Danielle Crutchfield, Director, Scheduling

Where in the world is the president? Crutchfield knows. The Seattle native and 2003 Hampton University graduate is the president's director of scheduling, one of the most important and underappreciated jobs in the West Wing. Crutchfield, 31, is no stranger to Team Obama. She was deputy director of scheduling for the president's 2008 campaign, responsible for executing the schedules of Obama, Michelle Obama, and Joe and Jill Biden. Before joining the Obama campaign, Crutchfield worked as a staff assistant and later as deputy scheduler for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. She also spent a year with Democratic strategist Paul Begala. Crutchfield helped book Begala's travel, land him TV appearances, and schedule promotions for his books. According to The Washington Post, Crutchfield caught the political bug during high school when she worked a summer as a legislative intern for King County Council member Larry Gossett, a Democrat. Crutchfield told The Post that her job is pretty much the same as it was on the 2008 campaign. "Of course, because he is now the president, we have much more logistical support," she said.