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Jon Favreau
Co-Founder of Crooked Media; Co-Host of "Pod Save America"; Former Head Speechwriter for Barack Obama
Jon Favreau is an American political commentator and the former Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama. He is co-founder of Crooked Media, a and co-host of the political podcast “Pod Save America” and host of "Offline with Jon Favreau".
From 2009 through early 2013, Jon Favreau served as the director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama, a role he also played for the President during the 2008 presidential campaign. Favreau began writing with President Obama in 2005, when he started his first term as a U.S. Senator, and has had a hand in crafting nearly every major speech that the President delivered over the last 8 years. Favreau's passion for writing and public service first developed at the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated with degrees in Political Science and Sociology in 2003 and received an honorary doctorate degree in 2014.
In 2016, after the November presidential election was won by Donald Trump, Favreau, Vietor and Jon Lovett founded Crooked Media. Favreau also co-hosts a political podcast “Pod Save America” with Dan Pfeiffer, Vietor and Lovett. In the wake of the new Republican healthcare bill, the AHCA, he coined the term "Wealthcare".
He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Let America Vote, a voting rights organization founded by fellow Crooked Media host Jason Kander.
Favreau is the co-founder of Fenway Strategies, where he has consulted and written speeches for several celebrities, Fortune 500 CEOs, and nonprofit leaders. He has been featured in both TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” and in GQ's “50 Most Powerful People in D.C.” Favreau is also a columnist for The Ringer.
Speech Topics
Words Matter: Storytelling with President Obama in an Age of Sound Bites
The significance of meaningful and effective words cannot be overrated, especially when a critical message is needed to stand out in a 24/7 news cycle and break through the constant noise of social media. Jon Favreau—director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama (2009-2013)—knows this all too well as he has worked on some of the most important communications coming from the OvalOffice. According to Obama chief advisor David Axelrod, he has had his “stamp on all the great speeches from 2005 to early 2013” and always sought to tell a compelling story rather than string together a collection of sound bites. However, it is not simply a sheer talent with words that has made Favreau a success. While his rhetorical prowess has played a role, what sets Favreau above the rest is his unique ability to “see” or get behind the words—to capture the essence of an issue and create dialogue that clearly and powerfully articulates what it is about that issue that matters and why we should care. As former right-hand man and “mind reader” to arguably one of the greatest orators in United States history, Favreau offers his audiences valuable insight on how precisely—from conception to delivery—to “get behind the words we speak.” In the process, he discusses the significance of “mining” resources for inspiration, creating scripts that speak from and to the heart and “walking the walk” of talk.
The Journey Into a Life of Public Service
When Jon Favreau—director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama (2009-2013)—joined the White House at age 27, he became the second-youngest chief speechwriter in United States history. Sharing illuminating anecdotes from a career spent working alongside the Commander in Chief on the two most pivotal presidential campaigns in recent history, in the West Wing and throughout the world, Favreau conveys his own life experiences, his aspirations to balance idealism with the reality of politics and insights to inspire others to consider public service and develop their skills as future leaders.
News
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