The cafeteria at 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn Heights has gotten crowded. Since announcing her presidential campaign just over a week ago, Hillary Clinton has invited some of the most accomplished power players in Washington to strategize her road to the White House.
Comprised of popular Clinton allies, cheeky upstarts from the Obama administration, and a handful of brilliant misfits, the staff list reads like a high school register. And we know just who we want at our lunch table. The Plastics have nothing on the women of Hillaryland. Here, a guide to the most influential women in her inner circle.
It takes persons made of stronger stuff than we are to manage a group project. We still have nightmares about PowerPoint presentations gone wrong. And yet Hillary somehow found a volunteer for just that responsibility in Amanda Renteria. The former Democratic candidate for Congress and first Hispanic woman to work as a chief of staff to a senator will operate as political director, mobilizing specific constituencies—educators, veterans, college students, and your neighborhood cheerleaders—to organize their involvement in the campaign. To help her marshal the masses, Renteria may ask Brynne Craig to graduate from her recent position as a scheduler for Clinton and serve as deputy political director.
Every clique needs a loud mouth. And that voice belongs to Jennifer Palmieri, who transferred from the Oval Office to join Clinton HQ in February. FYI: Palmieri is not, like, some random new girl. The former White House communications director worked in both Bill Clinton administrations and is BFF with Hilary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Karen Finney will make sure that Palmieri does not have to do her job alone. The former MSNBC host is poised to be a senior spokeswoman and communications adviser.
Mandy Grunwald will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth. As a senior adviser and media consultant for the campaign, Grunwald has been tapped to shape the message that Clinton communicates to voters this year, ensuring that neither leafy greens nor social gaffes get in her way. The experienced operative has the right credentials for the job. She advised the Clintons for over two decades, counseled Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in her 2012 senate campaign, and has a sparkling smile.
We show our truest selves to our most trusted friends, and Kristina Schake is determined that Hillary Clinton reveals hers to Americans nationwide. As her deputy communications director, Schake will encourage Clinton to open up to voters around the country. The former top aide to first lady Michelle Obama has been known to embolden her bosses before. During her tenure in the White House, Schake inspired the first lady to debut her dance moves on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and make a cameo at the Oscars. But the seasoned professional is not all antics. Anita Dunn, a former White House communications director, called her "an island of tranquility and calm when everything is going crazy."
As Michael Eckman taught us in 10 Things I Hate About You, the audiovisual geeks know how to navigate high school. And Clinton could not have found a keener guide than Stephanie Hannon. Together with digital director and longtime Clinton ally Katie Dowd and deputy digital director Jenna Lowenstein, the former Google executive will be the chief technology officer of the campaign, managing a team of engineers and developers to generate new ways to reach voters.
Bonus points: Hannon will be the first woman to hold her title on a major presidential campaign.
Mark Zuckerberg and Kimmy Schmidt prove it: Nerds are cool. On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton added three to her expert outfit. The veteran wonks—Jake Sullivan, Ann O'Leary, and Maya Harris—will head up her policy team. O'Leary, a onetime legislative director to the Clinton senate office, specializes in early childhood education. And newcomer Harris—a law professor and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress—is a voluble advocate for women of color and human rights. Both of them made the honor roll, duh.
A queen bee does not ask just any friend to share a Chipotle burrito bowl. Which is why when Clinton stopped in at a local Chipotle last week, it was longtime aide Huma Abedin who stood by her side. We hope the vice chairwoman of the campaign ordered extra guacamole. That's true friendship.
The Confidantes (Neera Tanden and Cheryl Mills)
As in high school, so, too, in campaigns: loyalty is crucial. Given that, it's no surprise that Clinton still has BFFs Neera Tanden and Cheryl Mills on speed dial. Before being named president of the Center for American Progress, Tanden worked on both Clinton's 2000 senate race and her 2008 presidential run. Mills and Hill have an even longer history. The lawyer has followed the Clintons from the White House to the State Department to the Clinton Foundation.
While neither has an official title on this campaign, odds are that Tanden and Mills will continue to hang out in Hillaryland.
