She appeared frequently on network and cable news programs as the campaign's top spokesperson and defender. Wallace also served as a senior advisor for the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign. Her White House colleague, presidential political advisor Mark McKinnon, called her a "rare talent in politics." McCain 2008 presidential campaign The New York Times story announcing her presidential appointment carried the headline: "New Aide Aims to Defrost the Press Room" and described Wallace's intentions "to improve the contentious relationship between a secretive White House and the press." According to The Washington Post, Wallace served as "a voice for more openness with reporters", and former colleagues describe Wallace as having been "very persuasive in the halls of the West Wing." She left the White House in July 2006 to relocate to New York City, where her husband Mark was representing the Bush Administration at the United Nations. On January 5, 2005, Bush named Wallace White House Communications Director. In 2003, Wallace joined Bush's 2004 presidential campaign as its communications director, wherein according to The New York Times she "delivered her political attacks without snarling." Bush's first term, serving as special assistant to the President and director of media affairs at the White House, where she oversaw regional press strategy and outreach. Wallace joined the White House staff during George W. White House and Bush 2004 presidential campaign Wallace worked on the 2000 Florida election recount. In 1999, she moved to Florida to serve as Governor Jeb Bush's press secretary and then became the Communications Director for the Florida State Technology Office in 2000. Political career īriefly an on-air reporter in California, Wallace started her political career working in California state politics. Ī 1990 graduate of Miramonte High School, Wallace received a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications from the University of California, Berkeley in 1994, and a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1996. He was born in England to vaudevillian parents and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1947. Her grandfather, Thomas Devenish, was a Manhattan antiques dealer, part of "Devenish and Company". Her mother was a third-grade teacher's assistant in public schools, and her father was an antiques dealer. The eldest of four siblings, she grew up in the Bay Area suburb of Orinda in Northern California. Nicolle Devenish was born on February 4, 1972, in Orange County in Southern California. 2.1 White House and Bush 2004 presidential campaign.