Melanie N. Roussell is currently serving as the Press Secretary for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan. Specializing in crisis communication and management, Roussell has spent nearly seven years inside the Beltway crafting messages and developing communication strategies for political principles.
Roussell first came to Washington, DC as a CBCF intern in 2001 for former Rep. William Jefferson and returned as his staff assistant in 2002. She later served as Public Information Director for the New Orleans District Attorney, where she began to specialize in daily crisis management.
In 2004, she returned to Washington as Communications Director for Jefferson. During her tenure, Roussell further developed her crisis communications specialty while dealing with dual crises: the response to Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, and the public bribery scandal Jefferson faced that same month. In addition to her press responsibilities, Roussell also managed Small Business, Education, Social Security, Women and children’s policy issues for Jefferson.
Roussell moved to the House Judiciary Committee in 2007, where she served as Communications Director, leading all message development and print media relations efforts during the U.S. Attorney scandal, the related contempt of Congress charges against Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, and other high profile committee activities.
In 2008, Roussell was named Southern Regional Communications Director for the Barack Obama campaign, responsible for managing communications for three battleground states – Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. Her work on the campaign helped turn all three red states blue. Following the campaign, she worked on the Presidential Inaugural Committee as a spokesperson. She was named Press Secretary for HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in February 2009.
Roussell, a native of New Orleans, LA, received her Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Florida A&M University and her M.A. in Public Communication from American University.
