Jodey Arrington

Arrington was reared in Plainview in Hale County on the South Texas Plains to Gene and Betty Arrington. His father played basketball at Texas Tech,[4][5] having lettered in 1958, 1959, and 1960[6] under coach Polk Robison. In high school, Arrington was a multi-sport athlete and a state-ranked tennis player.[7]

After graduating from Plainview High School, Arrington attended Texas Tech, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta men's fraternity. He also walked on to the football team under Spike Dykes. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science but remained at Texas Tech to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree, which he completed in 1997. In 2004, he earned a Certificate of International Business Management from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

After Governor Bush's election as president in 2000, Arrington was asked to join the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel,[8] where he served under Clay Johnson III. For the next year, Arrington briefed and made recommendations to the President, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Chief of Staff Andy Card. During his time in the Office of Presidential Personnel, Arrington managed an executive search team that helped the Office fill more than five thousand executive level, board, and commission positions. He specialized in appointments relating to energy, the environment, and natural resources.[9]

In late December 2001, at the age of twenty-eight, Arrington became one of the youngest chiefs of staff in the history of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,[10][11] where he served under the 18th chairman, Donald E. Powell.[12] As Powell's chief of staff, Arrington managed and oversaw the offices of the Chairman, Policy Development, and Public Affairs, all of which he reorganized to increase efficiency. In 2002, Arrington began chairing the FDIC Board Appeals Committee[12] and served in Powell's place on the Audit Committee.

In 2005, in the wake of FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush established by executive order the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding.[13] Bush appointed Don Powell as Federal Coordinator, who appointed Arrington as Deputy Federal Coordinator and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Arrington worked with the Governors of the affected states, as well as military officials, local authorities and charitable organizations.[1][3][14] Powell and Arrington were responsible for developing and executing the Federal Government's recovery efforts, as well as coordinating with local, state and federal officials. By the end of Arrington's first year in the Gulf Coast, he had aided Powell in the procurement and implementation of much of the $120 billion spent on infrastructure and assistance relief.[1]

After a year with the Gulf Coast position, Arrington returned to Texas Tech to serve as its system chief of staff.[15] The Tech System includes Texas Tech University, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University. He also served as the primary liaison to the vice chancellors throughout the system.

In 2011, Arrington was named Vice Chancellor for Research and Commercialization at Texas Tech University System. During his seven-year tenure with the Texas Tech University System, Arrington was chairman on the Task Force for Enrollment Growth and was the chief architect of "Leading the Way," the strategic plan for the universities within the TTU System.[16]

Arrington worked to secure the naming rights to the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health for the university health sciences center.[17] Since securing the naming rights in 2007, the institute has been responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for health care issues affecting women.[18]

In 2014, Arrington became president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock. As President of a healthcare innovation holding company, which includes a comprehensive health system, Arrington's primary role was launching and growing new ventures as well as supporting new revenue opportunities at the health system.

Until his full-time job in Congress, he was focused on developing a tele-health startup, launching an innovative insurance product, and establishing a digital marketing platform for the health system.[19]

• U.S. House website
• Campaign website
• Jodey Arrington at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Arrington article on Hurricane Katrina
• Appearances on C-SPAN