Dartmouth alumna Leah Daughtry ’84 is constructing a temporary city that will exist for four days in Philadelphia when more than 30,000 people show up in late July for the Democratic national convention. Daughtry, who in addition to being a planning wiz is also a Pentecostal minister, is profiled in a story on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered broadcast.
“Who would you turn to to build a temporary city that will come to life for four days, then disappear? That’s what planning and managing a national political convention amounts to, and the Democrats have turned to a Pentecostal minister and jigsaw puzzle master with a gift for organization and politics. The Rev. Leah Daughtry was CEO of the 2008 convention, remembered for Barack Obama’s speech in Denver’s football stadium. Now the party has turned to her to handle the one in Philadelphia next summer,” says NPR.
Daughtry was chief of staff to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean when Dean chaired the Democratic National Committee in 2008. Dean told NPR that Daughtry can handle a party “full of big egos, people who expect prime speaking times, special seating for friends and other perks,” the story says.
“She has a way of dominating a room, even among members of Congress,” says the former governor.
Listen to the full story, broadcast 12/23/15 on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.