- Pritzker Fellows
- Current Fellows
- Opal Vadhan
Opal Vadhan
Former Senior Advisor to Vice President Harris
Biography
Opal Vadhan is a distinguished public servant and trusted advisor who has worked at the highest levels of American political leadership. She is a former Senior Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris and previously spent five years supporting Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. Over the past decade, Vadhan has played a central behind-the-scenes role, known for her empathy, leadership, and ability to make others feel seen and heard.
Vadhan began her career on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as a member of the national advance team. Following the campaign, she continued with Secretary Clinton as her Executive Assistant and Trip Director from 2017 to 2021. During that time, she was also a collaborator on The Book of Gutsy Women, the New York Times bestselling book by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.
In 2021, she joined the Biden-Harris administration as Special Assistant to the President and Personal Aide to Vice President Harris, supporting the Vice President throughout the administration and the historic 107-day presidential campaign.
A first-generation Indian American raised in Queens, New York, Vadhan earned a dual degree in Communications and Women & Gender Studies from Pace University in 2015. Her experience working in high-trust support roles for the only two women to receive the Democratic nomination for President offers rare insight into executive leadership, diplomacy, and the essential role of operational professionals in public service.
Beyond serving in government, Vadhan has a strong commitment to service. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked full-time with World Central Kitchen, helping deliver more than eight million meals to New Yorkers in need. And she is the recipient of the Luminary Award from She’s the First, a non-profit supporting girls education in underserved communities.
Seminars
"Every Second Counts: Behind the Scenes from Presidential Campaigns to the West Wing & All the Roads Between"
Public service is rarely a straight line. It’s a journey shaped by purpose, opportunity, resilience and the people who open doors along the way. In these seminars, I’ll draw from my own path - from being a first-generation American who had never voted to working on presidential campaigns, supporting the only two women Democratic nominees for president and ultimately serving at the White House. We’ll go behind the scenes of what it really means to work on campaigns and in government, the highs of highs and lows of lows. We’ll explore what it’s really like to be in a bubble (spoiler: not as people on the outside who think they know but have no idea). We’ll discuss discovering your motivation to serve, landing your first job and navigating the pressures of national politics. I’ll give you the inside look at debate prep, how conventions work and the scoop on campaign logistics and messaging. What’s it like to serve trailblazing leaders under intense scrutiny on a daily basis? We’ll examine that deeply human side of public service: the sacrifices, tears and incalculable joys of experiencing once-in-a-lifetime moments.
Seminars are off-the-record and open to current UChicago students only.
Growing up in Queens, New York with parents who immigrated from India, I always felt a drive to make the world a better place. I thought I’d do that through storytelling. Instead, my path led me to public service. My first big mistake while talking to another intern? Referring to the first lady as “Michelle Obama.” “You can’t say that; you have to say FLOTUS or POTUS,” another intern informed me. I asked what those words meant, and he looked at me like I was crazy. As if I didn’t feel out of place already. Roughly 7 years later, I had a desk in the West Wing. We’ll discuss how I got my job when I didn’t have the cookie-cutter resume one would expect. We’ll explore how purpose, identity and lived experience shape our desire to serve, and why we are drawn to public service - especially at a time when politics feels deeply divisive.
Flag protocol? FEC Deadline? OSA? Call Time? What does all of this mean? This week, we’ll go through the inner workings of a campaign and discuss roles you may never have heard of. When I graduated college in June of 2015, I wanted to go work in the Obama administration, but my mentors smartly told me to go work on a campaign. And, in July of 2015, I found myself landing in Columbia, South Carolina for my first advance trip for Hillary for America. How does one get a job on a Presidential campaign? What jobs are there for a 21-year-old college graduate who has never voted before and definitely did not major in political science? We’ll talk honestly about how to get your foot in the door, what entry-level political work really looks like and why campaigns are the best hands-on training for a career in public service.
Special Guest: Grady Keefe, Advance for Bloomberg Philanthropies and former Advance Lead for Hillary for America, The Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Olivia Somdecerff, Deputy Campaign Manager, JB for Governor
Are you like Gary from Veep? Charlie from The West Wing? Is working in the White House anything like Scandal? From juggling two phones (one you can’t text on - and no, I didn’t use Signal to text about national security issues) to being one of the few staffers to fly on Marine Two (helicopter carrying the vice president) and constantly trying to stay out of the shot, we’ll explore building trust, discretion, logistics and the unseen work that goes into public service.
Special Guest: Jacob Spreyer, Senior Advisor, Office of Governor JB Pritzker & former Special Assistant to the President and Personal Aide to President Biden
Years ago, social media wasn’t nearly as important in politics as it is today. Now, every candidate, elected official and government office is on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X to reach people where they already are. How do campaigns and the White House use social media to get their message out, respond in real time and connect with voters - especially young people? We’ll also talk about the power of content creators, whose voices and platforms can shape public conversations, highlight issues and even influence elections. How do teams balance authenticity with strategy, personality with policy and speed with accuracy? We’ll explore all of this honestly and give you a sense of what it’s like to do politics in a world where every second online counts.
On July 21, 2024, just four days after celebrating my 31st birthday on Air Force Two on our way back from Michigan, my life changed in an instant. One moment I was enjoying a rare Sunday on my couch in D.C., and in the next I was throwing a dress on, grabbing my laptop and hopping in an Uber heading to the Vice President’s residence with both my phones blowing up. I was there for every moment of Vice President Kamala Harris' 107-day campaign. We’ll go behind the scenes of this whirlwind, historic campaign and share the lessons and energy that defined it.
We all know the stakes are insanely high for a Presidential debate - they can make or break you. In 2016, Secretary Clinton won all three debates against Donald Trump, and in 2024, Vice President Harris won her debate, as well — but those moments were the result of intense preparation. This week takes students inside “debate camp”: who is on the debate prep team, how candidates prepare, what the same-day site walkthrough looks like and what it feels like in the moments before stepping onto a national stage. We’ll be joined by a special guest who has worked on multiple presidential debate camps to share their firsthand tips and tricks.
Every role has an end date - Election Day and Inauguration Day. In my perfect world, both would have been one of the best days of my life; but, instead, they were among the worst. This week focuses on what it’s like to live through those endings while you’re still expected to show up and do the job. Concession speeches are heartbreaking. Cleaning out your desk in the West Wing is surreal. Even on the hardest days, you still put on your game face for your colleagues, your boss and the incoming administration replacing you. I’ll share what it felt like to take the last Air Force Two flight with Vice President Harris, land in a Los Angeles hotel room and feel my body finally shut down (I got a stye on my eye) - a physical reminder of emotional exhaustion. This session is about endurance, professionalism and what it means to keep going when you’d rather disappear.
The final week looks beyond the ending itself to what comes next. When the campaign is over or the administration leaves office, who are you without the title, the access or the adrenaline? This session explores transitions after public life, including the bipartisan relationships and civic engagement that often emerge once people step out of political life. Drawing on examples from former presidents, senior staff and cross-party initiatives, we’ll reflect on what it means to put country above party and how service can continue in various ways.