Christopher Emery

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This article is about the former White House usher and author. For the British poet, see Chris Emery.

Christopher Emery
Emery in 2023
White House Usher
In office
January 1986 – March 1994
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Personal details
Born
Christopher Beauregard Emery

(1957-08-01) August 1, 1957 (age 66)
Sykesville, Maryland, US
RelationsJennifer Bassey (stepmother)
Natasha Gajewski (stepsister)
Children4
EducationHoward Community College (AA)
University of Maryland University College (BS)
Websitewhitehouseusher.com

Christopher Beauregard Emery (born August 1, 1957) is an American author and former government official. He was a White House Usher during the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton administrations. Emery later served as the chief information officer of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division and the Architect of the Capitol. He was chief enterprise architect of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Emery is the author of the memoir White House Usher: Stories from the Inside (2017).

Early life and education[edit]

Emery was born in Sykesville, Maryland. His father, Roy Frederick Emery Jr., served in the United Kingdom as a U.S. Army Air Force captain. He was a dairy farmer and attorney in Ellicott City, Maryland, as well a thoroughbred horse breeder later in life.[1] His Parisian mother, Jacqueline Nicole Marchal, served in French Indochina as a nurse in the French Army. She was later a French language teacher at Glenelg Country School, as well as a freelance French and German translator.[2] Emery's parents were married in 1949 and moved from Cooksville, Maryland, to the historic 18th-century residence, Howard Lodge in 1959.[1] Emery has two sisters, Ariane and Lynn. His parents divorced in 1971.[1] His father remarried to actress Jennifer Bassey until his death in 1991. His mother later married former commercial pilot turned statistician Riaz Hussein Rana through which, Emery gained two stepsisters, including Natasha Gajewski.[3][4][5]

Emery completed an associate degree from Howard Community College.[6] In 1996, Emery graduated with a B.S. in information systems with a minor in management from the University of Maryland University College where he also completed graduate work in technology management.[7][8]

Career[edit]

White House[edit]

Emery began his career at the White House as a computer specialist after answering a job advertisement in The Washington Post.[7] Soon, White House Chief Usher Gary J. Walters hired him to replace the retiring Nelson Pierce as an assistant White House chief usher.[7] Emery served as an usher in the Reagan Administration beginning in January 1986.[7] In this capacity, he worked in a four-person office to oversee the White House estate, including managing the 89 residence staff.[7] In addition, part of Emery's job was to carry out White House functions such as receptions, dinners, and conferences. In so doing, Emery worked in tandem with the First Family, the White House staff, the chief usher, the press office, the Secret Service, and military leaders. Emery gave personal tours of the White House to private guests including some notable figures such as: Barbra Streisand, Dana Carvey, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Julie Andrews, Johnny Carson, and Melanie Griffith.[9][7]

On March 3, 1994, Emery's unusually abrupt firing was the subject of nationwide news when Hillary Clinton dismissed him for communicating with former first lady Barbara Bush.[10][11][12][13] Despite passing several FBI investigations and background checks, Emery was fired by Hillary Clinton for "an incredible lack of discretion" after communicating twice with the former first lady.[11][12][14] He was the first-ever White House usher to be fired.[7] A White House usher does not typically change with administrations.[9] White House Chief Usher Gary J. Walters was not permitted by the White House to testify before a Congressional subcommittee on Emery's dismissal. This led to some suspicions on Capitol Hill that the White House was attempting to avoid scrutiny about the firing.[15]

Howard County administrator[edit]

After his dismissal from the White House, Emery worked for eleven months as a computer consultant.[16] In March 1995, he was appointed council administrator of Howard County, Maryland, replacing former University System of Maryland assistant vice-chancellor Sheila Tolliver.[9][17] As the council administrator, he oversaw a staff of 25 people with an operating budget of about $1 million.[18] Views on his tenure are split along party lines.[6] He has earned the praise of Republican Council Chairman Charles C. Feaga and Allan H. Kittleman.[6][16] In June 1996, Emery publicly clashed with Democratic Councilman C. Vernon Gray over his alleged misuse of county funds and resources to aid in his campaign for a position with the National Association of Counties (NAOC).[19] Weeks later, Gray wrongfully accused Emery of leaking NAOC campaign letters to The Baltimore Sun.[20] Emery was vindicated by the Howard County Police Department; Gray subsequently found his letters in a different file in his office.[21] Effective December 4, 1998, Emery resigned when Democrats regained the majority on the Howard County Council.[22][23]

Later years[edit]

After his time as a council administrator, Emery returned to the federal government as a supervisory information technology specialist at the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) where he later served as the director of information resources management.[8][24][25] Emery was promoted to chief enterprise architect of the AOC beginning in 2007.[8] In this capacity, he oversaw the enterprise and technology management of the U.S. Capitol, Senate, the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court.[8] He contributed, along with other information enterprise professionals from the federal government, private sector, and academia, to the publication of The Integrated Enterprise Life Cycle: Enterprise Architecture, Investment Management, and System Development.[8] With colleagues at the AOC and the National Science Foundation, Emery also published a paper for the 40th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.[26] In 2009, he became the chief information officer of the AOC.[27]

In 2010, Emery served as the director of portfolio governance in the Office of the Chief CIO for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Two years later, in December 2012, he became the first chief information officer of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division. There he served on the DOJ CIO Council to help develop the strategic plan for the Department's information and technology goals for fiscal years 2015–2018.[28]

Emery served as the chief enterprise architect for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2015 to January 2020.[citation needed]

Selected works[edit]

  • Emery, Christopher B. (2017). White House Usher: Stories from the Inside. Booklocker.com. ISBN 978-1634926560.[29]
  • Emery, Christopher B. (2021). White House Usher: Who Killed the President?. Booklocker.com. ISBN 978-1-64719-761-2.
  • Emery, Christopher B. (August 25, 2023). Who Shot the Speaker?. BookLocker.com, Inc. ISBN 979-8-88531-564-7.

Personal life[edit]

Emery is a past resident of Laurel, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.[1] He has one daughter and three stepchildren.[7][9][30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Roy F. Emery, Howard farmer, lawyer, dies at 70". The Baltimore Sun. December 3, 1991. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "Jacqueline Rana". The Washington Post. February 19, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. ^ Schudel, Matt (November 15, 2012). "Riaz H. Rana, company founder". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  4. ^ "Obituaries for January 2013 | Amstat News". American Statistical Association. January 1, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Clare, David (April 18, 2014). "The Friday Interview: Natasha Gajewski, Founder of Symple App". Pixel Health. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Timberg, Craig (July 21, 1996). "Council official to testify in FBI file probe Panel seeks story of White House usher fired by first lady". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Sherrill, Martha (March 23, 1994). "THE MAN HILLARY USHERED OUT". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e Handbook of enterprise systems architecture in practice. Saha, Pallab, 1970–. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. 2007. ISBN 9781599041919. OCLC 317384365.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ^ a b c d Maass, Peter (September 10, 1996). "AFTER THE USHER'S FALL". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Brower, Kate Andersen. "The Secret Lives of Hillary and Bill in the White House". Politico Magazine. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Lewis, Neil A. (July 4, 1996). "Attack Widens on Clinton Staff Practices". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "White House Used IRS File, Documents Say". Los Angeles Times. July 4, 1996. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Kessler, Ronald (2014). The First Family Detail: Secret Service agents reveal the hidden lives of the presidents (First ed.). New York: Crown Forum. pp. 16. ISBN 9780804139212. OCLC 874969647.
  14. ^ Murdock, Deroy (October 1, 2015). "Hillary Clinton, Bane of the Secret Service". National Review. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  15. ^ Jehl, Douglas (March 18, 1994). "Chief White House Usher 'Grounded'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Coram, James M. (February 22, 1995). "Council names new top aide". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  17. ^ The United States government manual 2007–2008. United States. Office of the Federal Register., United States. National Archives and Records Administration. (Rev., June 1, 2007 ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Register. 2007. ISBN 9780160786594. OCLC 172987856.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ^ Thomas, Kevin (February 26, 1995). "More to This Job than Irking Hillary". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  19. ^ Timberg, Craig (July 9, 1996). "Report angers Howard councilman Administrator rebuked over campaign data". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  20. ^ Timberg, Craig (July 12, 1996). "Gray seeking police inquiry about letters Councilman accuses GOP administrator of stealing missives". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  21. ^ Timberg, Craig (August 5, 1996). "No crime found in missing letters But police conclusion sets off a new round in councilmen's feud". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  22. ^ Epstein, Gady A. (November 12, 1998). "Election is history, but some still see sparks Date of orientation for council members puts Emery, Gray at odds". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  23. ^ Goodman, Charles Babington; Peter S. (November 15, 1998). "FOR LOBBYIST, AN OFFICIAL REBUKE". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 17, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Emery, Christopher; Armour, Frank (December 31, 2009). "The Integrated Enterprise". FedTech. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  25. ^ Semiannual Report of the Architect of the Capitol. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 2004. p. 2. ISBN 0160836700.
  26. ^ Proceedings of the 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences : January 3-6, 2007, Big Island, Hawaii : abstracts and CD-ROM of full papers. Sprague, Ralph H., IEEE Computer Society. Los Alamitos, Calif.: IEEE Computer Society Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0769527550. OCLC 137225282.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  27. ^ Emery, Christopher B.; Armour, Frank (December 31, 2009). "The Integrated Enterprise". FedTech. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  28. ^ "DOJ Strategic Plan For Information Services and Technology 2015–2018". Department of Justice – Office of Chief Information Officer. 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  29. ^ "Former White House usher shares stories from life inside the presidential mansion". WTTG. November 28, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  30. ^ Kessler, Ronald (2009). In the president's secret service : behind the scenes with agents in the line of fire and the presidents they protect. New York: Crown Publishers. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0307461377. OCLC 464303615.

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