Melody Barnes trades White House for family life

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Melody C. Barnes is a woman who is about to truly Redefine her life. The Richmond, Virginia native, attorney, wife, former legislative counsel to the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and President Barack Obama’s Domestic Policy Council Director; held a private, farewell interview with five members of the national media at the White House on Wednesday as she prepares for a new and exciting chapter in her life.

Dressed in a charcoal gray turtleneck and black pant suit, the petite, attractive Barmes. 47, spoke at length about her three years in the White House, the achievements she is most proud of, some of her more challenging moments, what it has been like working for the nation’s first African-American president, why she is ready to move on, and what we can expect from her in 2012.

On her background and how she became a force in Washington:

Barnes has always been an exceptional woman.

Raised as an only child in Richmond by a mom who is an educator and a father who retired from the United States Army, she was educated at some of our nation’s most prestigious schools, receiving her Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her law degree from the University of Michigan.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, she was also initiated into the nation’s oldest Greek Lettered organization for black women; the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was admitted to the Bar in both New York and Washington, D.C., and began her career at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She then went to work for the House Judiciary Committee and moved quickly across the D.C. power track, serving on the board of directors of EMILY’s list. Eventually, Barnes would work for the legendary Edward M. Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts and youngest brother to President John F. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

But what makes Barnes so interesting is not just her professional success, but her personal evolution.

She did not marry until she was 45 years old, in 2009. She and her husband, Marland Buckner, tied the knot just six months into the new Obama administration. She was very much like many successful black women of Generation X: well educated, driven, accomplished, and single — with no kids well into her 40s. But unlike many of her peers, she and Buckner met on Capitol Hill as she was ascending the political staff ranks of the Democratic Party. Buckner, who was married at the time, eventually divorced and is said to have admired Barnes from afar. It wasn’t until they met later at a summer crab fest that the two connected as a potential love match.

According to a June 20, 2009 New York Times article on the couple, Barnes was viewed by her future husband as “both compelling and unapproachable.” But close friends and colleagues who knew Barnes understood how much marriage and family meant to her. So while Barnes, like many accomplished black women of her generation, was misunderstood by much of the world as just another overachieving black woman with no desire for love and family in her life, how wrong they were.

In the same New York Times piece, a good friend of Barnes’, Laurie Rubiner, recalled how once, when they were talking about the hardships of dating in the modern world as successful women, Barnes broke down in tears because at 45 years old, she still had not found that fulfilling “love” in her life.

Her Achievements as Domestic Policy Adviser

As she sat with some of her top aides, preparing for her final day at the White House, Barnes talked about everything from student loans and the president’s willingness to use his executive authority more to help the nation’s young people, to the administration’s commitment to working in collaboration with the private sector to create more high-tech and innovation jobs in America. She ticked off some of the domestic policy achievements that happened on her watch (giving all of the credit to President Obama) and explained why she thinks the president has been successful in his first term and deserves a second.
Among the achievements Barnes said she is proudest of:

•Education reform, including $100 billion in American Recovery Act dollars; the Race to the Top Challenge which, for just 1 percent of our nation’s spending on education, inspired 40 states to reform their education laws to create rigorous college and career ready standards; and the Investing in Innovation fund and School Improvement Grants, designed to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools.

•Efforts to reduce higher education costs by ending subsidies for private student lenders and giving $40 billion in savings back to students, raising the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,550, supporting the nation’s community colleges, and providing tax credits to help families pay for college.

•Implementing the Affordable Care Act, which the administration says will provide health coverage to 34 million uninsured Americans, and make health care more affordable.

•Advocating comprehensive immigration reform, and reforming enforcement procedures to focus on securing the nation’s borders; holding employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers accountable, and focusing enforcement resources on those illegal migrants who are a threat to public safety and national security.

•Establishing the first White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and establishing the Social Innovation Fund to strengthen the non-profit sector, promote public-private partnerships and engage more Americans in strengthening their communities.

I asked Barnes how she felt the Obama administration had performed on domestic policy and jobs relative to the Black community — a subject of some controversy this year. Her answer was revealing.

“When we came in we had to assess just where things were,” Barnes said. “The black community had been hard hit by the recession since 2007, and it wasn’t until December 2008, sitting in the presidential transition headquarters in Chicago, that we realized the full scope of how bad the economic situation was for all Americans. But for the black community the impact was even moreso. We had to get here to do the work, in order to talk about the work; not the other way around, which is often the case in Washington.”

“Despite what many of our critics say about our lack of attentiveness to the black community, we have a large basket of policy achievements that have directly impacted in a positive way the community,” Barnes said.

So, what’s next for Barnes?

“Be clear,” Barnes said, “the first thing I told the president when I informed him that I was going to leave my post, is that he can count on me for the re-election campaign.”

And yet, you could see in her eyes the toll the heavy workload at the White House has taken on this still young woman’s life over the past few years.

“Look, these jobs are an honor,” said Barnes. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for this president as I have. But it’s a 24/7 commitment. That’s our job, but it does take a toll on your family and personal life.”

President Obama offered this comment about his faithful policy adviser and long-time friend: “I will always be grateful that a woman of Melody’s brilliance, creativity and heart led our domestic policy team during such a challenging time for our nation. Melody has left a lasting legacy, developing and implementing policies that have helped remake our education system, spurred innovation, and fostered opportunity and equality for millions of Americans.”

Her colleague and friend, Valerie Jarrett had this to say: “Melody has been a central figure in the President’s efforts to build the foundation for a growth economy, and everywhere you look you can see signs of her effectiveness — in reforming education from pre-K through college, in pushing a record number of public-private partnerships in areas ranging from job training to innovation, and in her work on issues ranging from healthcare to childhood obesity. We’ve been fortunate to have her leadership and will miss her greatly.”

Yet, with all of these accolades from some of the most powerful people in Washington, Barnes says it’s time to return to her life; it’s time for her to rest, and to redefine what she wants and how she wishes to contribute to the president and to her own family.

Barnes wants to spend quality time with the love of her live, Marlan. They plan to travel a bit, and just reconnect with one another. Barnes said jokingly that she has made “three meals for her husband in the past three years,” and she thinks it’s time that she shows the same support for some of his goals as he has so lovingly and willingly given to her.

She explained that she has a “wide-range” of opportunities available to her as she exits the White House, but that she is taking a few months off to be with Buckner, who she describes with deep emotion (and a gleam in her eyes), as “the most supportive, kindest spouse a woman could ever have.”

Whatever she does next, Barnes remains an example of a modern woman, for a modern time, living her life in balance and changing the game as she goes along.