Elizabeth Rees

Elizabeth Rees is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford's Rothermere American Institute. She received her MA in U.S. Studies from University College London in 2019, and her BA in English Literature and History from the University of Exeter in 2018. Elizabeth's project investigates the emergence of the modern East Wing staff and Office of First Lady between the administrations of 1961-1976. In this transformative era, the East Wing staff developed into a professionalized unit and emerged as an organizational counterpart to the West Wing. Likewise, her research shows how the East Wing staff acted as a microcosm for the contemporary socio-political changes relating to gender, women in work, and the emerging feminist movement. She has also taught on classes related to race and civil rights, as well as the Ronald Reagan presidency and the AIDS crisis.