Dana M. Perino Biography

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Dana M. Perino (born May 9, 1972) Height: 5'1" Weight: 120. Perino was born to Jan and Leo Perino in Evanston, Wyoming and raised in Denver, Colorado since the age of 2. When she was 6 years old, Dana stood on a milk crate in her Denver house, held up an American flag, and told her parents, "I'm gonna work in the White House." By third grade, she and her father, Leo Perino, were debating the news of the day at the dinner table. "He wanted me to have read the newspapers and to have picked out one or two articles to discuss by the time he got home and then we always watched the evening news together and my Dad and I would always watch the Sunday shows as well." said Perino. She attended Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colorado, a suburb of Denver where she honed her speech skills on debate teams. Ms. Perino attended the University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University-Pueblo) from 1990 - 94 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and a minors in political science and Spanish and was on the forensics team and with KTSC (University of Southern Colorado radio station) the campus-based PBS affiliate where she served as host of Capitol Journal, a weekly summary of Colorado politics, and producer of Standoff, a weekly public affairs program. Dana attended graduate school at the University of Illinois - Springfield. She obtained her masters at UIS in Public Affairs Reporting and worked as a daily reporter covering the Illinois Capitol for WCIA-TV, a CBS affiliate. She then worked in Washington, D.C. for Rep. Scott McInnis of Colorado as a staff assistant before serving nearly four years as the press secretary for Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO-Retired), who then chaired a House Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Power. After Rep. Schaefer's retirement, She met her husband, Peter McMahon a British businessman who was born in Blackpool on a flight from Denver Colorado to Chicago, and was smitten. They were the last two people to get on the plane. “It gives me chills to think how close I was to not meeting him,” she said. “I couldn’t get him out of my head. I couldn’t eat, sleep or concentrate on work.” McMahon’s work is in marketing and sales for medical and surgical products Once married, they moved to Lytham St Annes in the late 1990s to a flat overlooking the Irish Sea for a year, while he worked in nearby Blackburn. They returned to the States and lived in San Diego, California for three years. “where everyone should live if one has the means to do so,” she says. During that time, she worked in high-tech public affairs, including at the Porter Novelli Convergence Group McMahon has two adult children from his first marriage. His daughter Kelly runs a natural beauty products shop with her husband in Forfar and is the mother of baby twins. “People ask me, ‘What do they call you?’ ” Perino said. “I say they can call me whatever they want but they don’t even talk yet.” She delights in calling herself a grandmother. Her mother-in-law lives in a village outside Scunthorpe. Two months after the 9/11 attacks, Dana returned to Washington, D.C. to serve as a spokesperson for the Department of Justice. Several months later, she joined the White House where she served as the Director of Communications for the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). By statute, the CEQ oversees the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, where all federal agencies must complete environmental assessments on their activities before they take action. As CEQ's director of communications, Ms. Perino worked with the President's director of communications, his press secretary and his director of media affairs, handling all environment-related media calls and serving as the spokesperson for the White House on environmental issues. In addition, she served as the coordinator for all agencies on environment, energy and natural resource issues, reviewing and approving the agencies' announcements and keeping the other White House offices apprised of CEQ actions. President George W. Bush named Perino as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary on March 31, 2006. On 27 March 2007, the White House announced that Perino will be acting press secretary and assume press briefings while press secretary Tony Snow undergoes treatment for colon cancer that has spread to his liver. Tony left his job Sept. 14 and was succeeded by his deputy, Dana Perino. President Bush announced the changes during an appearance in the White House briefing room August 31, 2007 12:48 pm eastern time.

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary, left his job Sept. 14 and was succeeded by his deputy, Dana Perino. Dana served as the White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush from September 14, 2007 to January 20, 2009.

After her term as Press Secretary Dana joined public-relations firm Burson-Marsteller in 2009, where she was "chief issues counselor." "She's been through some incredibly difficult experiences at some of the highest levels, and comes out of that an extremely skilled practitioner," said Mark Penn, the firm's CEO. Ms. Perino, focused on communications strategies for clients in the Washington policy debates over issues such as energy, climate change and health care. She also developed business among newer defense and technology firms.

Dana also serves as a contributor to the Fox News Channel,

On November 19, 2009 President Obama tapped Dana to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). "I'm honored by the president's announcement and I'm looking forward to serving on the bipartisan board" Perino said. Created in 1994, the BBG oversees all of the US government's non-military international broadcasting outlets, including Voice of America, Alhurra television, Radio Sawa, TV Marti, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe.

On July 14, 2010 Dana was named to GW’s Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) adjunct faculty for Strategic Public Relations (SPR) in the fall 2010 semester. Ms. Perino will teach a master class in political communications on advocacy, politics and public affairs.

“I am looking forward to having an engaging dialogue with students in this dynamic program,” said Ms. Perino. “I'll be inviting many of my White House colleagues and journalists to join in our discussion of contemporary politics and news media. While no one has all the answers for managing communications with all of the new ways we talk to one another, this collective group discussion will get us several steps closer to better practices."

Ms. Perino is the president of her own strategic communications firm, Dana Perino and Company,

Ms. Perino is also the founder of “Minute Mentoring,” an organization focused on giving professional guidance to young women starting their careers, and she serves on the board of Mothers Day Every Day and Running Start.

Dana and Peter live on Capitol Hill with their dog, Henry

References:

• Dana Perino | Chickipedia
• Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino to Teach at GW's Graduate School of Political Management
• Obama taps former Bush aide to key government post
• Bush Aide Perino to Join Firm Led by Clinton Adviser
• Dana Perino Assistant to the President and Press Secretary
• New Forecast Denver Westword
• Bush’s cool blonde is a northern gran - Times Online
• UIS grad makes good
• White House Press Secretary to present Spring commencement address at CSU-Pueblo
• WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DANA PERINO TO ADDRESS PUBLIC POLICY LECTURE SERIES
• White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino’s husband jailed for leash law violation
• Colorado State University-Pueblo Distinguished Alumni
• Dana Perino From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Rocky Mountain News

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• Dana Perino on The Daily Show 01/08/08 VIDEO
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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/05/07 VIDEO - Q I wanted to ask about the President's statement this morning on the interrogation method. He said -- he repeated, obviously, what he did yesterday, that the government doesn't torture -- the U.S. government doesn't torture people.

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/04/07 VIDEO - Thursday, October 04, 2007: Q Just generally, does the administration -- does the President believe that head-slapping and simulated drowning are necessary tactics to use against suspected terrorists to keep America safe?