Roy M. Neel (born 1948/1949) is a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

operative who served as a top assistant to

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Al Gore and President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

Biography

Raised in Smyrna, Tennessee, Neel joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served a tour of duty in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

as a photojournalist. Early in his career, he worked as a sportswriter for the Nashville Banner. In 1975, he wrote ''Dynamite! 75 Years of Vanderbilt Basketball''. Also in his earlier years, he started an aerial photography business and a political consulting firm, and he served on the staff of the Mayor of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. Neel graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1972 and earned a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1983. In 1977, he joined Gore's congressional staff. He stayed throughout Gore's congressional career, rising to the position of Chief of Staff in Gore's Senate office. In 1992, he managed Gore's vice presidential campaign; he then participated in the White House transition and became Chief of Staff to the Vice President. In 1993, after 17 years of service to Gore, Neel went on to serve as President Clinton's

Deputy White House Chief of Staff The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...

. He was responsible for coordinating policy and communications. After his White House service, Neel worked for seven years as President and CEO of the

United States Telecom Association The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) is an organization that represents telecommunications-related businesses based in the United States. As a trade association, it represent the converged interests of the country's telecommunications ...

, representing the regional Bell companies and almost 1,000 local telecom companies. He was a director of public and corporate boards, including the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). He directed Gore's transition planning during the 2000 presidential election and Florida recount. In 2004, he served briefly as

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

's campaign manager and then directed the "Nader Project", an effort at mitigating the effects of

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...

on Democratic electoral success. He currently serves as chief of staff for former Vice President Al Gore and his organizational advocacy on climate change. He is also a senior advisor to the Climate Project, which has trained 2,500 individuals around the world to spread the message about the climate crisis. Neel is also an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt, where he teaches courses in Presidential Transitions and Presidential Leadership.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neel, Roy 1940s births American campaign managers American photojournalists Chiefs of Staff to the Vice President of the United States Clinton administration personnel Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people People from Smyrna, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff