Dennis Cheng is an American development executive. He served as the chief development officer of the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

from 2011 to 2015. He served as the national finance director of the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and senior advisor of external outreach for the

Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign On April 25, 2019, former vice president Joe Biden released a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. On November 3, 2020, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, defeated incumbent Republican p ...

Education

Cheng graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in political science and economics from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 2001. He received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.Sc.) in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE).

Career

Cheng served as the Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States from July 20, 2009 to July 2011. Cheng has since 2008 acted in important roles for Hillary Clinton. He served as New York state finance director for the 2008 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. He also served on campaigns for

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

, and

Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born Wesley J. Kanne, 23 December 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at United States Military Academy, West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the U ...

. During the Clinton-led

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

he was deputy chief of protocol. He joined the

in 2011 as chief development officer in 2011 and is credited with raising $248 million until 2015. In 2015, Cheng became the national finance director of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. His role in the campaign is to direct fundraising activity and serve as a close aide to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

with major donors describing Cheng's presence as "often as close as you get to talking to Hillary Clinton". Cheng spent the summer of 2016 taking Clinton from fundraiser to fundraiser in the richest zipcodes across the United States, including

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, the

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

and

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...

. According to Cheng more than 1,500 fundraisers were hosted and raised $972 million for Clinton's campaign, the DNC and state parties. Clinton attended almost 400 of those fundraisers and donations were made by more than 3 million people. In May 2017, Hillary Clinton hired Cheng for the launch of her new political action organization Onward Together. Cheng joined the

as senior advisor for external outreach. In May 2021, it was announced that Cheng would executive produce "Recipe for Change" for

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

alongside

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

, Maverick Carter,

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron. The special, set to air June 16, 2021 and produced by the SpringHill Company, will bring together Asian American celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators to celebrate API culture and discuss the recent and historic acts of hate and violence against the API community. "Recipe for Change" was nominated for "Outstanding Daytime Special" at the 49th Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards. Cheng is currently a senior advisor to The Asian American Foundation and a board member of The American LGBTQ+ Museum. In November 2023 Cheng joined the Biden Administration as the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Dennis Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Swarthmore College alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics American political consultants Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign People associated with the 2008 United States presidential election People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election