Caroline Hamilton
Communications Director
Rep. Blake Moore
Want to meet a staffer who almost moved to New York to work at a fashion magazine?
Oh, you should talk to Caroline Hamilton!
Caroline Hamilton is the Communications Director for Rep. Blake Moore of Utah — a role she's held for five and a half years, which, in Hill years, basically qualifies her as an historic artifact.
But D.C. was never the plan. Growing up in Baltimore and attending Furman University in South Carolina, Caroline was certain she was destined for New York, a fashion magazine, and a writing career that had nothing to do with politics. Then she was placed in Sen. Tim Scott's office through a summer internship program and she ended up calling her mom by 11 a.m. on day one and said, "I think my life is changing."
She meant it.
"It was the Lord completely directing my path," she says. Everyone in that office just poured into me... I saw people who worked so hard who could be making a lot more money elsewhere."
She never looked back. She did another DC internship the following year and moved to D.C. after graduation, where she took an interesting path to find her first full-time job.
Her Backstory
🏠 Hometown: Baltimore, MD
🎓 Colleges & Majors: Furman University (Communications)
💭 Favorite Hill Memory: “Meeting my husband at a reception after work!”
🔗 CNCT with Caroline about…
Baltimore sports, especially the Ravens
The DC mom network (it's real and it's spectacular) 👶🏻
The difference between working in the Admin and Congress
Being a brand new, figuring-it-out-in-real-time working mom 🍼
Her community at Waterfront Church DC
The "Peace" Rule
Caroline’s career philosophy is simple: If there's no peace, don't do it.
When Caroline first arrived in D.C. to find a full-time position in 2019, she did what most people in this city would tell you is career-suicide — she said no. Multiple times. To actual job offers. She had no paycheck coming in, her internship was in fundraising (which she quickly realized was not her calling), and she was interviewing around while everyone told her to just take something and get her foot in the door.
She didn't.
"I never had peace until I met my soon-to-be boss," she says. "And I just took it. When I do have peace, so often it makes no sense — but I just go for it, and it turns out."
To be clear: she's the first to acknowledge that saying no to a paycheck is a privilege not everyone has. But for her, it wasn't recklessness — it was discernment. She was waiting for the right fit, not the first fit.
The job that finally felt right? Joining the Department of Commerce as a Press Assistant––a gig that ended up being transformative for her as a communicator.
When we asked about her work hours at that time… “Oh my gosh. I always say I'm so thankful I was single with no baby when I did that because... one day I go to work and my boss comes over to me and she's like, "Hey, can you go to New York in an hour and a half?"... There were days I'd be there at like 6:30 in the morning but it doesn't mean it ends early... You finish out the day at 8:00.”
Faith & Office Culture
After leaving the first Trump Administration, Caroline made the jump to the Hill for an incoming freshman Member, Rep. Blake Moore of Utah. She started in 2021 and she’s still there.
So what drives someone to stay in the same office for almost six years? Culture.
In Blake Moore's office, the culture didn't happen by accident. Caroline credits a lot of it to a shared orientation that puts faith before career — and in doing so, produces a more effective team. It's not a formula you'd find in a leadership book, but it works.
"We always say, 'this could leave us at any time' and it's okay. Our worth is not in this," she says. "We work really hard, but not to gain the approval of this place. It's just because we believe what we're doing."
The result? People stay. Her colleagues were at her wedding, baby shower, and other important personal milestones. Her chief of staff had a baby right before she did and is now her unofficial guide to working motherhood.
Another important part of Rep. Moore office culture goes back to why he’s in D.C. in the first place — his constituency. The office won a Democracy Award for constituent services — the kind of work that actually changes someone's day, even if it never makes headlines.
"Hearing stories about immigration issues, families getting their passports in time for a trip — it sounds small, but that's the stuff that has an immediate impact," she says.
It turns out when people aren't treating their job as their identity, they're actually better at it.
❤️ Caroline’s Favorites
Coffee Spot: Blue Bottle
Bar: The Eastern
Happy Hour: Oyamel
Lunch Spot: Sweetgreen
TV Show: Seinfeld
Movie: Legally Blonde
Best Career Advice She Received: "Don't settle. You do not need to take the first job that wants to give you a job."
Caroline's Capitol Corner
🍣 Cafeteria Order: A veggie sushi roll
📝 Best Out-of-Office Workplace: The park next to Longworth
🧥 Hill Closet, Sponsored by: “Shopbop and lots of hand-me-downs from my mom”
💎 Hidden Gem: Toki Underground for the BEST ramen
☕ Hill Holy Grail: “My husband packing my lunch and snacks”
A New Chapter
Caroline is a brand new mom. Her son JR just arrived, and after maternity leave she’s been back to work for just a couple months.
She'll willingly admit she doesn't have it all figured out. But she’s been blown away by the mom network that has materialized around her — women who've shown up with community.
"I've never felt alone here," she says. "In every life stage — singleness, engagement, now motherhood — I've had so much support. And this place (Congress) I never thought would be home is supporting me and my family."
📚 Caroline’s Reading List
The Next Right Thing by Emily Freeman
Family Unfriendly by Tim Carney
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
One More Thing…
"God's just a great decider — and that's been true in every aspect of my life. When I do have peace about something, it so often makes no sense. But I just go for it." — Caroline Hamilton