Who is Kate Bedingfield - Communications Director: Biography, Career, Time Life and Family

Photo: abcnews.go.com

Who is Kate Bedingfield?

Katherine Joan Bedingfield was born in 1982 in Georgia, U.S. She is an American political advisor who is the designated White House Communications Director in the Biden administration. She served as deputy campaign manager for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and worked in the Obama administration and former communications director for Biden when he was vice president.

Early life and education

Kate Bedingfield was raised in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Her parents are Dana H. and Sid E. Bedingfield. She attended Sandy Springs Middle School and graduated from Riverwood High School. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.

Personal life

Bedingfield and her husband, David Kieve. Photo: New York Times

Bedingfield married David Kelley Kieve on January 12, 2013, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, son, and daughter.

Kieve also works for the Biden campaign. Scientific American reported Kieve was responsible for “outreach to green groups and environmental justice leaders.” Kieve's resume includes co-founding Hilltop Public Solutions, a political consulting firm.

Bedingfield is a Georgia native. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she grew up in a northern Atlanta suburb. The newspaper wrote that Bedingfield attended Sandy Springs Middle School and Riverwood High School. Bedingfield went on to the University of Virginia for college, according to the White House.

According to Bedingfield and Kieve’s 2013 wedding announcement in the New York Times, Bedingfield’s father, Sid, previously worked for CNN as a senior vice president. Her parents were living in Columbia, South Carolina, at the time of her wedding. Her father was a visiting journalism professor at the University of South Carolina and Bedingfield’s mother worked as a social media consultant. According to Sid Bedingfield’s Twitter account, he now teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Career

Career in politics

Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s Communications Director. Photo: heavy.com

Kate Bedingfield served as Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director for the Biden-Harris Campaign. She served as Communications Director for Vice President Biden and as Associate Communications Director, Deputy Director of Media Affairs, and the Director of Response in the Obama-Biden White House.

Prior to the Obama-Biden administration, Bedingfield served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen on her successful 2008 Senate campaign, Deputy National Press Secretary on the John Edwards for President campaign, and Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 when Democrats won back the House. Bedingfield has also served as the Chief Spokeswoman and Vice President of Corporate Communications at the Motion Picture Association of America and as the Vice President of Communications at Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

In 2015, Bedingfield was named communications director for then-Vice President Joe Biden. She also held two additional roles in the Obama administration: director of response and deputy director of media affairs.

Bedingfield served as deputy campaign manager for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. Her work on the campaign led to Fortune naming Bedingfield one of the most influential people, under the age of 40, in government and politics.

Biden administration

In November 2020, Bedingfield was designated White House Communications Director for the Biden administration.

Politico reported before the announcement, "The public-facing positions combined with her past White House experience would make her a natural first pick for work behind the lectern, allies said. But Bedingfield’s strategic role in the campaign suggests she could also serve as communications director."

Private sector

In November 2011, Bedingfield started working at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). In May 2013, Bedingfield was named spokesperson and vice president of corporate communications the MPAA. After working in the Obama administration, Bedingfield returned briefly to sports and entertainment communications.

5 Fast Facts about Kate Bedingfield

Photo: heavy.com

Kate Bedingfield Represented John Edwards During the 2008 Primary Before Joining the Obama Administration

Bedingfield has extensive experience as a campaign operative. During the 2008 primary cycle, Bedingfield was a campaign spokesperson for John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina. As the Associated Press pointed out, Bedingfield at times criticized her future boss, then-Senator Barack Obama, as she defended Edwards. Edwards dropped out of the primary race in January 2008.

Bedingfield quickly found another candidate to support after Edwards withdrew from the race. She went to work for the former governor of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen, who had launched a run for the U.S. Senate. Bedingfield served as Shaheen’s communications director. Shaheen ultimately won the election.

Bedingfield Left Politics to Represent the Film Industry in 2011

Bedingfield’s transition to the private sector-led her to a job representing the film industry. She was hired by the Motion Picture Association of America in November 2011. The organization lobbies on behalf of the six major Hollywood studios: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, LLC, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios LLC, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Just 18 months into the job, Bedingfield was promoted to Vice President of Corporate Communications. In this role, she also served as the organization’s chief spokesperson, according to a news release announcing the promotion.

Biden Hired Bedingfield as His Communications Director in 2015 But She Returned to the Private Sector After the 2016 Election

Photo: Twitter

Bedingfield returned to the Obama administration in August 2015 when Biden hired her as his new communications director. Bedingfield was hired amid rampant speculation about whether Biden would run for president in 2016. As the Hill reported, Bedingfield returned to the White House to promote Biden’s activity as the vice president. Any campaign activity would have been limited since she was a White House staffer.

After the 2016 election, Bedingfield took another position in the private sector. According to the Washington Business Journal, she was hired as the vice president of communications for Monumental Sports & Entertainment in Washington, D.C.

During a Q&A with the newspaper, Bedingfield shared that her favorite spot in the White House was the “colonnade between the West Wing and the Residence, running alongside the Rose Garden.” She admitted her worst habit as a leader was that she was “not always as quick to delegate right out of the gate as I should be.” Bedingfield said that if she were president, she would pass an executive order reinstating a policy that protects women in the workplace. On a more lighthearted topic, Bedingfield said the celebrity she had been most excited to meet was screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

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