Melody Barnes

Melody C. Barnes (born April 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and political advisor. Formerly an aide and chief counsel to Senator Ted Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barnes later worked at the Center for American Progress, a think tank, before joining Senator Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. After Obama took office as president, Barnes was appointed director of the Domestic Policy Council, serving in that post from January 2009 to January 2012. After leaving the White House, Barnes assumed roles at the Aspen Institute and New York University. Since 2016, she has been at the University of Virginia, where she teaches law and is the co-director of the UVA Democracy Initiative.

Barnes was born on April 29, 1964, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. Barnes's father Charles H. Barnes Jr. was a civilian employee of the U.S. Army, and her mother Mary Frances Rogers Barnes (1934–2014) was a teacher.

Barnes earned her BA with honors in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989. Barnes is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

In 1989, Barnes began her career as an attorney with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York City as an associate in corporate finance and financial institutions.

Barnes then worked at the Raben Group, where she lobbied for the American Civil Liberties Union, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, American Constitution Society, and Center for Reproductive Rights. Barnes served as director of legislative affairs at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as assistant counsel of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the House Judiciary Committee. In the latter role, Barnes worked on the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992.

Barnes was general counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 1998, and chief counsel from 1998 to 2003.

From 2003 to July 2008, Barnes was at the Center for American Progress, a think tank. She was executive vice president for policy at the center from 2005 to 2008. Barnes was involved in the launch of the center's Initiative on Faith and Public Policy. She worked under CEO John D. Podesta, who later served as co-chairman of the Obama-Biden transition team.

Barnes was senior domestic policy advisor to Senator Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign. After the election, Barnes helped to lead Obama's transition team. Barnes served as co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the transition.