Jen O'Malley Dillon

Jennifer Brigid O'Malley was born on September 28, 1976,^[1] in Jamaica Plain, Boston. Her parents, Kevin and Kathleen, raised O'Malley and her three siblings in Franklin, Massachusetts.^[2]

A graduate of Franklin High School,^[3] O'Malley later attended Tufts University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in political science in 1998. At Tufts, O'Malley was captain of the softball team.^[2][4][5]

O'Malley Dillon's first job in politics was answering phones for Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger in his 1998 re-election campaign, though she volunteered for Bill Clinton's re-election campaign in New Hampshire in 1996.^[6] In 1999, she joined Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign as a field organizer; she was promoted to regional field director by the end of the campaign. She worked as a field director for the campaigns of U.S. senators Tim Johnson and Mary Landrieu before joining John Edwards's 2004 presidential campaign as the Iowa field director in 1993. After Edwards suspended his campaign, she became deputy campaign manager for U.S. senator Tom Daschle's re-election campaign.^[4][5]

In 2007, O'Malley Dillon joined Edwards's 2008 presidential campaign as the Iowa state director, later becoming Edwards's deputy campaign manager. After Barack Obama won the primary, she joined his campaign staff as the battleground states director. Obama, who went on to win the general election, appointed O'Malley Dillon to be associate director of personnel during his presidential transition. She later served as the executive director of the Democratic National Committee under Tim Kaine.^[4][5]

In early 2011,^[7] O'Malley Dillon resigned as executive director to join Obama's 2012 re-election campaign as deputy campaign manager, contributing to Project Narwhal.^[8]

After Obama was re-elected, O'Malley Dillon co-founded the political consulting firm Precision Strategies with fellow Obama campaign alumni Stephanie Cutter and Teddy Goff; the trio consulted for the Liberal Party of Canada during the 2015 Canadian federal election.^[4][5] Through Precision Strategies, O'Malley Dillon also advised Gates Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Bill Gates; the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan; General Electric; and Lyft; her deferred compensation and severance from Precision was at least $420,000.^[9]

After the 2016 presidential election, O'Malley Dillon chaired the Democratic National Committee's Unity Reform Commission. In 2019, she was involved in an effort by Democratic Party data and political personnel to create a data exchange to allow for greater information sharing between Democratic campaigns.^[10]

In 2019, O'Malley Dillon became manager of Beto O'Rourke's 2020 presidential campaign,^{[4][5][11][12]} moving to El Paso, Texas, for the job.^[6] The New York Times reported that O'Malley Dillon clashed with O'Rourke over his clothing choices and manner of speech.^[6]

In April 2020, O'Malley Dillon, often referred to by her initials – JOD,^[13] was announced as the new manager for Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.^[10] During the announcement, Biden stated that O'Malley Dillon "played a key role in every Democratic presidential victory over the past two decades".^[14]

After Biden's victory, O'Malley Dillon was named White House deputy chief of staff.^[15][16][17] On February 8, 2024, O'Malley Dillon left the Biden administration to chair the president's 2024 re-election campaign.^[18][19]

O'Malley Dillon was described by Politico as a Biden loyalist and a member of the president's inner circle.^[13][14] She defended Biden's performance in the June 27 presidential debate with Donald Trump, telling members of the campaign's National Finance Committee that Biden was "probably in better health than most of us".^[20] Before Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, O'Malley Dillon was described as "the central figure keeping the Biden campaign on track".^[6]

After Biden announced his withdrawal, O'Malley Dillon was named chair of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.^[21] She oversaw campaign finances and played a key role in most major decisions, with the campaign spending around $1.5 billion over 15 weeks.^[22] O'Malley Dillon's campaign style highlighted Harris's background as a prosecutor and her support for abortion rights.^[23] Describing Harris as the underdog in the race, she sought to market the vice president to undecided voters and those who had supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign.^[23][24]

O'Malley Dillon married Patrick Dillon, a former John Edwards campaign staffer, in 2007.^[30] The couple have three children.^[2]

A descendant of Irish Catholic immigrants,^[31][32] O'Malley Dillon is the second cousin of former Boston city councilmember Matt O'Malley.^[2]