In 2007 Tara DiJulio joined Colorado senator Wayne Allard’s communications staff as deputy press secretary. During the next decade DiJulio worked for several Republican senators and led the communications team for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Her career on Capitol Hill coincided with dramatic changes in the way that public officials communicate with their constituents back home, including the rapid adoption of social media platforms by members’ offices. When her Senate career began, DiJulio was in charge of compiling the daily “clips file,” a folder of newspaper clippings that mentioned Senator Allard. When she left her position as a communications director nine years later, DiJulio managed a complex operation that included social media platforms, e-newsletters, and streaming services that provided constituents with instant connectivity to senators’ staff. DiJulio describes this technological revolution in communications and what it was like to (often) be the only woman in a room of decision makers.
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Scholarly citation: "Tara DiJulio, Deputy Press Secretary and Press Secretary, Senator Wayne Allard, 2007–2008; Press Secretary, Senator Robert Bennett, 2008–2010; Communications Director, Senator Roger Wicker, 2010–2011; Communications Director, Senator Daniel Coats, 2011–2014; Communications Director, Senator Robert Corker and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 2014–2016," Oral History Interview, June 8, 2018, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.
Disclaimer: The Senate Historical Office has a strong commitment to oral history as an important part of its efforts to document institutional change over time. Oral histories are a natural component to historical research and enhance the archival holdings of the Senate and its members. Oral histories represent the personal recollections and opinions of the interviewees, however, and should not be considered as the official views or opinions of the U.S. Senate, of the Senate Historical Office, or of other senators and/or staff members. The transcripts of these oral histories are made available by the Senate Historical Office as a public service.
