Cody Keenan
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Cody Keenan is an American political advisor and speechwriter who served as the director of speechwriting for
President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
. Keenan studied
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. After graduation, he worked in the
U.S. senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
office of
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
, before studying for a master's in
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
at the
Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
. After graduation, he took a full-time position on Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. In 2009, he assumed the position of deputy director of speechwriting. After
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
left the White House in 2013, Keenan took over as director of speechwriting.


Early life and education

Keenan's parents were both advertising executives who lived in
Lake View, Chicago Lakeview (also Lake View) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road and West Montrose Ave on the north, N ...
, before moving to
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
,
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...
, and later Ridgefield,
Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. ...
, where Keenan attended high school. Keenan attended
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
, where he majored in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, graduating in 2002. Keenan is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and recipient of its Significant Sig award.


Career history


Early career

Keenan's political career began with an internship in the mailroom of
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
's senate office in 2003, before going on to become the senator's legislative aide. After a stint as a staff assistant for the
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sena ...
, Keenan took a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
, studying speechwriting and delivery under Steve Jarding. In 2007, Keenan took a summer internship in speechwriting on Barack Obama's presidential campaign, working under
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
, before returning to the Kennedy School to complete the second year of his studies. He remained involved in the campaign during the year, flying to
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
during the Christmas break to assist in preparation for the
Iowa caucuses The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...
. After
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
conceded in June 2008, Keenan returned as a full-time staffer on Obama's presidential campaign.


White House staffer

After the election, Keenan continued in the role as deputy director of speechwriting, working on a speech about the
Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations In ...
, the president's eulogy for Ted Kennedy in 2009, and the president's address after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords in 2011, among other speeches. He appeared in a
visual gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretation ...
for the 2009
White House Correspondents' Dinner The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor ...
, dressed as a pirate. Prior to Favreau's departure from the White House in March 2013, Keenan took the lead on writing the
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...
in January 2013. In March 2013, Keenan was promoted to White House director of speechwriting, with overall responsibility for all speechwriting. Writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Michael S. Schmidt noted that unlike Favreau, "who was known for his ability to write lofty, big-picture speeches ... Mr. Keenan focuses far more on individual, hard-work stories as parables for what is difficult but still possible in America." In 2015, Keenan wrote the speech delivered by Obama to mark the 50th anniversary of
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...
. After leaving the White House in 2017, Keenan spent several more years writing with Barack Obama. In June 2015, Keenan gave a
commencement address In the United States, a commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the ...
to the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. In June 2018, Keenan delivered the convocation speech at his alma mater,
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
.


Writing

Keenan is the author of a New York Times Best Seller, Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America (2022), which tells the story of “ten days of the presidency, in June 2015, when a racist massacre and two impending Supreme Court decisions put the character of our country on the line, and a President's words could bring the nation together or tear it apart.” In January 2023, the book was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction.


Other work

Keenan is a partner at the speechwriting firm Fenway Strategies, a visiting professor at Northwestern University, and sits on the board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.


Personal life

Keenan married Kristen Bartoloni in 2016. Bartoloni worked as deputy research director in the Obama White House. The story of their courtship and marriage was included in the CNN Films documentary ''The End: Inside the Last Days of the Obama White House''. In the film, Keenan says he and Bartoloni met during her first day on the job which he describes as "still the best day I've had at the White House." Keenan says he asked Bartoloni to go out with him three times before she agreed. In 2020, Bartoloni gave birth to a daughter named Grace.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Cody Speechwriters for presidents of the United States Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Northwestern University alumni Obama administration personnel White House directors of speechwriting 1980 births