Washington, DC -- Senator-Elect John Fetterman today announced that he has selected a Chief of Staff and State Director. Senate veteran Adam Jentleson will oversee the Senate office as Chief of Staff and longtime Pennsylvania operative Joseph Pierce will serve as State Director. 

Jentleson, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, co-chaired the Fetterman transition. Pierce will join the Senate office after most recently working as statewide political director for the Fetterman campaign. Full bios can be found below. 

“Joe and Adam are the best in their fields and I am honored that they have both accepted key staff positions for my office,” said Senator-elect Fetterman. “It will be invaluable to have a veteran of the Senate and a veteran of state politics in these key positions as we serve the people of Pennsylvania. Between Adam’s deep understanding of the Senate and Joe’s wealth of knowledge and experience serving the people of our commonwealth, I am confident that my office will be ready to fight and deliver for the people of Pennsylvania on day one.”

More staff announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

Joseph Pierce

Joseph Pierce is a seasoned government relations and political professional with over 15 years experience. Prior to his work on the Fetterman campaign, Pierce served as director of government relations and advocacy for the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit, Mental Health Partnerships. He was also campaign manager for City Councilmember At-Large Derek Green’s successful bid for re-election in 2019 and served as U.S. Senator Bob Casey’s statewide political director during his successful re-election campaign in 2018. Pierce also has a long history of government relations within the labor movement having stints with both AFSCME and SEIU 32BJ.

Before moving to Philadelphia over a decade ago, he was a staffer in the Florida Senate and worked on a statewide gubernatorial race in the same state. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in public administration both from his alma mater of Florida A&M University. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and 100 Black Men. Joseph proudly serves on the Planned Parenthood Southeastern PA’s board of directors. Pierce is a 2016 class member of the Philadelphia Chapter of New Leaders Council, former president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the FAMU National Alumni Association, former recipient of the Billy Penn Who’s Next award and City & State PA’s 40 under 40 recognition, and a committee person in the 5th ward of Philadelphia. He is happily married to his lovely wife, Sherika Pierce.

Adam Jentleson

Jentleson has nearly twenty years of experience in politics and advocacy. In the Senate, he held several positions with former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid including Deputy Chief of Staff, in which capacity he served a senior advisor on political, legislative and communications strategy, and led one of the largest and most diverse communications and teams in the Senate. Earlier in his career, he worked on the presidential campaigns of Senators John Kerry and John Edwards. In the nonprofit sector, Jentleson managed teams at the Center for American Progress and CAP Action Fund. In 2017 he helped found the nonprofit advocacy watchdog Democracy Forward and in 2021 co-founded the nonprofit strategy organization Battle Born Collective. Jentleson is the author of Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy, and is often cited in the media as an expert source on Senate history, procedure and strategy. His writing on the Senate and American politics has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Politico Magazine and GQ.

Jentleson has served as co-chair of Senator-Elect Fetterman’s transition committee.