Buffalo Grove native lands White House post

Buffalo Grove native Jamie Smith has been named special assistant to the president and deputy White House press secretary, according to a memo from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

Smith joins the White House communications team after most recently working as Director of Public Affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Carney’s memo states.

Along with serving as an on-the-record spokeswoman for the White House, Smith will manage the day-to-day operations of the communications office.

Smith, a graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, also worked as traveling press director for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and as communications director for U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV when he was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and then chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Smith also served as communications director for former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and The Albright Group, and legislative aide to U.S. Rep. Nita M. Lowey of New York.

Carney announced Smith’s appointment as part of a restructuring of White House communications and press operations.