Those who watch the press briefings from the White House Coronavirus Task Force are familiar with response coordinator Deborah Birx. Often the only woman on the stage, Birx was assigned to the task force on February 26 and draws on years of experience fighting HIV/AIDS globally. In fact, she served as the Ambassador-at-Large and US Global AIDS Coordinator from 2014 to 2020.
From time to time, Birx discusses her personal life on stage, with references to her husband of many years, former Clinton advance man, Paige Reffe.
Reffe Was the Deputy Assistant & Director of Advance for Bill Clinton
Reffe graduated from both the college and the law school of Emory University. From 2000 to 2002, he served on the Visitor’s Board of the United States Airforce Academy.
As the Deputy Assistant and Director of Advance, Reffe was responsible for the execution of the President and First Lady’s trips, according to The Project on Transitional Democracies.
Speaking to CBS in 2000, Reffe shared, “From who sits where on the motorcade, to how you communicate the message. They deal with who gets invited to events, who sits on the podium, who speaks and when. They deal with lighting, press filing centers, coordinating with security and balancing local political interests with national ones. The role is much more than a logistical one.”
read more:
https://heavy.com/news/2020/04/deborah-birx-husband-paige-reffe/
It goes further than Clinton. He was first appointed by Carter to the Office of Management and Budget. Check this out from Project on Transitional Democracy:
 Secretary
From 1979-83, Mr. Reffe was a trial attorney with the Tax Division, United States Department of Justice where he concentrated primarily on bankruptcy and civil tax matters. As a litigator, Mr. Reffe refined his advocacy skills in a public forum. From 1985-87, Mr. Reffe served as the chief of staff for Tim Wirth as a Congressman/Senator where he managed a staff of more than forty, a multi-million dollar budget and learned the intricacies of the Legislative Branch. Mr. Reffe joined the law firm of Cutler & Stanfield at its inception in 1988. While in private practice, he has represented a variety of clients from public instrumentalities and universities to multi-national corporations. From 1990-93, Mr. Reffe was the chief outside counsel for the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority - the largest water utility in North America. The Agency employed more than 7,000 people, had a budget in excess of $700 million and a long-term capital construction program of $2 billion. In addition to supervising legal matters, Mr. Reffe provided guidance and advice on both the day-to-day management of the agency and developing long-term strategies. As a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance at the White House in 1995-96, Mr. Reffe supervised a staff that grew to more than 200 and a multi-million dollar budget. His office was responsible for the successful execution of the President’s and First Lady’s trips including: ten major overseas visits to more than 30 countries, more than 400 trips in the United States and numerous events in the Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Reffe led the site survey and preadvance teams for all of the President’s foreign travels and in that capacity was the principal negotiator with foreign governments regarding the President’s visits. The negotiations ranged from whether the President would visit (Sarajevo) to how long (Japan state visit), from whom he would meet to where he would speak (Northern Ireland) and on what suggested topics. Each decision had an impact both substantively and strategically and ramifications for the Administration’s foreign policy. The President’s foreign travel included visits to: Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Spain, Thailand and the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. By far the most difficult assignments were his work in Bosnia and Croatia, Egypt and Israel, and Northern Ireland. These visits required sensitive negotiating skills, a keen understanding of the diplomatic intricacies of American foreign policy, and a heightened level of political sophistication. In 1997, Mr. Reffe rejoined the law firm of Cutler & Stanfield as a partner and in 1998, Mr. Reffe established his own law office where he advises clients on federal and international matters. In 2000 Mr. Reffe also established the Reffe Group which specializes in internal events. The Reffe Group planned and executed all of the Vilnius Group Summits including: a Ministerial in Vilnius, Lithuania in May 2000; a Prime Ministerial summit in Bratislava, Slovakia in March, 2001; a Presidential summit in Sofia, Bulgaria in October 2001; a Prime Ministerial summit in Bucharest, Romania in March, 2002; and a Prime Ministerial Head of State summit in Riga, Latvia in July, 2002. Mr. Reffe presently represents the Governments of Albania, Romania, and Slovakia in Washington, D.C. Mr. Reffe presently serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Committee to Expand NATO. He also served on the Visitor’s Board of the United States Airforce Academy from 2000-2002. He is a graduate of both the college and the law school of Emory University. |
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