Ricki Seidman

Seidman was born on August 24, 1955, to a Jewish family, the daughter of Eileen Joan (née Ladenson) and Frank Seidman.{{Cite web |date=August 24, 2018 |title=Weekend Birthdays — Friday: Senior principal at TSD Communications, she formerly worked in both the Clinton and Obama White House, Ricki Seidman turns 63 |url=http://jewishinsider.com/14396/daily-kickoff-interview-new-jersey-congressional-candidate-tom-malinowski-nsc-memo-trump-white-house-warned-obama-echo-chamber/ |website=Jewish Insider}}{{Cite news |date=September 21, 2018 |title=Obituary: Eileen Joan Seidman |language=en-US |work=Atlanta Jewish Times |url=https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/obituary-eileen-joan-seidman/ |access-date=April 6, 2022}} She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law.{{Cite web |title=Key People-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/obamaorggen.html |url-status=dead |website=Democracy in Action |access-date=September 21, 2018 |archive-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924213537/https://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/obamaorggen.html }}

After graduation, she worked as a senior investigator for the investigation firm, Investigative Group International{{Cite web |last=Lovelace |first=Ryan |date=August 10, 2018 |title=After 34 Years, Storied DC Investigations Firm Has No Lenzner at the Helm |url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2018/08/10/after-34-years-storied-dc-investigations-firm-has-no-lenzner-at-the-helm/ |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=National Law Journal |publisher=Law.com}} and later for the People for the American Way.{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Edwin |last2=Healy |first2=Melissa |date=October 12, 1991 |title=Hill's New Harassment Allegations Draw Angry Denials From Thomas : Hearings: The law professor testifies that the court nominee repeatedly boasted of his sexual prowess. The judge calls session 'high-tech lynching for an uppity black.' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-12-mn-146-story.html}}

She has been involved in presidential campaigns beginning with Walter Mondale in 1984, Michael Dukakis in 1988,{{Cite web |date=Fall 1997 |title=Ricki Seidman |url=https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/ricki-seidman |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=Harvard University Kennedy School of Politics}} and Bill Clinton in 1992. Seidman worked for President Clinton as assistant to the president, as the director of scheduling and advance, and as the deputy communications director and assistant to the president. She served as deputy communications director during the Clinton–Gore presidential campaign transition, and worked on the failed nominations of Lani Guinier and Webster Hubbell.{{Cite book |last=Drew |first=Elizabeth |url=https://archive.org/details/onedge00drew |title=On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1994 |url-access=registration}}

She appeared in the 1993 documentary film about the 1992 Clinton campaign for president, The War Room, and the 2008 film The Return of the War Room documenting Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Seidman worked as an assistant to Senator Ted Kennedy and chief investigator for the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee where she worked against the Robert Bork (1987) and Clarence Thomas (1990) nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nan Aron from Alliance for Justice asserts that she was the one that tipped Seidman off about Thomas' alleged harassment.{{Cite web |last=Aron |first=Nan |author-link=Nan Aron |date=April 27, 2017 |title=Anita Hill Taught Us a Lesson That Today's Obstructionist Republicans Have Forgotten |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anita-hill-taught-us-a-le_b_9779218 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=HuffPost}}

In 1991, she prepped Anita Hill before she testified.{{Cite web |last=Ainsley |first=Julia |last2=Alexander |first2=Peter |date=September 21, 2018 |title=Both Sides Prep for Potential Kavanaugh/Ford Hearing on Sex Assault Allegation |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/both-sides-prep-potential-monday-kavanaugh-ford-hearing-sex-assault-n911836 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=NBC News}} She was played by Grace Gummer in the HBO film Confirmation, depicting her role as adviser to Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination.

In September 2018, Politico reported that she is serving as an adviser to Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982 when they were teenagers.{{Cite web |last=Axelrod |first=Tal |date=September 20, 2018 |title=Ford Taps Obama, Clinton Alum to Navigate Senate Hearing |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/407662-ford-taps-obama-clinton-alum-to-navigate-senate-hearing/ |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=The Hill}} Her involvement was criticized by Cassie Smedile, press secretary for the Republican National Committee, who stated, "If you're concerned about an appearance of partisanship, hiring a Democratic operative with a history of smearing conservative judges doesn't exactly mitigate that."{{Cite web |last=Karni |first=Annie |date=September 20, 2018 |title=Kavanaugh Accuser Leans on Democratic Operative for Advice |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/20/kavanaugh-accuser-democratic-operative-advice-833013 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=Politico}}

Subsequently, she was named as a deputy associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice.{{Cite web |title=Ricki Seidman: Senior Principal |url=http://www.tsd.biz/our-team/ricki-seidman/ |url-status=dead |access-date=September 21, 2018 |website=TSD Communications |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921225853/http://www.tsd.biz/our-team/ricki-seidman/ }} In 2000, she served as a senior principal at TSD Communications, a position she maintains today. She served as then-Senator Joe Biden's communications director during the Obama presidential campaign in 2008. In 2009, she advised President Barack Obama during the successful nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. In 2021, Seidman rejoined the Department of Justice under the Biden administration.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Alex |last2=Meyer |first2=Theodoric |date=April 15, 2021 |title="What Would Beau Say?" |url=https://politi.co/2RvxUkA |access-date=August 18, 2021 |website=Politico |language=en}}

She also served as a fellow of the Harvard Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and for three years as executive director of Rock the Vote. Seidman served as an advisor to Google from 2006 to 2011 and her firm, TSD Communications, included Facebook among its clientele.{{Cite web |last=Dayen |first=David |date=April 15, 2021 |title=The End of the Insider Party Network |url=https://prospect.org/api/content/9a1cf7e2-9dfc-11eb-a266-1244d5f7c7c6/ |access-date=August 18, 2021 |website=The American Prospect |language=en-us}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite web |date=June 16, 1993 |title=Surviving a Campaign Crisis -Two campaign strategists spoke in a forum on handling crises in political campaigns during a campaign training seminar: Alex Castellanos and Ricki Seidman |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?43170-1/surviving-campaign-crisis |publisher=C-SPAN}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidman, Ricki}}

Category:American political consultants

Category:American women in politics

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:Living people

Category:Miami University alumni

Category:University of Georgia School of Law alumni

Category:1955 births

Category:American lawyers

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:20th-century American women

Category:21st-century American women