Tina Tchen

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Tina Tchen
陳遠美
Christina Tchen in the Oval Office.jpg
Chief of Staff to the First Lady
Assumed office
January 5, 2011
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Susan Sher
Personal details
Born (1956-01-25) January 25, 1956 (age 68)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Children Patrick
Emma
Alma mater Harvard University
Northwestern University
Religion Episcopalianism

Christina M. "Tina" Tchen (simplified Chinese: 陈远美; traditional Chinese: 陳遠美, pinyin: Chén Yuǎnměi) (born January 25, 1956) is an American lawyer. She serves as Assistant to President Barack Obama; Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama; and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.[1][2][3] From the date of Obama's inauguration until January 5, 2011, she was the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, previously known as the Office of Public Liaison.[2][4]

Early life and education

Tchen was born in the U.S. to Chinese immigrants who fled Communist China in 1949. Her father worked as a psychiatrist and her mother as a scientist.[5] She grew up in Beachwood, Ohio where she graduated from Beachwood High School. She has known Amy Rule, Rahm Emanuel's wife, since they were teenagers together in suburban Cleveland.[6] She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1978,[7] and received her law degree in 1984 from Northwestern University School of Law.

Career experience

After graduation from Radcliffe, Tchen worked for several years for the Illinois Bureau of the Budget where she served as the Governor's budget analyst for the Department of Children and Family Services. She then went to law school, and after graduation went to work as an associate attorney for the Chicago office of the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.[5]

Tchen worked at Skadden for 25 years where she specialized in litigation at all levels of the state and federal courts. She represented companies, officers and directors in shareholder class and derivative actions. She also handled a wide range of commercial, intellectual property, and employment-related litigation, and represented public agencies in state and federal class actions, including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Public Aid and the Chicago Housing Authority. She was a partner at Skadden for 13 years before her appointment to the Obama administration.[5]

Community and professional service

Tchen has served on several boards for organizations involved in public, legal and social policy: the Chicago Bar Association Foundation; the Field Foundation of Illinois (chair of the board); the Chicago Public Library (trustee); and the Chinese American Service League (board member).[8]

Tchen has served on the Judicial Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois and has served in several leadership positions with the American Bar Association Litigation Section.

Awards

Tchen is the recipient of a number of awards recognizing her contributions in the legal field: Leadership Award from the Women's Bar Association of Illinois (1999); "Women of Achievement" award from the Anti-Defamation League (1996); and Chicago Lawyer (Magazine) "Person of the Year" (1994). She was selected for inclusion in Chambers USA guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2008) and The Best Lawyers in America (2009). She also was selected in 2007 as one of the top three women business lawyers in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network.[9] In 2011, she was honored with the Harvard College Women's Leadership Professional Achievement Award.[10]

Political donations

Tchen made 13 donations totaling $7,850 to various Democratic political campaigns in 2008.[11] She was also an early supporter of Barack Obama's run for the U.S. presidency, and was an effective fundraiser for his campaign.[5]

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Who Runs Gov. "Profiles: Christina M. Tchen", WhoRunsGov.com, accessed August 2, 2009.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "President-elect Obama announces more key White House staff", change.gov
  10. ↑ "Harvard College Women's Center - Women's Leadership Awards", http://hcwc.fas.harvard.edu
  11. ↑ Political Campaign Contributions [1], "Christina Tchen." Note: The dollar amount given on the main webpage is cumulative. To view the annual contributions, click on the individual links on the main page.

External links

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