Ian Charles Sams

Ian is from Johnson City, where he graduated with honors from Providence Academy. He is the son of Rob and Pam Sams. Ian graduated, summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama with a degree in political science.

At the University of Alabama, Ian was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa honorary and was named a fellow in the prestigious Blackburn Institute.  He served in the Student Government Association and was president of the UA College Democrats.  He completed internships with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in Washington, D. C., and the Regional Alliance for Economic Development (TN/VA).  He studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium, where he focused on international alliances and the European court system.

Ian is a consultant in Washington, D.C., where he serves as a strategic advisor for organizations, companies, and individuals on communications issues. Over 15 years, Ian has handled media relations and communications strategy at the highest levels of politics and government — from Capitol Hill, to presidential campaigns, to the White House. As a senior aide in the White House during the Biden Administration, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for the White House Counsel’s Office, where he was one of the White House’s top spokesmen, handling communications on legal issues.  Previously, from 2021 to 2022, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing communications for the Administration’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  He has experience on eight state and national campaigns, including three presidential campaigns, most recently as the top spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.  He began his career as a press secretary in the U.S. Senate.

Ian resides in the Nation’s capital with his wife, CadeAnn, and dog, Sully.