Melanie Fonder Kaye was appointed as Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Engagement in September 2021. Ms. Fonder Kaye connected the American public to their military by overseeing the Department of Defense’s (DoD)s vision for strategic community engagement and public outreach to showcase the skills, talents, and capabilities of the U.S. military and inform the public of the Department’s role in national security. She coordinated the Department’s engagement with veterans and military service organizations, businesses, think tanks, educational institutions, sports leagues, and the entertainment industry.

From 2011 to 2014, she served as Director of Communications to Dr. Jill Biden, which included advancing Joining Forces, the White House initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors. Joining Forces convenes and collaborates with federal agency partners including DoD, nonprofits, corporate stakeholders, and service providers to develop comprehensive, meaningful, and long-term solutions that address the holistic well-being of military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. 

In 2014, she founded the strategic communications firm MFK Strategies where she advised clients on strategy, storytelling, earned media, community engagement and advocacy, and event planning. Prior to serving in the Obama Biden Administration, she was a vice president at GMMB, a mission-driven communications administration, working on a wide range of issues. She began her career as a reporter, and also served as press secretary to former Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle.

A Wisconsin native, Ms. Fonder Kaye is a graduate of St. Norbert College and lives in Maryland with her family.