Stephen W. Rochon is an American political staffer who served as the director of the Executive Residence and White House Chief Usher from 2007 to 2011. He was the first African-American White House Chief Usher. Rochon served his last day on active duty as a rear admiral with the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

on March 9, 2007, and began his service at the White House on March 12. Rochon succeeded Gary J. Walters, who retired in January 2007 after 20 years as White House Chief Usher. Rochon resigned as chief usher in 2011 to work in the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

and was replaced as chief usher by Angella Reid on October 5, 2011.

Biography

Education

Rochon holds a B.S. in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic Historically black c ...

and a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in national resource strategy from the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

Coast Guard career

Admiral Rochon enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970. He rose through the enlisted ranks and received a commission as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in 1975 from the

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a town in York County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while ...

. As the Coast Guard's commander of the Maintenance and

Logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

Command Atlantic, Admiral Rochon was responsible for naval and civil engineering, financial management, personnel, legal,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, electronic systems support, and contingency planning across 40 U.S. states,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. A

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

native, Admiral Rochon served as the Coast Guard's director of personnel management in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricanes, providing support for Coast Guard personnel and their families, and ensuring they had housing and new job assignments. Admiral Rochon has a passion for history and historic preservation. He produced video documentaries in 1989 and 2005 honoring Alex Haley, USCG (Ret) and author of "Roots." Admiral Rochon also spearheaded the posthumous awarding of the Gold Lifesaving Medal to the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

crew of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station for a daring rescue in 1896 near the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He has contributed his expertise to a number of museums across the United States, from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Admiral Rochon helped rebuild and preserve the historic significance of three turn-of-the-century homes in New Orleans following the 2005 hurricanes.

White House

Rochon was appointed chief usher at the White House, beginning his tenure on March 12, 2007. He was the first African American to hold the position. Rochon resigned in May 2011 to take a position at the

Awards

Admiral Rochon has earned three

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

medals. He has also received numerous civic and community leadership awards. A White House lawn picnic table is dedicated to Admiral Rochon.

Personal life

Rochon is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and attends Saint Joseph Catholic Church in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. He also served as a consultant for the 2013 movie '' The Butler''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rochon, Stephen Living people African-American United States Coast Guard personnel White House chief ushers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) United States Coast Guard admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Obama administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel African-American Catholics