WASHINGTON D.C. — President-elect Joe Biden Announces four members of his upcoming White House Senior Staff Friday morning.
“I’m proud to name additional members of our team who will help deliver the change America needs in these difficult times," President-elect Biden said. "Their dedication to overcoming the challenges facing our country today are rooted in their diverse backgrounds and experiences. They will serve the American people and help build back better, creating a more just, equitable, and united nation."
The four appointees include:
Mala Adiga, Policy Director to Dr. Jill Biden
Adiga served as a senior advisor to Dr. Jill Biden and a senior policy advisor on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Previously, Adiga was Director for Higher Education and Military Families at the Biden Foundation.
During the Obama-Biden administration, Adiga served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large, and as Director for Human Rights on the National Security Staff.
Carlos Elizondo, White House Social Secretary
Carlos Elizondo was a Special Assistant to the President and Social Secretary to Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden for all eight years of the Obama-Biden administration, the first Hispanic American appointed to this position. In this role, he had responsibility for planning, managing, and successfully executing all events hosted by the Vice President and his family, to include visits by world leaders, members of Congress, business leaders, and other high-ranking dignitaries and celebrities.
During the Clinton-Gore administration, Elizondo served in both the White House and in the Office of the U.S. Chief of Protocol, where he managed numerous state visits, Papal visits, the Centennial Olympic Games, the NATO 50th Anniversary Summit and other international summits.
Cathy Russell, Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel
Ambassador Cathy Russell serves on the Advisory Board of the Biden-Harris Transition Team and served as Vice Chair of the Biden-Harris Campaign. Before that, Ambassador Russell was a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
During the Obama-Biden administration, Ambassador Russell served for all eight years at the White House and the U.S. Department of State, including as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, where she led efforts to integrate women’s issues into US foreign policy.
Louisa Terrell, Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs
Louisa Terrell currently oversees legislative affairs for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. Terrell’s two decades of experience includes leadership roles in the public and private sectors, including as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs in the Obama-Biden administration.
Prior to that, she served as an Advisor to Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and worked for several years on Capitol Hill, including as Deputy Chief of Staff for then-U.S. Senator Biden and Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
