Desiree Sayle
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of USA Freedom Corps

Desiree Thompson Sayle is Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of USA Freedom Corps. President George W. Bush created USA Freedom Corps to help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. In his 2002 State of the Union Address President Bush asked all America’s to dedicate two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lives to serving others. The mission of USA Freedom Corps is to help Americans answer the President’s Call to Service. USA Freedom Corps brings together executive branch departments, agencies, and offices with public service programs and components to recruit, mobilize, and encourage all Americans to engage in public service.

Before leading the President’s volunteer initiative, Sayle held two other positions at the White House. First as the director of Mrs. Laura Bush’s Correspondence Office and then, after September 11, 2001, she was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Correspondence. Prior to working at the White House, Sayle was the Correspondence Director for America’s Promise -- The Alliance for Youth led by General Colin L. Powell (USA, Ret).

Sayle has a wealth of Washington experience, including lobbying and campaigning. She was the Campaign Manager for John Linder (R-GA) in Atlanta, Georgia during his 1994 congressional campaign, and she worked on the 1990 G-7 Summit in Houston, Texas. She also worked on Capitol Hill for Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), and for President George H.W. Bush until 1992.

Sayle is a lifelong volunteer from her beginning as a Girl Scout to partnering with Special Olympics during high school and later helping low income women develop skills to enter the workforce. Sayle has tutored elementary school students and has served five years as a nursery supervisor and then Sunday school teacher for her church. Currently, Sayle is the vice president on the board of a local non-profit preschool and volunteers with her children’s school.

Sayle was born in Orange County, California, and raised in Northern Virginia. She studied architecture at Radford University. Sayle is married to Stephen C. Sayle, a Partner with the Washington, D.C.-based Dutko Group. They have three children, Isabela, Vivienne, and Christian.