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Press Release: Vice President-Elect Biden Announces More Key Staff for the Vice President's Office

January 08, 2009

WASHINGTON – Vice President-elect Joe Biden today announced the following staff for the Office of the Vice President: Elisabeth Hire, Director of Scheduling; Pete Selfridge, Director of Advance; Anthony Bernal, Director of Scheduling for Dr. Jill Biden; and Sam Myers Sr., Trip Director for the Vice President.

"All four of these indivuduals will bring a wealth of experience and a tireless work ethic to the Obama-Biden Administration," said Vice President-elect Biden. "They will be tremendous assets and additions to the team we are building."

The Vice President-elect's Staff Announcements are below:

Elisabeth Hire, Director of Scheduling

Elisabeth Hire most recently served as director of scheduling to Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden on the Obama-Biden campaign. A veteran of the past three Presidential election cycles, Hire served as the deputy director of scheduling for Hillary Clinton's 2008 primary campaign; scheduled for Kerry/Edwards 2004; and served on the advance staff of Kerry/Edwards 2004 and Gore/Lieberman 2000. When not working in politics, Hire has worked at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on a variety of projects including the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, the Festival of China, the Millennium Stage, and in its nationally recognized Education Department.

A Bexley, Ohio native, Hire is a classically trained ballet dancer and has performed with BalletMet Columbus. She graduated with an A.B. in English from Kenyon College.

Pete Selfridge, Director of Advance

Pete Selfridge served as deputy director of advance, heading up Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden's advance operation during the Obama-Biden campaign, a position he has retained during the transition process. Selfridge has worked in city government, public affairs and communications throughout his professional career. Prior to joining the Obama-Biden campaign, he served as the City Director in Los Angeles for the Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative. Selfridge lived in Washington D.C. from 1994 through 1997, where he worked in the office of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) as well as in the scheduling office of President Bill Clinton at the White House.

Selfridge is a native of Minnetonka, Minnesota and a graduate of the University of Iowa. He also received a management of information systems certificate from Columbia University in New York.

Anthony Bernal, Director of Scheduling for Dr. Jill Biden

Anthony Bernal serves as director of scheduling to Dr. Jill Biden on the transition team, a position he held during the Obama-Biden campaign. Bernal began his professional experience at the White House serving both President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore in their respective offices of scheduling and advance. Following the 2000 election, Bernal joined the Coca-Cola Company's office of international affairs in Washington, DC and then AARP. In 2004, Bernal served as Director of Financial Administration of the Democratic National Convention Committee, Inc. Following the 2004 DNC Convention, Bernal was chief of staff at the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, a Cambridge-based non-profit biotechnology company.

Bernal, a native of Tucson, Arizona, earned his Bachelor's Degree in History and Philosophy from the University of Texas at El Paso and studied at Carleton College in Northfield, MN.

Sam Myers Sr., Trip Director for the Vice President

Sam Myers, Sr. is a veteran of eight presidential campaigns and has worked closely with presidents and presidential candidates for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, Myers worked as a key press aide for the Obama-Biden campaign, serving as a press logistics liaison aboard Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign plane. Before joining the Obama-Biden campaign, Myers worked with the media covering Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's primary campaign, traveling with Senator Clinton through June of 2008; and he had previously served as Trip Director for Senator John Edwards during his 2008 primary campaign. During the 2004 presidential election, Myers worked for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, traveling aboard the vice presidential candidate's airplane. Myers traveled with Vice President Al Gore during his 2000 presidential campaign serving as the press logistics liaison and worked at the White House for President Bill Clinton, traveling around the world, managing press logistics for presidential events.

Born in Quincy, Illinois and raised in Edina, Missouri, Myers is a graduate of Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri. He is married to Dr. Vicki Myers and has four children.

Barack Obama, Press Release: Vice President-Elect Biden Announces More Key Staff for the Vice President's Office Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/286505

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