Christiana Stephenson: Communications director, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

Christiana Stephenson has spent more than seven years helping House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) navigate the relentless communications demands of House Democratic leadership.

Stephenson joined Jeffries’s leadership operation as press secretary in January 2019, when he was House Democratic Caucus chair. She has been with him ever since.

Her path to the Capitol was less direct.

Stephenson first interned on Capitol Hill in 2010 for Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), an experience she said convinced her she wanted to return. But she was rejected for a series of staff assistant and legislative correspondent jobs before a friend helped her land a position at a public relations agency — an opportunity that ultimately steered her toward communications.

“It took a few years to get there, but walking into the Capitol every day really does feel like a full circle moment,” she said.

Now, as communications director, Stephenson is one of the senior aides responsible for helping shape and communicate Jeffries’ message, while also responding to the latest congressional firestorms.

“It’s cliche, but no two days are the same,” Stephenson said, describing the most interesting part of the job. “I love the daily opportunities to throw myself into something new. I wish there were more hours in the day to be able to serve the Leader, our Members and to spend time with my own team.”

One assignment stands out above the rest.

In 2024, Stephenson accompanied Jeffries on a bipartisan codel to Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Six months pregnant at the time, she met veterans who had participated in the invasion — an experience she described as both “humbling and meaningful.”

She plans to someday show her daughter the photographs from the trip and tell her about the heroes they met.

Her role has also evolved alongside her family. She said she has gone from being an “office rat” who could travel at a moment’s notice to a working mother balancing the demands of leadership communications with multiple children at home.

She acknowledges she has no perfect formula for handling the pressure of Capitol Hill. She noted that she is “as addicted” to her phone and doomscrolling “as anyone else.” But after years in the job, she said, perspective helps.

Some of the most stressful moments, she said, have eventually become memories she looks back on with “pride and amusement.”