Obama Foundation Names Tina Tchen as Chief Strategy and Impact Officer

July 6, 2022 at 11:10 AM CDT

Today the Obama Foundation announced that Tina Tchen will join the Foundation as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Impact Officer. In this role, Tchen will be responsible for leading the development, implementation, and monitoring of the Foundation’s strategy. Tchen will also oversee the Girls Opportunity Alliance, formalizing the senior advisor role she has played with the team over the last year, and will be involved with the Foundation’s work with Obama alumni. Tchen will start her position with the Foundation in mid-July.

“Tina is an accomplished lawyer, an advocate for gender equality, and a long-time advisor to the Obamas and the Foundation” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation. “Her commitment to creating the next generation of leaders coupled with her vast experience as a national changemaker will help drive the impact of our work.”

Tchen has deep ties to Chicago where she was a partner at the Chicago office of the law firm Skadden Arps for more than two decades in the litigation department. Tchen was also an active civic leader in Chicago, including serving on the University of Chicago Medical Center Board and as President of the Field Foundation Board. She served for eight years in the Obama White House, first as the inaugural Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and then as Chief of Staff to Mrs. Obama. Tchen also served as the Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls for all eight years. After the White House, she headed the Chicago office of the Buckley law firm, where she founded a practice advising companies on corporate culture, following which she served as the President and CEO of TIME’S UP Now and the TIME’S UP Foundation. Tchen also co-founded the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund to connect people to legal or public relations support for sexual harrasment across dozens of different industries.

“I am honored to join the Obama Foundation as we work to realize the legacy of President and Mrs. Obama, to inspire, empower, and connect those working for change around the world,” said Tchen.

Tchen holds an BA from Harvard University and a JD from Northwestern University School of Law.

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Contact: press@obama.org