Jennifer Hoelzer

Jennifer Hoelzer is a writer, communications strategist and recovering Congressional staffer, having moved to Los Angeles after more than fifteen years in Washington, D.C.. 

Described as a “whip-smart, media-savvy communications pro who’s just as comfortable talking tax policy as she is writing jokes,” Jen advises a wide variety of clients — from politicians and advocacy organizations to filmmakers, athletes and entrepreneurs — on how to develop and control their narratives.

Jen is also a screenwriter, a consultant on the Emmy-Award winning HBO comedy, VEEP, a contributor to publications such as the Huffington Post, Techdirt and Slate and a recognized expert on issues pertaining to privacy, national security and tech policy. 

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Jen spent ten years on Capitol Hill, including six years as U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s communications director and eventual, deputy chief of staff.  She has a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University and a masters degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.    

A native of Northeast, Ohio, she's a lifelong fan of Cleveland sports making her an eternal optimist with a soft spot for underdogs.   She currently lives in the Hollywood Hills with her dog, Ziggy.

You can read Jen's Huffington Post blog at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-hoelzer/ or watch her on Democracy Now at: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/8/12/senIate_insider_speaks_out_ex_wyden

To submit an interview/booking request email JIHoelzer (at) gmail.com.

Originally Published 11/27/2012 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-hoelzer/president-obama-biggest-mistake_b_2197795.html

As Barack Obama prepares for his second term as President of the United States, it’s worth remembering what he identified as the biggest “mistake of his first term.” Six months ago, he told Charlie Rose it was his failure to communicate.

How is it possible that President Obama — whose campaign oratory has quite literally made audiences swoon — struggles when it comes to communicating his own policy agenda?

He applies the same communication strategy in office as he does on the campaign. He even employs the same people. There isn’t a press or communications office in the Obama Administration — from the White House, to the Justice Department to the TSA — that hasn’t been staffed with the same brilliant communicators who helped elect Barack Obama to the presidency not once, but twice.

Yet a majority of Americans still don’t believe that the stimulus helped the economy (despite rather extraordinary evidence to the contrary). And not only can few people explain how Obamacare works, a significant percentage of Americans thinks the president supports “death panels.”

Is convincing the American people that their president doesn’t want to kill them really that much harder than electing the first African-American president?

Or is it possible that communicating policy is different than communicating on a campaign?