Dana Perino

Born in Evanston, Wyoming, on May 9, 1972, Perino grew up in Denver, Colorado. She attended Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colorado, and later graduated from the University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University-Pueblo) in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and minors in political science and Spanish. During college, she worked as a country music DJ from 2 to 8 A.M. and was active in debate and campus television. She went on to earn a master's degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield while working as a daily reporter covering the Illinois Capitol.

Perino began her Washington career as a staff assistant for Representative Scott McInnis, then served nearly four years as press secretary for Representative Dan Schaefer. After moving to England to marry businessman Peter McMahon, they lived in San Diego for three years, where she worked in high-tech public affairs. In November 2001, she returned to Washington as a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, and later joined the White House as Director of Communications for the Council on Environmental Quality. She became Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary in 2006, handling environment and energy media relations. After her tenure as Press Secretary, she founded Dana Perino & Co., a strategic communications firm, and became a Fox News contributor. She also writes a commentary for the Washington Post.