Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes served as the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. In that capacity, he participated in nearly all of President Obama’s key decisions, and oversaw the President’s national security communications, speechwriting, public diplomacy and global engagement programming. He led the secret negotiations with the Cuban government which resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, and served as an advisor on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. Rhodes is currently a consultant with the Obama Foundation and continues to advise President Obama on international issues.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he was a Senior Speechwriter and foreign policy advisor to the Obama campaign. From 2002-2007, he worked for former Congressman Lee Hamilton at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, supporting Hamilton’s work on the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group. A native New Yorker, mostly-suffering Mets, Knicks and Jets fan, Mr. Rhodes has a B.A. from Rice University and an M.F.A from New York University. He is married to Ann Norris, a former senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Barbara Boxer and State Department official. He and his wife have two daughters, Ella and Chloe.