Washington, D.C. – The Vice President announced today that Kate Bedingfield will serve as his Communications Director, starting Monday. She succeeds Shailagh Murray, who was appointed Senior Advisor to President Obama. Bedingfield comes to the Vice President’s office from Motion Picture Association of America, where she was the Vice President of Corporate Communications.

“Kate is a talented individual who brings a range of communications experience to the team,” Vice President Biden said. “She will be a key advisor to me, a terrific asset to our office, and an important member of the entire White House organization.”

Prior to working at MPAA, Bedingfield was an associate communications director at the White House where she managed communications planning around the Administration’s priorities. While at the White House, Bedingfield also served as the Deputy Director of Media Affairs and the Director of Response. In 2008, Bedingfield was the communications director for Jeanne Shaheen for Senate.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Bedingfield graduated from the University of Virginia. She and her husband live in Washington, D.C. with their son.