University of Rochester Alumnus Heather Higginbottom Named Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Fourteen years after leaving the University of Rochester with a bachelor\'s degree in political science, Heather Higginbottom has been named deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council by President-elect Barack Obama.

After 20 months as Obama\'s policy director and more than a decade of experience working for policy reform on Capitol Hill, the 36-year-old Chenango Bridge, N.Y., native is now charged with helping to develop the programs that will determine whether Obama\'s campaign promises become a reality.

\"I am thrilled with the opportunity to work on the issues of education and health care that I have focused on since I graduated from Rochester,\" said Higginbottom.

Higginbottom credits her semester in Washington while still a University undergraduate for whetting her appetite for politics. She worked as an intern for U.S. Rep. Gene Green, a Democrat from Houston.

\"As a senior, Heather enrolled in a graduate seminar on urban politics, an undergraduate taking a class alongside several Ph.D. students,\" recalled Gerald Gamm, associate professor of political science and history who taught Higginbottom. \"She thrived in the environment and more than held her own. Throughout her years at Rochester, she was lively, smart, and passionate about politics. Heather had a sharp, analytical mind and a deep commitment to understanding how local, state, and national politics work.\"

After graduation, Higginbottom returned to Washington and worked for Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that ran programs to encourage high school students to stay in school. After completing a master\'s in public policy from George Washington University, she worked for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, rising from a legislative assistant to his deputy national policy director during the 2004 presidential campaign.

For the past two years, when not in Chicago working with the Obama policy staff, Higginbottom has lived in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Northwest Washington, one of the capital\'s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Her parents, George and Anne, live on Cape Cod.