Aaron Sherman joined the Rockefeller Foundation in March 2017 as Senior Speechwriter in the Communications department, where he leads speech development and writing for the Foundation’s president, Dr. Rajiv Shah, and other senior leaders.
Previously, Aaron served in the U.S. Department of Defense as senior speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Dr. Ashton B. Carter. In his time at the Pentagon, he crafted speeches and messaging on high-profile issues such as the defense budget, the counter-ISIS campaign, NATO, cybersecurity, technology and innovation, nuclear deterrence, the decision to open all combat positions to women, lifting the ban on transgender service members, and building the all-volunteer ‘force of the future.’
Aaron also served as speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, as a staff writer on the 2013 U.S. Presidential Inaugural, and on the speechwriting team for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. He began his speechwriting career at the Pentagon in the writers group of Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. Before picking up the pen professionally, Aaron spent two years studying and working abroad, mostly in Israel. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in International Relations from the University of California, Davis.