Celebrating 25 Years of West Wing Writers

Twenty-five years ago, the two of us left the White House with our friend and fellow speechwriter, Tom Rosshirt, to start a first-of-its-kind message and strategy firm built around three ambitions.

We wanted to stay involved in the issues and ideas we cared about, helping good people do good things in the world while supporting leaders accountable to the era. We wanted to train the next generation of Democratic speechwriters. And we hoped to do well enough to support our young families. 

We had no idea what we were doing—and, more importantly, no idea what we were starting. 

Last month, we got together in New York to celebrate 25 years of West Wing Writers, surrounded by more than 70 brilliant, funny, and kind members of our West Wing family. 

It was a wonderful evening. And a deeply moving one.

Over 25 years, more than 225 people have passed through our doors as full-time employees or interns. Together, we’ve helped develop the ideas and voices that the world’s best-known CEOs, foundations, heads of state, entertainers, athletes, movement-leaders, and organizations are using to shape our future. 

Six West Wingers served in the Clinton Administration. Eighteen worked under President Obama. Thirty-three joined the Biden Administration (to the point where weekly speechwriting calls felt like West Wing staff meetings). At this rate, if our speechwriter-level understanding of exponential growth is to be trusted, we can expect 66 in the next Democratic administration.

Among our alumni are Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, and Fulbright scholars. Many published authors. Chief speechwriters comms directors and digital gurus for big-city mayors, governors, and senators. Professors. Entrepreneurs. Congressional candidates. Comedians. YouTube stars. One or two (fine, more than one or two) lawyers. And even one culinary school graduate, whose talents may be the most universally appreciated.

But what we found most moving weren’t just the impressive resumes. 

It was seeing wildly talented people who arrived in their twenties and thirties, full of ambition and uncertainty and raw talent, now leading remarkable lives. It was seeing friendships that have lasted decades, and people who once came to us for advice now offering wisdom and guidance to the next generation. 

When we started, we thought we’d measure our success by the ideas we helped shape and the causes we’d help advance. 

Twenty-five years later, we realize the greatest thing we built wasn’t a business. It was a community of people who continue to make each other better, who will be there for one another no matter where life takes them next. 

This is what gratitude feels like. And it is the greatest feeling in the world.