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Mari Maseng Will

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Mari Maseng
Maseng in 1981
White House Communications Director
In office
July 1, 1988 – January 20, 1989
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byTom Griscom
Succeeded byDavid Demarest
Director of the Office of Public Liaison
In office
May 12, 1986 – July 1987
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byLinda Chavez
Succeeded byRebecca Range
Personal details
Born
Mari Maseng

(1954-03-15) March 15, 1954 (age 70)[citation needed]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1991)
Children1
EducationUniversity of South Carolina (BA)

Mari Maseng Will (born March 15, 1954)[citation needed] is a Republican adviser who has worked for President Ronald Reagan, Senator Robert Dole and Governor Rick Perry. She was also an adviser to Scott Walker's presidential campaign and Ted Cruz’s and Tim Scott’s presidential campaigns.

Career

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Maseng served President Reagan in the White House three times. She was assistant to the president and director of communications from June 1988 to January 1989. Before that she served as deputy assistant to the president and director of the Office of Public Liaison from May 1986 to July 1987 and she was a speechwriter for President Reagan from January 1981 to November 1983. She was assistant secretary of Transportation for Public Affairs from November 1983 to April 1985.[1]

Maseng was Robert Dole's press secretary during his 1980 quest for the Republican presidential nomination. She held the same job for Dole in 1987-88, until Bush clinched the nomination. For the third time Maseng was communications director of Dole's 1996 campaign.[2]

Maseng was brought in as a debate coach for the Rick Perry 2012 presidential campaign during the staff upheaval in the fall of 2011 and continued in that capacity for the rest of the campaign. She earlier worked for Michele Bachmann prior to her announcement for president.

Maseng is the principal of Maseng Communications and provides services to corporations, trade associations and political clients in the areas of public relations strategy, message development, speechwriting, and presentation training. She is a debate coach for presidential, US Senate, US House and gubernatorial candidates.

Political clients have included Utah Senator Mike Lee, former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, South Carolina Senator Tom Scott, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, Former Georgia Representative and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, among many others.[citation needed]

Activism

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Maseng is a director of the political action committee, Citizens for the Republic, founded in January 1977 by Ronald Reagan and revived in 2009 by, now chairman, Craig Shirley after a period of dormancy following President Reagan's departure from office.[3]

Personal life

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Maseng graduated from the University of South Carolina (B.A., 1975)[4] In 1991, she married columnist and TV commentator George Will. They have one child, David, born in 1992, and live in the Washington D.C. area.

References

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  1. ^ "Appointment of Mari Maseng as Assistant to the President for Communications". June 16, 1988.
  2. ^ George Will (1996). "The columnist speaks; Mari Maseng steps down". The Masthead.
  3. ^ "Citizens for the Republic: Board of Directors". cftr.org. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "Friendship on the fairway: Keeping it evergreen". February 11, 2008.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Director of the Office of Public Liaison
1986–1987
Succeeded by
Preceded by White House Director of Communications
1988–1989
Succeeded by