Chris Meagher is an American political advisor serving as

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, or ATSD (PA), is the principal staff advisor and assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense for public information, internal information, community relation ...

under Secretary of Defense

Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...

. He was appointed on September 9, 2022. He previously served as a

White House Deputy Press Secretary The White House Office of the Press Secretary, or the Press Office, is responsible for gathering and disseminating information to three principal groups: the President, the White House staff, and the media. The Office is headed by the White House ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from Delaw ...

beginning March 1, 2021, succeeding TJ Ducklo. He also served as a senior public affairs official for

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of trans ...

Early life and education

A native of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, Meagher earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. He then earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law is a private law school in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. It is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission and is approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the Stat ...

Career

Meagher began his career as a journalist, working for WILX-TV, ''

The State News ''The State News'' is the student newspaper of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. It is supported by a combination of advertising revenue and a $7.50 refundable tax that students pay at each semester's matriculation. Though ...

'', ''

The Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper, founded in 1884 as the ''Daily Evening News'' and published continuously as a daily under a variety of names. Before its purchase by Charles K. McClatchy and McClatchy Newspapers in 1924, it merged ...

'', the '' Santa Barbara Daily Sound'', and the ''

Santa Barbara Independent The ''Santa Barbara Independent'' is a news, arts, and alternative newspaper published every Thursday in Santa Barbara, California, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or ...

''. He then became the communications director for Congresswoman

Lois Capps Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; January 10, 1938) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 22nd District from 1998 to 2003 ...

. Meagher was also a communications manager for General Motors and served as a senior communications advisor for the

Colorado Democratic Party The Colorado Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. Morgan Carroll serves as its chair. The governing body of the party is the State Central Committee, which consists of the chair and vice chair of ...

and

Montana Democratic Party Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Montana and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2021 is chaired by Robyn Driscoll. The National Committeeman is Jorge ...

. In 2018, Meagher worked on Senator

Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressi ...

's re-election campaign as communications director. From March to June 2020, Meagher was briefly a communications advisor for Michigan Governor

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 an ...

. Meagher previously worked as the national press secretary for the

Pete Buttigieg 2020 presidential campaign The 2020 presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg was an election campaign by the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. It was formally announced on April 14, 2019 in South Bend. Buttigieg was the first openly gay candidate to seek the Democr ...

and joined the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States an ...

as deputy director of public affairs in February 2021 after Buttigieg was confirmed as secretary.

References

20th-century American journalists American male journalists Biden administration personnel Living people Michigan State University People from Michigan Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-gov-bio-stub