Tina Pelkey, press secretary to FCC chair Ajit Pai, is exiting the commission for what she calls a new opportunity. 

Pelkey is headed to Blue Origin, an Aerospace-owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, which is working on getting American-made rockets back to the space station and to the moon.  She will be senior manager, government affairs communication.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to work at the FCC and alongside chairman Pai. What an amazing ride it's been - from fighting robocalls to spurring 5G deployment and everything in between," said Pelkey in an email. 

"I've enjoyed working with each and every one of you and hope we can stay in touch moving forward." 

Pai called her "the best," and an "incredible co-worker."

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Pelkey joined the FCC in July 2017, having been a senior VP at Black Rock Group. She was the onetime press secretary to Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). Before that she was with Weber Shandwick public relations and DCI Group.

FCC chair Ajit Pai has named Tina Pelkey press secretary for the agency.

She will report to the director of the Office of Media Relations, Brian Hart.

Pelkey, onetime press secretary to Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), has more recently been senior vice president at Black Rock Group. Before that she was with Weber Shandwick public relations and DCI Group.

“Tina brings to the job a wealth of media relations experience, a tremendous work ethic, and a lot of energy,” Pai said. “I look forward to working with Tina as a key part of our team. And it goes without saying that it’s nice having another Kansan at the commission.”

Pelkey is a native of Lenexa, Kan., and a graduate of the University of Kansas; Pai grew up in Parsons, Kan.

Previous chair Tom Wheeler’s press secretary, Kim Hart, left last fall.