
From 2001 to 2008, Rodriguez worked as a program director at the Cesar Chavez Foundation.[4]
Rodriguez worked as a full-time volunteer forBarack Obama's2008 presidential campaign in Colorado. In 2009, Rodriguez was hired by theObama administration, initially working as Director of Youth Employment and later as Deputy Press Secretary to formerUnited States Secretary of the Interior,Ken Salazar.[2][5]
From 2011 to 2017, Rodriguez served in theObama administration in itsWhite House Office of Public Engagement as deputy director of public engagement and later served as Special Assistant to the President. Her work as deputy director initially involved immigration and Latino outreach and evolved into the management of the White House's outreach program toLatino,LGBT, veteran,Asian American andPacific Islander,Muslim, youth, education andprogressive communities.[1][6][7]
On December 11, 2016, Rodriguez was appointed by California SenatorKamala Harris to serve as her state director.[7] In 2017, Rodriguez was hired by Harris's2020 presidential campaign and served on it until Harris withdrew her candidacy in late 2019. Rodriguez initially served as co-national political director and later took on the role of the campaign's traveling chief of staff.[1][8]
In 2020, Rodriguez was hired by Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign as senior advisor to oversee Latino outreach. She was the highest-ranking Latina who worked for the campaign.[9][10]
On January 20, 2021, Rodriguez began her appointment as director of theWhite House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.[11]
On June 15, 2022, ahead of the2022 midterm elections, Biden promoted her to be asenior advisor to the president, a senior staff position.[citation needed]
On April 25, 2023, it was announced that Rodriguez would serve as Campaign Manager of Biden's2024 presidential campaign, withQuentin Fulks as Principal Deputy Campaign Manager.[12][13] This is the first time aLatina and African American man were selected to run the campaign of an incumbent president.[12] On May 16, 2023, she was replaced as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs byTom Perez.[citation needed]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| Other | |
