Jesse Lee (politician)

Jesse Lee (born 1979) was named the White House Director of Progressive Media & Online Response on May 23, 2011. This was a newly created position to help maintain Barack Obama’s online presence for his 2012 Presidential reelection bid. The duties of this position, dealing with negative or factually incorrect stories about the President, was formerly handled by the Democratic National Committee's rapid response team.^[2] Lee’s first tweet about his new position included a picture of The Terminator.^[3]

Lee was formerly the Online Programs Director under the Barack Obama Administration. Lee spent his early life in Takoma Park, Maryland, and graduated with a degree in philosophy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2002. He was hired to do Internet work for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2003, and worked in their online division from 2004 to 2006.

Lee served as Senior New Media Advisor to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi during the 110th United States Congress. During the 2008 United States presidential election, Lee performed online response for the Democratic National Committee. He worked in online outreach during the Presidential transition of Barack Obama, in the New Media department. On February 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced Lee was hired as Online Programs Director for his administration.