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Cheryl Mills (Clinton advisor)

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Cheryl Mills
Cheryl-Mills clinton.jpg
Basic facts
Organization:BlackIvy Group
Role:CEO and founder
Location:Washington, D.C.
Expertise:Politics
Affiliation:Democrat
Education:•University of Virginia (B.A.)
•Stanford Law School (J.D.)[1]
Website:Official website



Cheryl Mills is the founder and CEO of the BlackIvy Group, a firm that "builds and grows commercial enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa."[2] Formerly, Mills served as Hillary Clinton's chief of staff, while Clinton was U.S. secretary of state.[1]

  • During the 2016 presidential election, Politico reported that Mills was the top name in consideration by presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (D) as a potential candidate for chief of staff.[3]
  • Mills has served as the senior vice president for administration and operations at New York University.[1]
  • She was the deputy White House counsel under former President Bill Clinton (D).[4]
  • Career

    Early career

    Cheryl Mills graduated from Stanford Law School and, in 1990, passed her bar exam.[1][5] Shortly thereafter, Mills worked as an associate at the legal firm Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C.[5] She represented school districts concerning the application of Brown v. Board of Education.[1]

    Bill Clinton administration

    Mills was appointed as the deputy general counsel of former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore's transition team, the Transition Planning Foundation, before the election in 1992.[1][5] After Clinton's election, she served as associate counsel to the president and, by 1998, Mills had become a deputy in the Office of White House Counsel.[5][6] She acted as one of Clinton's attorneys in 1997, when the Clinton re-election campaign was accused of "campaign fund-raising abuses."[5][7] In 1999, Mills defended Clinton before the U.S. Senate during the president's impeachment trial.[5][4]

    Post-White House

    After serving under the Clinton White administration, Mills, in 1999, was hired as the senior vice president for corporate policy and public programming at the cable and internet firm, Oxygen Media.[1][6]

    In 2002, Mills served as the senior vice president for administration and operations as well as general counsel for New York University (NYU). She was also the executive secretary of the University Board of Trustees.[1][8][6] She remained at NYU until 2009.[6]

    U.S. Department of State

    See also: U.S. Department of State

    In 2009, Mills joined the staff of then-newly-appointed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[1][6][9] Initially, Mills was part of the transition team, a temporary position, however, she stayed on and served as the chief of staff.[9] Mills was the counselor to the Department of State as well. Her job was to manage foreign policy and operational priorities. She oversaw the Obama administration's "$3.5 billion global hunger and food security initiative" and a $800 million development project in Haiti.[1][6]

    BlackIvy Group

    After her tenure at the Department of State, Mills founded the BlackIvy Group. According to its website, BlackIvy "builds and grows commercial enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa...develop[ing] logistics and infrastructure solutions for emerging economies and businesses that serve the needs of the growing consumer class."[2] The firm has locations in Ghana, Tanzania, and in Washington, D.C.[2] Mills serves as the firm's CEO.[1]

    Board activity

    Mills serves on several boards. She has been on the board of BlackRock, Inc., an investment firm, since 2013.[6] She is on the board of the Clinton Foundation and the See Forever Foundation.[1][8]

    Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016

    See also: Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016

    On August 3, 2016, Politico reported that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, if elected, would likely consider Cheryl Mills as a candidate for chief of staff, citing Mills' past relationship with the Clintons.[3] If Mills is given the position, she would be the first female chief of staff as well as the first African American to hold the position.[3]

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes