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Photograph of Joseph Walsh

Joseph Walsh Adjunct Instructor Public Communication

Contact
Joseph Walsh
SOC | General Academics & Research
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Degrees
MPA, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government; BA, Political Science, College of the Holy Cross

Bio
Joe Walsh is a communications and political strategist and advisor with experience in government, policymaking, politics, and communications at the national, state and local level. He has taught Political Communication, The Presidency and Executive Branch, Voting, Elections and Campaigns, and Applied Politics and American Public Policy.

He is currently director of policy communications at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non profit organization in Washington D.C.

In President Barack Obama’s administration, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education, serving as an advisor to the Secretary on political and strategic communications issues and led the Department’s state and local engagement efforts with governors, mayors, legislators, chief state school officers and the advocacy community. In President Bill Clinton's White House, he was education director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.

Joe has worked at the intersection of policy, politics, and communications throughout his career, and in a wide range of policy issues including education, workforce development, and economic and community development. He recently was
Senior Advisor for External Affairs and Strategy at Teach For America, and previously led national communication and public affairs. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he was Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Gates Foundation, served in Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s cabinet as Director of the Department of Employment Services, and in Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s administration as Director of Policy and Planning in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. He was chief of staff to the Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and later director of the city’s planning and community development department.

Joe has also played key roles in several high-profile political campaigns and advocacy efforts, and as a consultant providing political, policy and strategic communications guidance, working intensively with policy makers and advocates on complex policy and communications issues in a challenging political environment.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • COMM-439 Political Communication

  • GOVT-652 Presidency & Executive Branch

  • GOVT-656 Voting Behav,Electns& Campgns

Spring 2025

  • COMM-439 Political Communication