David Matos Simas (born January 5, 1970) is an American lawyer, former government official, and a former politician. He is the CEO of the Obama Foundation * Also available at
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
/ref> and served in Barack Obama's administration as the White House Director of Political Affairs from 2014 to 2016.

Early life and education

Simas was born and raised in Taunton, Massachusetts, the son of Portuguese American immigrant parents, Antonio and Deolinda Simas. Simas lost two of her fingers in a faulty machine at the silver factory where she worked when Simas was a child. The Portuguese immigrant lawyer who worked on the case inspired Simas to become a lawyer. He attended

Coyle and Cassidy High School Coyle & Cassidy High School and Middle School (formerly St. Mary's High School, Monsignor Coyle High School, and Coyle and Cassidy High School) was a private, Catholic Diocesan school located in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. The school ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a Private college, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on ...

. He later 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 law ...

from the Boston College Law School in 1995.

Career

Simas began his political career working as an intern in Senator

Edward M. Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

's office in 1989. He was later elected to the Taunton School Board in 1993 and the Taunton City Council in 1997 and 1999. He later served as president of the council and worked as an advisor to the mayor of Taunton. After leaving the city council he served as an assistant register of deeds for the Northern district office of the

Bristol County Bristol County may refer to: Places * Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the no ...

Registry of Deeds. He was later elected as the new Register of Deeds of the Northern district of Bristol County in 2004.David M. Simas (D)
/ref> He won reelection in 2006 but later resigned to accept a position in Governor Deval Patrick's administration. He formerly served as deputy general counsel to the Massachusetts House of Representatives Post Audit and Oversight Bureau and practiced law with the law firm of Gay & Gay Associates, PC. He worked as deputy chief of staff to Massachusetts Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

from 2007 until 2009. In 2009, he joined the Obama White House as a deputy assistant to the president, working under Senior Advisor David Axelrod. He worked as director of opinion research for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and then served as a liaison between the president and Democratic officials for two and a half years. Simas was appointed CEO of the Obama Foundation in December 2016.

Personal life

Simas married his high school sweetheart, Shauna. They have two daughters and live in Hyde Park in Chicago.

References

External links

Letter from David Simas, CEO - The Obama Foundation
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Simas, David 1970 births American political consultants Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Boston College Law School alumni Living people Obama administration personnel Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Stonehill College alumni 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Massachusetts lawyers