Long-time Obama aide to leave White House

Long-time Obama aide to leave White House

Associated Press

By NEDRA PICKLER 5 hours ago

http://news.yahoo.com/long-time-obama-aide-leave-white-house-002501030.html;_ylt=A0SO8yC0DRxTriwAo0hXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzN3FpM2p0BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDIyNl8x

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official who has been with President Barack Obama since he first became a senator nine years ago is resigning.

Alyssa Mastromonaco is Obama's deputy chief of staff for operations and often described as the most influential person inside the White House who isn't well known outside of it.

She is responsible for planning presidential events, hiring staff and overseeing the White House complex.

A White House official said Mastromonaco is leaving in May to look for a job in the private sector.

The official said Obama insisted as a condition of her departure that she continue to act as an outside adviser. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mastromonaco joined Obama's Senate office in February 2005 as scheduling director, and oversaw scheduling and advance for his 2008 presidential campaign and during Obama's first term at the White House. She was promoted to deputy chief of staff in 2011.

Mastromonaco is one of several of Obama's most trusted long-time advisers to leave as he enters his sixth year in office. It's a familiar pattern for second-term presidents, as aides grow tired of the pressure cooker and look for other opportunities outside the White House before the administration winds down.

Alyssa Mastromonaco

Alyssa M. Mastromonaco is the deputy chief of staff for operations for the Barack Obama administration, and was Frederick C. Boucher’s press secretary.

Note: Frederick C. Boucher’s press secretary was Alyssa M. Mastromonaco, and is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

James D. Zirin is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and was a director at Human Rights First.

Mark A. Angelson was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and a director at Human Rights First.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Human Rights First.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer.

William D. Zabel was a trustee at the Foundation to Promote Open Society, George Soros’s divorce lawyer, and is the chair for Human Rights First.

Harold H. Koh was a director at Human Rights First, and the State Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Mona K. Sutphen is a director at Human Rights First, and was an assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Richard R. Verma is a director at Human Rights First, and was an assistant secretary of state for the Barack Obama administration.