Former White House staffer to be featured speaker

  Tuesday, November 7, 2017 2:00 AM
  Milestones, News, Campus Culture

Pittsburg, KS

Former White House staffer to be featured speaker

The former Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement will be featured speaker in the Profiles of Women in Government Lecture Series at Pittsburg State University on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Tina Tchen, the 14th speaker in the series, will begin her address at 7 p.m. in the Linda and Lee Scott Performance Hall at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, with a reception to follow in the art gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

The Women in Government Lecture Series was established at Pittsburg State University in 2001 through a generous gift from the Helen S. Boylan Foundation to the PSU Foundation. 

During her eight years in the White House, Tchen served as chief of staff to First Lady Michelle Obama, special assistant to President Barack Obama, and the executive director of the Council on Women and Girls, leading the first-ever White House Summit on Working Families. 

Tchen, who received a bachelor of arts degree at Harvard University and a law degree from Northwestern University, was previously a partner in corporate litigation at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. In that capacity, she 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.

Tchen's career accomplishments have established her as a powerful advocate for gender equality. She has championed women's and children's issues, and will share her perspective and insights on workforce diversity and inclusion, breaking through male-dominated industries, and ending campus assault. 

Currently, she is a partner at Buckley Sandler LLP, leading their Chicago office. Tchen also is the recipient of many awards, including the Leadership Award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (1999); "Women of Achievement" award from the Anti-Defamation League (1996); and Chicago Lawyer "Person of the Year" (1994).

Past speakers in the series have included former First Lady Laura Bush, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey, and Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, to name a few.


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