Melody Barnes
| Melody Barnes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Director of the Domestic Policy Council | |
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In office January 20, 2009 – January 2, 2012 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy |
Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman |
| Preceded by | Karl Zinsmeister |
| Succeeded by | Cecilia Muñoz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 29, 1964 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Marland Buckner |
| Education |
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (JD) |
Melody C. Barnes (born April 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and political advisor. Formerly an aide and chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barnes later worked at the Center for American Progress, a think tank, before joining Senator Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. After Obama took office as president, Barnes was appointed director of the Domestic Policy Council, serving in that post from January 2009 to January 2012. After leaving the White House, Barnes assumed roles at the Aspen Institute and New York University.
Barnes was born on April 29, 1964, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. Barnes' father Charles H. Barnes Jr. was a civilian employee of the U.S. Army, and her mother Mary Frances Rogers Barnes (1934-2014) was a teacher.
Barnes earned her B.A. with honors in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989. Barnes is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
In 1989, Barnes began her career as an attorney with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York City as an associate in corporate finance and financial institutions.
Barnes then worked at the Raben Group, where she lobbied for the American Civil Liberties Union, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, American Constitution Society, and Center for Reproductive Rights. Barnes served as director of legislative affairs at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as assistant counsel of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the House Judiciary Committee. In the latter role, Barnes worked on the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992.
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