Dana Perino
Dana Marie Perino[1] (born May 9, 1972) is an American political commentator and author who was the 26th White House Press Secretary, under President George W. Bush from September 14, 2007, to January 20, 2009. She was the second female White House Press Secretary, after Dee Dee Myers who served during the Clinton administration.[2]
Dana Perino
Matt Armstrong
George W. Bush
Scott McClellan
Tony Snow
Tony Fratto
Perino is a political commentator for Fox News, while also serving as a co-host of the network's talk show The Five, and was a book publishing executive at Random House. On October 2, 2017, she began hosting The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino on Fox News.[3] In early 2021, Perino left The Daily Briefing to co-anchor America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer.[4] In May 2023, Dana was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from CSU Pueblo, her alma mater. [5]
Early life and career[edit]
Born in Evanston, Wyoming on May 9, 1972,[2] she grew up in Denver, Colorado.[6] Two of her paternal great-grandparents were Italian immigrants.[7][8][9] She attended Ponderosa High School in Parker, a suburb southeast of Denver.[6] Perino graduated from Colorado State University Pueblo with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and minors in both political science and Spanish.[2] She was on the university's forensics team and worked at KTSC-TV, the campus-based Rocky Mountain PBS affiliate.[10] She also worked at KCCY-FM on the 2 to 6 a.m. shift.[11] Perino went on to obtain a master's degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS).[12] During her time at UIS, she also worked for WCIA, a CBS affiliate, as a daily reporter covering the Illinois Capitol.[13]
Perino next worked in Washington, D.C. for Congressman Scott McInnis (R-CO) as a staff assistant before serving nearly four years as the press secretary for Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO), who then chaired the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power.[10][14]
After Schaefer announced his retirement in 1998, Perino and husband Peter McMahon moved to Great Britain.[6]
In November 2001, Perino returned to Washington, D.C., and secured a position as a spokesperson for the Department of Justice,[15] at which she served for two years.[16]
Perino then joined the White House staff as the associate director of communications for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), where she provided strategic advice on message development, media relations and public outreach.[17][18]
Other media appearances[edit]
In May 2012, Perino appeared on Jeopardy! during its "Power Players" week, facing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and CNBC's David Faber.[37]
Personal life[edit]
Perino met her future husband, English-born Peter McMahon, in August 1997. They were married in 1998.[38]
Perino has been a resident of Bay Head, New Jersey.[39]
Perino had a Vizsla dog named Jasper who died on September 4, 2021.[40] A few months later, she announced on the Fox News Channel that she and her husband adopted another Vizsla named Percy.[41]