Phenoms Under 40 - CUA Magazine - The Catholic University of ...

When you speak on behalfof a congressman, yourchoice of words matter.That’s why Jessica Towheyvalues her degree in English.“With the degree, it certainly was muchmore than just reading and writing,” says the1997 CUA graduate. “It was analyzing. Itwas reading a book and understandingthe themes and how the author chosecertain words.”As press secretary for U.S. Rep. JohnBoehner of Ohio, the current Houseminority leader, Towhey says she finds thatsame analytical ability useful “to not onlyunderstand whether I’m conveying thecorrect message, but to understand whatothers are saying.”Towhey, 34, acts as the Republican’scongressional district spokesperson andworks with Washington, D.C.-basedreporters and Ohio media outlets.But Towhey wasn’t always an Englishmajor. The Pennsylvania native entered CUAas a politics major. After an internship on■Capitol Hill for her home congressman, shedecided that political policy was not herforte. English seemed the natural alternativebecause of her love of reading and writing.She spent her first year after graduationvolunteering with Mercy Corps, whichincluded managing a retreat center inAuburn, Calif. After her Mercy Corpsexperience, she walked into the offices ofthe local newspaper, the Auburn Journal,and said, “If you’re hiring, I would like a job.”They hired her as a city government andeducation reporter in January 1999. Thatposition helped her land a job in 2000 atthe larger-circulation Capital in Annapolis,Md., where she reported on the UnitedStates Naval Academy.Her introduction to political communicationscame in 2004, when she joined thecongressional campaign of a PennsylvaniaRepublican as communications director.Towhey found that she enjoyed workingwith the press, or, as she describes it, doing“hand-to-hand combat on the political side,mixing it up with reporters, getting ourJessica Towheymessage out.” The candidate she representeddidn’t win, but she went on to work onthree other congressional campaigns.An interest in returning to work onCapitol Hill brought her to the office ofnewly elected Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky.,where she spent 2005 setting up his communicationsoperation. Then in 2006, sheserved as press secretary for Rep. SteveChabot, R-Ohio, as he won a close reelectionrace.“I refer to her as the warrior,” Chabotsays of Towhey. “She’s tough, aggressive andyet professional.” He says a commitmentto being factual contributes to her success.“She was meticulous in everything she did.”Now, armed with two BlackBerries andthree cell phones, she represents the leadingRepublican in the House of Representatives.Success, Towhey says, is having fun evenin the heated environment of politicalcommunications. She values working “witha group of people you get along with, youcan joke around with. … I work with veryfun people.”S U M M E R 2 0 0 9 19