Meet Cody

Cody Keenan rose from a campaign intern in Chicago and deputy pirate to become chief speechwriter at the White House and Barack Obama’s post-presidential collaborator. He’s been named the “Springsteen” of the Obama White House, even though he can’t play an instrument, and Obama calls him “Hemingway” for reasons that have little to do with his talent or seasonal beard (ask him sometime). Even British GQ once named Cody one of the “35 Coolest Men under 38 (and a Half),” ahead of Ryan Gosling, but behind Tom Hardy. He has made a certain peace with this ranking. 

In truth, Cody is more comfortable behind the scenes, helping to shape the stories of our time. He got his start as a young aide to the legendary senator Edward M. Kennedy. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a B.A. from Northwestern University, and an honorary doctorate from Salve Regina University, where he delivered the 2024 commencement address. Cody’s commencement addresses at NYU in 2015 and Northwestern in 2018 were highlighted as some of the year’s best, and in 2020, Northwestern’s graduating class of seniors chose him to deliver their “Last Lecture.” A sought-after expert on politics, messaging, and current affairs, Cody has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Today Show,The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Morning Joe, Showtime’s The Circus, and is a frequent guest on Pod Save America and live television coverage of major presidential addresses.

Today, Cody is a partner at leading speechwriting firm Fenway Strategies, teaches a wildly popular course on political speechwriting to undergraduates at Northwestern, and sits on the board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Born in Wrigleyville, Cody finally got to write his dream speech just four days before Obama left office—one welcoming the World Champion Chicago Cubs to the White House. To his wife Kristen’s enduring embarrassment, their White House courtship was documented on CNN. Today, they live in Chicago with their young children Grace and Jack.

Two men in business attire sitting on a beige couch, engaged in conversation and smiling, with papers in their hands, in a well-lit room with a table, a lamp, and a bowl of apples.
TV talk show set featuring guest and host men in conversation. The guest has curly hair, beard, navy blazer, and jeans, sitting on blue couch. The host has dark hair, glasses, navy suit, sitting behind wooden desk with show logo. Background shows cityscape at night with lights.
A graduation ceremony at Northwestern University with students in traditional caps and gowns, a speaker at the podium, and an audience in academic regalia, decorated with flowers.

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