John Podesta

John David Podesta (born January 8, 1949 ) was the fourth and final White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton from 1998 until 2001. He is currently President of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C, and is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Podesta was co-chairman of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Podesta spent most of his early years in Chicago growing... more

John David Podesta (born January 8, 1949 ) was the fourth and final White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton from 1998 until 2001. He is currently President of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C, and is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Podesta was co-chairman of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Podesta spent most of his early years in Chicago growing up in the neighborhood of Jefferson Park on the city's Northwest Side. His father was Italian-American and his mother Greek-American. In 1967, he graduated from Lane Technical High School located in Chicago. In 1971, Podesta graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He attended and graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1976. Podesta worked as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice's Honors Program in the Land and Natural Resources Division (1976–1977), and as a Special Assistant to the Director of ACTION, the... less