Desiree Rogers

As social secretary, I was responsible for putting together all the events that the President and the First Lady host. ”

In London, a lot of the time you don't see the sun shine. ”

There's no time to waste. Every day, there needs to be movement on something. ”

No one should walk into a party and have a stamp that says 'mayor' or 'businessman' on their head. Everyone is just there to have a good time. ”

In many respects, we really are trying to not run the Social Office like a business, but we do have a strategy. We do have a mission. We are trying to standardize certain things so that our time is not spent on, you know, picking flowers or linens, that we've got standards. ”

I'm much more comfortable in a meritocracy and in reward for good work as opposed to a political environment, where I feel like all of that can be confused. ”

There is an environment where someone is always looking for someone to make an error. They're always looking not for the good things, the wonderful things the president and first lady are doing, they're looking for an error or to criticize. And it's not conducive to good work. ”

I do feel strongly that we have got to do a little brand-positioning work. Wouldn't it be great to have something that everybody could say: 'Yep, that's Chicago.' ”

I don't do ordinary work. That is not me in the least. ”

Washington is like playing the Super Bowl, only there are no timeouts, no potty breaks, and the arena is filled with the media. In government, you have to learn to put yourself second in a big way. But I am a business person at heart. I like to be in charge. ”