Jen Psaki Biography

Jen Psaki was born Jennifer Rene Psaki, on December 1, 1978, in Stamford, Connecticut, US. She is the eldest of the 3 daughters of psychotherapist Eileen (née Dolan) Medvey and former real estate developer Dimitrios "James" R. Psaki.

Psaki has Greek, Irish, and Polish roots. She initially attended the Greenwich Country Day School. In 1996, she graduated from Greenwich High School. In 2000, she obtained a BA degree in English and sociology from the College of William & Mary. A member of the prestigious Chi Omega sorority, Psaki had also been a competitive backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe team for a couple of years.

She is a former non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She has also been a fellow of the Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. Her discussion group in GU’s Spring 2017 session was The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown: Communicating in a Social Media World.

Jen Psaki has had an eventful career. She began her political career in 2001, with the re-election campaigns of Democrats Tom Harkin (for the US Senate) and Tom Vilsack (for the Iowa governor).

She has also been the senior vice president at the New York-based strategic consulting and polling firm Global Strategy Group. She has worked as a communications director for Congressman Joseph Crowley and as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s regional spokesperson. In 2004, she took over as the deputy press secretary for the presidential campaign of John Kerry.

She also served as a senior advisor and traveling press secretary for the presidential campaigns of Obama in 2008 and 2012. From January to December 2009, she served as the White House Deputy Press Secretary, under President Barack Obama.

She then worked as the White House Deputy Communications Director from December 2009 to September 2011. Politico named her one of 50 Politicos to Watch in 2012.

From April 2013 to March 2015, she was the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State under then US Secretary of State John Kerry. In April 2015, Psaki took over as the White House Communications Director. She continued in the position till January 2017.

During her stint with the Communications department, Jen Psaki worked closely with the economic team in battling the financial crisis. On January 20, 2021, she assumed office as the 34th White House Press Secretary, under President Joe Biden. By May 2021, she declared that she wished to leave the White House in 2022.

In March 2022, Psaki tested positive for COVID-19. She thus did not accompany President Biden on his Europe trip. Psaki held the position till May 2022 and attended her last press briefing on May 13, 2022.

Following this, Psaki was replaced by Karine Jean-Pierre. Part of Psaki’s decision to quit her political career was driven by her wish to spend more time with her children.

Over her political career, her skilled defenses of the Biden administration and a well-known political argument with Fox News’s Peter Doocy turned her into a cult figure among liberals. She also gave rise to the TikTok hashtag #psakibomb and has been mildly parodied on Saturday Night Live too.

After quitting her White House career, Psaki has become a full-time anchor. She has since hosted the MSNBC show Inside with Psaki (2023), which airs on Sundays. She has also appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

She has been a CNN contributor and has written pieces for digital platforms such as the Hill, Ozy, and Refinery29. She is also set to host a show on the streaming network Peacock and plans to pen a regular column for the email newsletter of MSNBC and join other programs as an analyst.

Jen Psaki married Democratic political aide Gregory “Greg” Mecher on May 8, 2010. Back then, Mecher worked as the chief of staff to Ohio Congressman Steve Driehaus. He later worked as the chief of staff to Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III.

Mecher met Psaki for the first time in 2006, when they both worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It is believed, Psaki had given Mecher wrong directions to a political event, over the phone, and instead of being angry with her, Mecher fell for Psaki. The couple now have 2 children: daughter Genevieve and a son.