we were there too

Our stories shaped a legacy. It’s our responsibility to tell them. It’s my honor to preserve them.

Hi! I’m Deesha. If you don’t me, I started in the Obama administration as a White House intern in 2009, got hired in 2010 (both in the department of scheduling & advance) before moving over to the East Wing to serve in First Lady Michelle Obama’s social office in 2014. I held the positions of Deputy Social Secretary before being promoted to the Social Secretary from 2015. - 2017. In my 8 year tenure, I traveled the world with President and Mrs. Obama, curated and presided over lots of fancy events and welcomed culture, arts, entertainment and community to the White House. But before I was all of that, I was a journalist that interviewed creatives and community leaders around their origin stories. I have a deep love for finding out about people. The who, what, why and how of a person. Which leads me to this project, we were there too.

I’m very blessed to have told my story of working for the Obamas time and time again, most recently in my book Undiplomatic, which came out in 2024. The reactions to my story span from love, joy, inspiration, motivation and authenticity. People tell me weekly how much they see possibilities in their life because of my story - or they just enjoy how I demystify the White House and who belongs there. But, the thing is - there are so many of us - so many of you - that have such an amazing stories and roads of how you ended up working for the first Black President and First Lady. I want to hear all about your childhood, adolescence, and when is the first time you heard the name Barack Obama. I want to hear about your job or jobs in the administration - the hard times, the accomplishments, legislation you worked on and all of that.

I don’t know what I’ll do with we were there too but I’ll definitely keep you posted. For now, I want to start the oral interviews while we can all still recall details (!!!). When it comes down to it, this rich legacy that we lived should also be told through our voices. If you are here, it means I have chatted with you about an interview. If you are still interested after reading this very long introduction, I invite you to fill out this survey at your earliest convenience and someone will be in touch with you. Please do not forward this on to anyone. There is a space on the survey for you to recommend an interviewee. This survey will kick off the legal paperwork and scheduling.

If you have any concerns, I can be reached at info@hookandfasten.com. Thank you, Deesha