This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

Search form

White House Council on Women and Girls

White House Council on Women and Girls

Council Members

"With passion and courage, women have taught us that when we band together to advocate for our highest ideals, we can advance our common well-being and strengthen the fabric of our nation."
President Barack Obama

The Council includes not only federal agencies, but also various offices of the White House, which are working together to advance the work of the Council and to support the Administration’s work on women and girls. The biographies of the designees from those offices are included in this section.

Council on Women and Girls Leadership


Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls: Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement

Executive Director: Tina M. Tchen, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement

Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls: Jordan Brooks

Senior Advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls: Sarah Hurwitz

Policy Advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls: Kalisha Dessources


Office of the Vice President

Office of the First Lady

Office of the United States Trade Representative

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget

The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

The Director of the Domestic Policy Council

The Director of the National Economic Council

The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality

The National Security Advisor

The Director of the Office National Drug Control Policy

Office of Cabinet Affairs

The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy


The Secretary of State
Secretary John Kerry

The Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary Jack Lew

The Secretary of Defense
Secretary Ashton Carter

The Attorney General
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch

The Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack

The Secretary of the Interior
Secretary Sally Jewell

The Secretary of Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker

The Secretary of Labor
Secretary Thomas E. Perez

The Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Julián Castro

The Secretary of Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx

The Secretary of Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz

The Secretary of Education
Acting Secretary John B. King, Jr. 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary Robert McDonald

The Secretary of Homeland Security
Secretary Jeh Johnson

The Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations
Ambassador Samantha Power

The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Gina McCarthy

The Director of the Office of Personnel Management
Acting Director Beth F. Cobert

The Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Maria Contreras-Sweet

The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
Gayle Smith

The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
Edith Ramirez

The Director of the Peace Corps
Carrie Hessler-Radelet

The Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service
Wendy Spencer

The Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Fred P. Hochberg

The Administrator of the General Services Administration
Denise Turner Roth

The CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Dana J. Hyde

The Director of the National Science Foundation
Dr. France A. Córdova