Mari Maseng Will

Mari Maseng Will
White House Communications Director
In office July 1, 1988 – January 20, 1989
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Tom Griscom
Succeeded by	David Demarest
8th Director of the Office of Public Liaison
In office May 12, 1986 – July 1987
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Linda Chavez
Succeeded by	Rebecca Range
Personal details
Born	(1954-03-15) March 15, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	George Will (1991–present)
Children	David
Alma mater	University of South Carolina, Columbia

Mari Maseng Will (born March 15, 1954) is a Republican advisor who has worked for President Ronald Reagan, Senator Robert Dole and Governor Rick Perry. She was also an advisor to Scott Walker's presidential campaign.

Career

Maseng served President Reagan in the White House on three separate occasions. 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, and offered her services to the Mitt Romney campaign.^[3][4]

Maseng is the principal of Maseng Communications (masengcommunications.com) 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, and congressional clients.

Personal life

Maseng graduated from the University of South Carolina (B.A., 1975)^[5] In 1991, she married columnist and TV commentator George Will. They have one child, a son named David, born in 1992, and live in the Washington D.C. area.

She is a director of the political action committee, Citizens for the Republic, founded in 2009 by Craig Shirley, the author of two best-selling books on Reagan presidential campaigns.^[6]

References

Assistant to the President for Public Liaison Special Counsel to the President, Special Assistant to the President, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, Assistant to the President for Public Outreach, Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Charles Colson William J. Baroody, Jr. Midge Costanza Anne Wexler Elizabeth Dole Faith Whittlesey Linda Chavez Mari Maseng Rebecca Range Bobbie Kilberg Cecile B. Kremer Alexis Herman Maria Echaveste Minyon Moore Mary Beth Cahill Lezlee Westine Rhonda Keenum Julie E. Cram Valerie Jarrett