Office of American Innovation: Difference between revisions

OAI was directed by President Trump’s son-in-law and Senior Advisor to the President [[Jared Kushner]],<ref name="WP_T00_Kushner">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-taps-kushner-to-lead-a-swat-team-to-fix-government-with-business-ideas/2017/03/26/9714a8b6-1254-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html|title=Trump taps Kushner to lead a SWAT team to fix government with business ideas|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|author1=Ashley Parker |author2=Philip Rucker |date=March 26, 2017|access-date=March 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/27/trump-jared-kushner-white-house-office-american-innovation/99679980/|title=Trump taps Kushner to lead new White House Office of American Innovation|website=USA Today |date=March 27, 2017|access-date=March 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kushner-to-oversee-office-of-american-innovation-at-white-house-1490628556|title=Kushner to Oversee Office of American Innovation at White House|first=Michael C.|last=Bender|date=March 27, 2017|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=March 28, 2017|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref> By July 2017, OAI's operational team consisted of Kushner, Liddell, [[Reed Cordish]], and Matt Lira.<ref name="Politico">{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/07/01/jared-kushner-office-american-innovation-000470 |publisher=[[Politico]] |title=What Jared's office actually does |date=July 1, 2017 |first=Nancy |last=Scola}}</ref> Communications were run by Josh Raffel, a former [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] [[public relations]] executive,<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |title=Jared Kushner Hiring Hollywood PR Exec for White House Role (Exclusive) |first=Kim |last=Masters |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jared-kushner-hiring-hollywood-pr-exec-white-house-role-991250 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/06/trump-west-wing-staff-kushner-240244 |publisher=[[Politico]] |quote=Senior adviser Jared Kushner has two staffers working directly below him, as well as another five in the newly created Office of American Innovation who are focused on his portfolio of White House issues. Included in that mix is a communications adviser, Josh Raffel, a former Hollywood PR exec who previously repped Kushner’s real estate work. |title=Trump's aides build their own empires in the West Wing |first=Tara |last=Palmeri |date=July 6, 2017 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref> until February 2018, when Raffel announced his resignation from the position.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/josh-raffel-white-house-ivanka-trump-jared-kushner/index.html|title=Top White House aide linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner is leaving|author-link=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|first=Jeremy |last=Diamond|work=CNN|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref> Between April 2019 to November 2020, [[Ja'Ron Smith]] served as the office's Deputy Director.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/July-1-2020-Report-FINAL.pdf|title=Annual Report to Congress on White House Personnel 2020|date=2020-06-26|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|access-date=2020-11-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jaron-smith-black-trump-white-house-b1652592.html|title= Ja'Ron Smith, highest-ranking Black Trump adviser, has left the White House |author-link=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|first=Griffin |last=Connolly|work=The Independent|date=2020-11-07|access-date=2020-11-24}}</ref>