PERSON: Ben Rhodes

Deputy National Security Advisor, Assistant to the President

Ben Rhodes is the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting, overseeing President Obama’s national security communications, speechwriting, and global engagement.

Previously, he served as Deputy Director of White House Speechwriting, and as a Senior Speechwriter for the Obama campaign. Prior to joining Obama for America, he worked for several years as Special Assistant to Lee Hamilton at the Wilson Center, where he helped draft the Iraq Study Group Report and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

He is the co-author, with Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean, of Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. A native of New York City, Ben has a B.A. from Rice University, and an M.F.A. from New York University.

— whitehouse.gov