Desiree Rogers on Leaving the Obama White House

I was in the White House for a year and a half. Up to that point, all my jobs had been very unglamorous. My world became much larger. As social secretary, I was responsible for putting together all the events that the President and the First Lady host. This President was handed an impossible deck; I wanted to make sure that everyone felt the warmth of the family. I think everything about [the security breach where two reality show stars crashed a State dinner] has been said. We could all have done things a bit better.

When I left, I wanted to make sure that whatever step I took next was something I wanted to do. I met with [Tribune Chairman] Sam Zell—I was serving on one of his boards—and he said, “Kid, you’ve graduated. You know what you’re doing. You’ve got to run your own thing.” I spoke to Gayle King, who told me, “Take your time. Look at all your options.” I probably met with more than 100 people.