Rich Sigel has dedicated his life to serving the citizens of New Hampshire by impacting political and social change in the community, earning him recognition as The Derryfield School 2005 Distinguished Alumnus. Sigel is the son of Derryfield Founders, Saul Sigel and Selma Deitch Sigel, two active community members with a vested interest in the future of The Derryfield School, and also Breakthrough Manchester, known then as Summerbridge. During his six years at DS, he actively developed his leadership skills, served as president of the school government for two years, and mentored younger students.
After graduating from Derryfield in 1981, Sigel studied political science at Tufts University. While an undergrad, he became involved with the presidential campaigns of Gary Hart and Michael Dukakis, giving him a taste of a career in politics. Additionally, he served on the McEachern for (NH) Governor staff, where he became acquainted with McEachern’s campaign manager, Jeanne Shaheen, current New Hampshire senator.
Sigel received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 1992, and spent three years as an associate attorney with Wilmer, Cutler, and Pickering in Washington, D.C., specializing in securities enforcement litigation. He returned home to New Hampshire in 1995 to practice law with Devine Millimet but took a leave in 1996 when Jeanne Shaheen asked him to manage her campaign for governor. Sigel continued to work for Shaheen as chief of staff for six years, and then as the campaign manager of her 2002 senatorial campaign. Sigel returned to
the law in 2003, working as attorney of counsel at Shaheen & Gordon, P.C. Sigel served as the chief architect of and senior advisor to John Lynch’s 2004 campaign for governor. Upon Lynch’s election, he named Sigel chief of staff, because, in his words, “Rich brings a passion to public service, along with a deep understanding of state government and the political process.” He was featured on New Hampshire’s Ten Most Powerful People list in 2009 and on the New Hampshire Business Influencer’s list in 2011.
Since 2012, Rich Sigel has been working as a senior advisor with McLane Middleton GPS, providing strategic advising and government affairs services for businesses and organizations. Sigel shared that the skillsets he uses each day were developed at Derryfield and have remained a common thread throughout his career. His love for management and effecting positive change started back at DS in 1975.
“I use the same skill set today as I learned and became passionate about at Derryfield. Organizing and moving things forward are what I really enjoy doing, and I’ve been able to help people because of the skills I picked up in leadership roles at Derryfield.”