Elaine Chao

Elaine Chao is an experienced leader of a large complex, domestic and international organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She is a veteran of strategic management, crisis communications, innovative transformations, public/private partnerships, and coalition building. Elaine is the first Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander appointed to a President’s cabinet. Confirmed on a strong bipartisan basis to two U.S. cabinet positions, U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, she is also the longest serving Cabinet Secretary since World War II.

Prior to becoming Secretary of Labor, Elaine was President and CEO of United Way of America, where she worked with local United Ways to restore public trust by reforming the governance structure to reflect a culture of accountability and transparency during a challenging period in the United Way of America’s history.