Contributor

Susan McCue

President of Message Global; Millennium Challenge Corporation Board of Directors

Susan M. McCue is one of the nation’s top political strategists and President of Message Global, a firm she founded to advance social action campaigns, political advocacy and corporate social responsibility in the U.S. and globally. Message Global brings foremost influencers together with the public for awareness and activism. The boutique firm partners with some of the world’s most creative thinkers, artists, political leaders and digital innovators for sustained results. Areas of focus are global development, global health, human rights, the environment, technology and clean energy. McCue served as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) from 1998–2007 where she built and managed his leadership, policy and political operations. The Almanac of the Unelected said McCue “can be found at the center of nearly every major debate and agreement in the Senate.” She developed an integrated, state-of-the-art communications operations for progressives and was a key strategist in the 2006 national elections when Democrats regained majorities in the House and Senate. Following the historic 2006 Congressional victories, McCue become the founding President & CEO of ONE a high-energy grassroots advocacy campaign launched by U2’s Bono to reduce extreme global poverty. McCue elevated ONE into a national force and a growing global movement brings millions of people together as agents of change. In January 2008, McCue opened Message Global with ONE as a main client and she rejoined Majority Leader Reid as a political and message advisor for him and the Senate Democratic caucus. In 2006 GQ Magazine named McCue one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington and Washingtonian Magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful women in Washington saying she has “unassailable credentials as one of Washington’s premiere inside players.” Before becoming a U.S. Senate Chief of Staff in 1998, McCue served in numerous senior communications and speechwriting positions for candidates, elected officials and former HUD Cabinet Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Prior to her political communications career, McCue worked as a news assistant at the Associated Press, National Journal and The New York Times. McCue was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2010 to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees US international broadcasting, including Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, bringing news and democratic values to people around the world in 60 languages. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Trustee of Humanity United, a philanthropic organization building peace and advancing human freedom globally. She recently joined the board of Jumo.com, a new social network by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes to connect individuals to mission-driven organizations. And she also serves on the boards of Progress Now, The Third Way and the National Clean Energy Project. A New Jersey native, McCue is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, with degrees in economics and journalism. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

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