Dana Perino was White House Press Secretary from September, 2007 to January, 2009 and before that Deputy Press Secretary.

After the 9/11 attacks, Perino served as a spokesperson for the Department of Justice. She later worked as director of communications at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) where she provided strategic counsel on message development, media relations, and public outreach for CEQ and its chairman. Perino worked with the President’s director of communications, his press secretary and his director of media affairs, handling all energy and 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.

Before joining the Bush administration, Perino covered the state assembly of Illinois as a television journalist and worked in the private sector in San Diego, including at Porter Novelli. She attended graduate school at the University of Illinois-Springfield, where she obtained her masters in public affairs reporting. She then worked in Washington, DC, for Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) as a staff assistant before serving nearly four years as the press secretary for Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO), who then chaired a House Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Power.

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