Jacob J. Lew, Director

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OMB's Organization

The Director of OMB is Jacob J. Lew.
The Deputy Director of OMB is Sylvia Mathews.
The Deputy Director for Management of OMB is vacant.

The budget and review functions in OMB report directly to the Director and the Deputy Director, while the management and regulatory responsibilities are normally under the supervision of the Deputy Director for Management.

Jacob J. Lew, Director
Office of Management and Budget

Jack Lew served as Deputy Director of OMB from August 1995, Acting Director of OMB from May 1998, and was confirmed as Director of OMB on July 31, 1998. As OMB's Director he is responsible for coordinating Administration efforts on management, budget, and appropriations related matters, and he works closely with the White House on the development of Administration policy.

Prior to becoming Deputy Director of OMB, Mr. Lew held positions as OMB's Executive Associate Director and Associate Director for Legislative Affairs. As Special Assistant to the President from February 1993 through October 1994, Mr. Lew was responsible for policy development and the drafting of the national service initiative and health care reform legislation.

Mr. Lew began his career in Washington in 1973 as a legislative aide, and became a principal domestic policy advisor to the late House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr., in 1979. He spent nearly eight years at the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee as Assistant Director and then Executive Director.

Mr. Lew has also served as an attorney in private practice for five years, Executive Director of the Center for Middle East Research, Issues Director for the Democratic National Committee's Campaign 88, and Deputy Director of the Office of Program Analysis in the city of Boston's Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. Lew was born in New York, New York, on August 29, 1955. A member of the bar in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard College in 1978 and earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1983. He is married and has two children.

Sylvia M. Mathews
Deputy Director
Office of Management And Budget

Sylvia M. Mathews was confirmed as Deputy Director of OMB by the Senate on October 21, 1998. As Deputy Director, she works with the Director and the White House on development of Administration policy, and is responsible for coordinating Administration efforts on budget and appropriations matters, as well as other legislative and management issues.

Prior to OMB, Ms. Mathews was appointed Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in January 1997. She supervised the work of several White House offices, including the National Economic Council, the Domestic Policy Council, Public Liaison, Staff Secretary, Intergovernmental Affairs, Council on Environmental Quality, Press, Cabinet Secretary, and Communications. In addition to overseeing these offices, Ms. Mathews helped review staff recommendations and managed the flow of information from them to the President of the United States. Ms. Mathews had responsibility for several special projects ranging from Presidential State of the Union Addresses (1997 and 1998) to the President's historic trip to Africa.

Before her appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff, Ms. Mathews served as Chief of Staff to Secretary of the Treasury, Robert E. Rubin, from 1995-1997. In this position, she advised the Secretary on foreign and domestic policy, management and communications issues, and she helped implement the Secretary's priorities throughout the Department. She also shared day-to-day responsibilities with the Deputy Secretary and served as the Secretary's liaison to the White House and other government agencies.

Ms. Mathews first joined the Clinton Administration in December 1992 as the manager of the President-elect's Economic Transition Team. In January 1993, she became Staff Director for the National Economic Council and Special Assistant to Robert E. Rubin, then Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Her responsibilities included advising Mr. Rubin on economic and long-term planning issues, working closely with senior White House and Administration officials, and overseeing the day-to-day work of the NEC staff.

Before joining the Federal government, Ms. Mathews worked in the private sector for McKinsey and Company management consulting firm. From November 1990 to July 1992 she was an associate with McKinsey in New York, where she performed analytical research, primarily in the areas of finance and telecommunications.

Ms. Mathews was the Deputy Director of Economic Policy for the 1992 Clinton/Gore campaign. As a researcher on the 1988 Dukakis/Bentsen presidential campaign, she fact checked debate preparation materials. She was a Governor's aide for Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, and served as a Lyndon B. Johnson Intern for Congressman Nick Rahall.

Ms. Mathews graduated cum laude from Harvard University with an A.B. in Government in June 1987. She was a recipient of the Harvard College Aggassiz Scholarship and Institute of Balkan Studies Harvard Fellowship, and was a Harvard Club of New York Scholar. As a Rhodes Scholar, she received an honors degree (B.A.) in philosophy, politics, and economics in June 1990 from Oxford University in Oxford, England. Ms. Mathews is from Hinton, West Virginia.