Desiree Rodgers, a noted Chicago businesswoman and Harvard MBA, will be named White House social secretary and become the first African American to hold the influential position, sources in the presidential transition office have told The Washington Post. Rodgers, 49, is a family friend of the Obamas as well as a major campaign fund-raiser and a Chicago civic and corporate leader. Rodgers will come from Allstate Financial, where she coordinated a social network of consumers and clients.
The coveted White House job is not limited, as often preceived, to the office of the first lady. The social secretary sets the tone for all official and unofficial entertaining and works with the first family on how to best present themselves to the world—everything from a South Lawn barbecue to a state dinner, from the official Christmas tree to when the Marine Band strikes-up "Hail to the Chief."
"It's like running a small agency," Ann Stock, a social secretary in the Clinton White House, told The Post. "Her business savvy, her marketing skills will all come into play. Her close relationship with the Obamas is very important because she comes to the job already understanding their preferences."
