Daniel Koh
American politician (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Arrigg Koh (born January 1, 1985)[1] is an American politician. Koh was Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.[2]
Dan Koh | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Arrigg Koh January 1, 1985 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Amy Sennett (m. 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Howard Koh (father) Harold Koh (uncle) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, MBA) |
Early life and education
Koh was born to doctors Howard K. Koh and Claudia A. Arrigg, the middle of three children. His father later served as United States Assistant Secretary for Health for President Barack Obama. Koh's mother is the granddaughter of Lebanese emigrants who arrived in Lawrence, Massachusetts in the 1890s.[3] His uncle, Harold Hongju Koh, was Dean of Yale Law School and a Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
Koh and his two siblings graduated from Phillips Academy,[4] where their mother attended and serves as an Alumni Trustee.[5] He earned a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.[6]
Career
At the age of 29, Koh became chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh after a stint as chief of staff for Arianna Huffington. Koh was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40.[7]
Biden Administration
In 2021, Koh was named Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh.[8] Later, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Cabinet Secretary at the White House. He concluded his service as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.[9]
Political campaigns
2018 congressional campaign
In 2018, Koh announced he would be running for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district. Koh eventually lost the Democratic primary to Lori Trahan by 145 votes, receiving 18,435 votes to Trahan's 18,580 votes.[10]
Local government
In 2019, Koh was elected to the Board of Selectmen in Andover, Massachusetts. As the top vote getter, Koh received 2,733 votes[11] He resigned from the Board of Selectmen in February 2021 to join the Biden Administration.[12]
In 2021, Koh was seen as a potential candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[13] Koh did not run and Kim Driscoll was ultimately elected lieutenant governor.
Personal life
Koh is married to Amy Sennett, a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and General Counsel at micro1.[14] They met at Harvard, where Koh was pursuing an MBA and Sennett a JD/MBA. The couple eloped in 2016 at Boston City Hall, where Koh's boss, Mayor Marty Walsh officiated. A religious ceremony was held the following month.[15]
Koh's older brother Steven is the R. Gordon Butler Scholar of International Law at Boston University School of Law[16] and his sister Katherine is a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital.[17]
Koh has suffered long-term tribulations with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting emotional behavior.[18]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lori Trahan | 18,527 | 21.6 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Koh | 18,405 | 21.5 | |
| Democratic | Barbara L'Italien | 13,029 | 15.2 | |
| Democratic | Juana Matias | 12,982 | 15.1 | |
| Democratic | Rufus Gifford | 12,856 | 15.1 | |
| Democratic | Alexandra Chandler | 4,848 | 5.7 | |
| Democratic | Beej Das | 1,496 | 1.7 | |
| Democratic | Jeffrey Ballinger | 1,388 | 1.6 | |
| Democratic | Bopha Malone | 1,344 | 1.6 | |
| Democratic | Leonard Golder | 585 | 0.7 | |
| Democratic | write-ins | 131 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 88,818 | 100.0 | ||