I was shaped by my Republican parents, became a Democrat, traveled the world with President Barack Obama and wish we could get closer to the world as it should be.
Johanna Maska
Johanna Maska, CEO of Global Situation Room, shared the story behind her title with us on Sunday, October 4th, 2020
Johanna is also a host of Pod is a Woman. Maska served President Barack Obama for more than eight years, as Director of Press Advance in the White House, playing a critical role in his 2008 campaign.
At the White House, Maska served as guarantor of President Obama’s brand on a global stage, ensuring consistency of message across every continent, whether that was a first-ever live address to the nation from Afghanistan or a multi-country town hall from South Africa. Maska traveled with President Obama to more than 40 countries and almost every state.
Since leaving the White House in 2015, Maska has worked with media companies, technology firms and non-profit organizations applying her unique touch to projects across sectors. Maska taught communications at the University of Southern California, served as a Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics and has spoken at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics.
Maska was born in Wichita, Kansas, raised primarily in Galesburg, IL, graduated from Galesburg High School and attended the University of Kansas. Maska worked in politics in the midwest, for Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and in politics in Iowa before joining the Obama campaign.
SUE SAYS
Most people do not have the privilege of traveling to over 40 countries with the President of The United States. Johanna’s experience in doing so opened her eyes to many of the world’s problems, both common to all countries, and some that plague a few. What she learned is that the only way the world will be better for all is when people with the power to create policy can come together and seek resolutions with integrity and an open mind.