President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Thomas Zimmerman as a Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel as part of a raft of new appointments announced on December 30.
Thomas Zimmerman serves as Deputy Lead for National Security Personnel on the Biden-Harris Transition team. Prior to joining the transition, Zimmerman worked at the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Center on International Cooperation. He started his career working in Afghanistan on education programs before joining President Obama’s 2008 campaign. Zimmerman served in the Obama-Biden administration as Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor at the White House and Country Director for Pakistan at the Department of Defense.
Recently, Zimmerman worked as a visiting scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, focusing on Afghanistan, Somalia, and Chinese regional policy.
Originally from Texas, Zimmerman is a graduate of Williams College and the Fletcher School. He lives in Alexandria, VA, with his partner.