The (Wo)man Behind the Curtain

Here's the official White House bio of the director of Bush's "spontaneous" Q&A today:

Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense

Current Assignments: Allison Barber is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications and Public Liaison. In this position, she is responsible for the Department's communication to the men and women of the military, worldwide, and for community relations programs that link citizens to members of the Armed Forces at home and abroad. Ms. Barber is also an Army wife and her husband recently returned from a year's deployment in Iraq.

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Past Experiences: Ms. Barber comes to her position with extensive experience in public relations and advertising. Prior to this position, Ms. Barber was the President of Sodenta, her public relations firm in Washington, D.C. Previously, she was President of the Washington D.C. office of PlowShare, a Connecticut-based advertising agency. From 1992 to 1998, she was a Public Relations Director for the American Red Cross. From 1986 to 1991, Barber was a grade school teacher at Merrillville Public School in Indiana and served as Vice President of the Teachers Association.

Education: Ms. Barber holds a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Temple University and a MS in Elementary Education from Indiana University.

So, she's been

a grade school teacher (5 years)

"a" PR Director for the American Red Cross (not "The" Director) (6 years)

"President" of the Washington DC office of PlowShare advertising agency which counts among its clients the American Red Cross. (If you go on PlowShare's website, there's no mention of a President or a Washington DC office. The principals are referred to as "partners". Sounds like a bit of resume puffery to me.)

Then President of her own PR agency, Sodenta. Looking them up on the internets, I suspect a freelancer who incorporated for tax purposes.

Here's the address, on a YourTownMall services directory:

Sodenta Agency
2916 Stuart Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
Phone: (703) 698-7608

SourceWatch couldn't find any other listing for her agency. Looking at googlemaps, I suspect she ran this out of her home.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. Another PR flack. Because the Bush Administration is all about the PR. No substance. I will say in her defense (no pun intended), like a good elementary school teacher she had those soldiers lined up nicely, well groomed, and they repeated their lines very well.

Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain!