Barnes, Melody, 1964-

Melody Barnes served as the Domestic Policy Adviser and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council from January 2009 until January 2012, during the Administration of Barack Obama. Before joining the White House, Barnes served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to the then Senator Obama’s 2008 campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, she was the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress. From 1995 to 2003, she served as Chief Counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Barnes also served as Director of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Assistant Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. 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 received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from the University of Michigan.