Sheila Nix is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

attorney and political strategist who served as Chief of Staff to

Jill Biden Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (née Jacobs; born June 3, 1951) is an American educator who served as the first lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025 as the wife of President Joe Biden. She was second lady of the United States from 2009 to 20 ...

, the

Second Lady of the United States The second lady of the United States or second gentleman (SLOTUS or SGOTUS) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast to " first la ...

from April 2013 to January 2017.

Early life and education

Nix was raised in

Portage Park, Chicago Portage Park is located on the northwest side of the City of Chicago, Illinois and is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Portage Park is bordered by the community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen to the north, D ...

and

Palatine, Illinois Palatine () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business ...

degree in accounting from

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the University of Chicago Law School.

Career

Nix was an associate at

Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, doing business as Arnold & Porter, is an American multinational law firm. It is a white-shoe firm and among the largest law firms in the world, both by revenue and by number of lawyers. Arnold & Porter was f ...

LLP from 1989 to 1991. From 1992 to 1999, Nix worked for Senator

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietn ...

, holding positions as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

and

Legislative Director A legislative assistant (LA), legislative analyst, legislative research assistant, or legislative associate, is a person who works for a legislator as a Legislature, legislative staffer in a semi-Politics, political Partisan (politics), partisan c ...

. As legislative director, she focused on developing policy for the Senator, especially on healthcare issues. She also served as the Budget Director at the

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. Its purpose is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of Ne ...

. Prior to that, she worked on

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

in 1991 and 1992. From 2004 to 2008, she was one of two deputy governors in the administration of Governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

of Illinois, but departed before he was accused and then convicted of trying to sell then President-elect Barack Obama's senate seat. Nix had served as chief of staff to

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

, where she was responsible for setting up his

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and Florida operations and managing a staff of fifty. Senator Nelson served on the Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Budget and Commerce Committees. She was also policy director and chief of staff in

Blair Hull Blair Hull (born September 3, 1942) is an American businessman, investor, and Democratic politician. Hull founded Hull Trading Company in 1985 and served as the firm's Chairman and chief executive officer before selling it to Goldman Sachs in 19 ...

’s Democratic primary campaign against the then-Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. She previously served as campaign Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden. She was based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

at the Obama for America headquarters for the 2012 presidential campaign. From 2009 to 2012, she was executive director of

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

The ONE Campaign ONE Campaign (styled as ONE) is an international, non-partisan, non-profit organization advocating for the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa. The campaigning organization uses data, grassroots ac ...

, a global advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and preventable disease, particularly in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, by raising public awareness and working with political leaders to support effective policies and programs that save lives. She was responsible for ONE's advocacy, communications, and campaign activities in the United States. In 2019, Nix became an advisor on 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 ...

. In August 2020, it was announced that Nix would serve as a senior advisor for vice-presidential nominee

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

. Since 2021, Nix has acted as the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Miguel Cardona Miguel Angel Cardona (born July 11, 1975) is an American educator who served as the 12th United States secretary of education under President Joe Biden from March 2, 2021 to January 20, 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he was confirmed b ...

. In 2023, it was announced that Nix would serve as campaign Chief of Staff to Vice President Harris for the 2024 campaign. She would likely be touring swing states to highlight reproductive rights and gun safety initiatives.

Personal life

Nix and her husband, an attorney, have three children. After the end of the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, Nix and her family returned to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, Sheila American political consultants Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Arnold & Porter people Creighton University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Biden administration personnel Chiefs of staff to United States senators