Elizabeth Rees

Elizabeth Rees is a presidential historian whose work focuses on the evolution of the East Wing staff and the establishment of the Office of the First Lady in the mid-twentieth century. Trained in the United Kingdom, Elizabeth received her DPhil in History at the University of Oxford in June 2024. She graduated from University College London with an MA in US. Studies in 2019 with Distinction, and also holds a BA in History and English Literature from the University of Exeter.

Her book project, tentatively entitled The Counterpart System: The Evolution of the Modern East Wing and Office of the First Lady, investigates how the modern administrative unit of the First Lady's staff was integrated into the broader presidential staff structure in the 1960s and 1970s. More than just an administrative history, the history of the development of the East Wing staff also sheds light on broader changes related to the position of women in national politics and intersects with the history of second wave feminism.

Elizabeth is a White House Historical Association Next Generation Leader and has been the recipient of numerous fellowships in the field of presidential history, including the White House Historical Association's Rubenstein Center Fellowship and other fellowships at the Kennedy, Johnson and Ford Presidential Libraries. Her publications include book chapters in volumes on presidential history, including Sports and the American Presidency, Edinburgh University Press, 2024, and Presidents and Place: America's Favourite Sons, Rowman & Littlefield, 2023.