Beneva Schulte

Beneva Schulte has over 25 years of leadership expertise in strategic communications, campaign and coalition management, and public policy. She is skilled in setting and executing public affairs strategies with extensive experience working within the halls of government and the boardrooms of Fortune 100 companies.

She previously served as Director of the Office of Public Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, under the Obama Administration. Beneva has also been the Senior Vice President at the DCI Group, Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Political Editor for the National Public Radio news magazine Tell Me More with Michel Martin, and the senior Democrat in a variety of Republican public affairs firms.

Her years of successful coalition building, strategy development, crisis communications, media relations, thought leadership, and creative problem-solving have earned the respect of changemakers across several industries and the political spectrum. Beneva is proud to have given voice to so many worthy campaigns and issues, including Chris Dodd’s 2008 presidential run, social and emotional learning and STEM education, and bipartisanship in its many forms.

Beneva received a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She resides in Chevy Chase, MD with her husband Paul Orzulak and their three daughters.