(Archived Content)
WASHINGTON – President Obama today appointed Natalie Wyeth Earnest to serve as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. In this role, Ms. Wyeth Earnest will serve as the principal communications advisor to the Secretary and direct public affairs and external communications for the Department on a broad array of issues including economic policy, domestic finance, tax policy, international affairs and illicit finance.
Ms. Wyeth Earnest joined the Department in 2009 as the spokesperson for international affairs before being named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in 2011. Since February, she has served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
“I am pleased the President has appointed Natalie to this vital role. With her extensive experience and dedication to giving the public accurate and timely information, Natalie is the ideal person to lead our communications and outreach efforts at such a critical time,” Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said. “I have great confidence in Natalie and will continue to count on her judgment. She has earned the respect of journalists and the trust of her colleagues at Treasury and across the Administration.”
Before joining the administration, Ms. Wyeth Earnest served as a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in Colorado, and the press secretary for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Prior to that, she was press secretary for Governor Kathleen Blanco’s Louisiana Recovery Authority, which focused on securing funding, establishing principles for redevelopment and leading community and regional planning efforts to rebuild southern Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Ms. Wyeth Earnest received a B.A. from the University of Southern California, where she attended the Annenberg School for Communication.
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