Christina M. "Tina" Tchen (born January 25, 1956) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and a former official in the President Barack Obama Administration. She was CEO of Time's Up from 2019 to 2021.

Early life and education

Tchen was born in Columbus,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, on January 25, 1956, to Chinese immigrants of Shanghainese descent who fled the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1949. Her father Peter Chou-Yen Tchen worked as a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and her mother Lily was a scientist (chemistry from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

).Who Runs Gov
"Profiles: Christina M. Tchen"
, WhoRunsGov.com, accessed August 2, 2009. In 1956, her father was facing deportation back to China but received help from Ohio Senator John Bricker. She grew up in Beachwood, Ohio, graduating from Beachwood High School in 1974. She graduated from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1978, and received her J.D. degree in 1984 from

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

Career

Tchen worked for several years for the

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 ...

Bureau of the Budget where she served as the Governor's budget analyst for the Department of Children and Family Services. In 1988, Tchen began as an associate at

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...

, later becoming a partner at the firm in 1992, where she specialized in litigation in the federal courts. In 1992, she argued on behalf of the State of Illinois in front of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

in ''Artist M. v. Suter'', which helped reform the state's foster care program by closing a loophole. During President Obama's campaign in 2008, Tchen was one of his biggest fundraisers, raising $200,000. From Obama's inauguration in 2009 until January 5, 2011, she was the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, previously known as the Office of Public Liaison. From 2011 until 2017, she served as Assistant to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

; Chief of Staff to First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

; and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. In 2017, she became a partner in the law firm Buckley Sander where she led the workplace culture practice and was head of the firm's Chicago office. In 2018, she was one of the co-founders of Time's Up and led its legal defense fund that connected victims of sexual harassment with lawyers. The fund has raised more than $24 million by 2019 and has connected more than 3,600 workers in various industries to legal support for sexual harassment cases. In March 2019, Tchen was hired as an adviser to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) "workplace culture" after allegations of sexual and racial harassment led to the firing of the SPLC's co-founder and resignation of its president. Also that year, she was named chair of the Recording Academy's new task force for inclusion and diversity following

Neil Portnow Neil R. Portnow is an American music industry executive who served as the chairman and CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares from 2002 to 2019. Prior to that, Portnow was the vice-president of the West Coast division of Jive Records and Ar ...

and Ken Ehrlich's disparaging comments about women in the music industry. On October 7, 2019, Tchen was appointed chief executive officer of Time's Up. Tchen's leadership has come under scrutiny amid revelations of assisting prominent Democratic politicians

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

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

about the response to women who were publicly accusing them of sexual misconduct. She resigned on August 26, 2021, in the wake of Cuomo's resignation when it was revealed Tchen worked with the governor to discredit his first accuser.

Awards and recognition

* Chicago Lawyer "Person of the Year", 1994 * "Women of Achievement" award from the Anti-Defamation League, 1996 * Leadership Award from the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, 1999 * American Bar Association's Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, 2018

Boards and commissions

Chicago Bar Association Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is ...

Foundation *

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

(

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

) * Chinese American Service League (board member) * Judicial Nominations Commission for the

Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

References

External links

Profile
at

White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs The White House Office of Public Liaison (OPL) is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under President Barack Obama, it was renamed to the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernm ...

at WhiteHouse.gov
Council on Women and Girls
at WhiteHouse.gov *
Joining the Office of the First Lady
Tina Tchen, WhiteHouse.gov, January 5, 2011 *
Tina Tchen
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchen, Tina 1956 births 20th-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American Episcopalians American politicians of Chinese descent Asian-American people in Illinois politics Illinois Democrats Illinois lawyers Lawyers from Cleveland Living people Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Obama administration personnel Radcliffe College alumni Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people American lawyers of Chinese descent People from Beachwood, Ohio Chiefs of staff to the first lady of the United States