Two More Alums Join Obama Administration
President-elect Barack Obama has turned to two more Georgetown University alums to lead his administration, tapping Dan Pfeiffer (COL ’98) for the White House deputy communications director and General James L. Jones (SFS ’66) to serve as national security advisor.
Pfeiffer will come to the White House after serving as communications director for the Obama campaign. He has previously worked as communications director for Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), a member of the 2000 Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign and as deputy campaign manager for Sen. Tom Daschle’s (D- S.D.) unsuccessful re-election effort in 2004.
Jones was appointed in November 2007 to serve as a U.S. special envoy for Middle East security, having turned down Condoleeza Rice’s offers to be a deputy secretary of state twice. He currently works on several corporate boards, such as Boeing and Chevron. Jones also served as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 until 2007, attaining the rank of general in 1999.
The son of a marine who fought during World War II, Jones grew up in Kansas City, Mo. After attending the American School of Paris, he enrolled at Georgetown University. Standing six-feet four-inches tall, he played forward on the men’s basketball team before beginning his military career.
