Tanden serves as the President and the CEO of the Center for American Progress.
Indian American Neera Tanden has been named as one of the co-chairs of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s presidential transition team.
Tanden, who serves as the President and the CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Fund, has earlier served under administrations Presidents Obama and Bill Clinton. She has been a notable policy figure in the presidential campaign of the Democrats in the past several elections.
The Center’s website reads, “Tanden previously served as senior adviser for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, working on President Barrack Obama’s health reform team in the White House. In that role, she developed policies around reform and worked with Congress and stakeholders on particular provisions of the legislation.”
It adds: “Prior to that, Tanden was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, where she managed all domestic policy proposals. Tanden had also served as policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, where she directed all policy work, ranging from domestic policy to the economy to foreign affairs, and managed day-to-day policy announcements. In that role, she also oversaw the debate preparation process for then-Sen. Clinton (D-NY).”
The Indian American is widely considered as a potential cabinet secretary if the former first lady wins the election. She has been a top aide to the Democratic nominee dating back to Clinton’s days as the First Lady. Tanden served as associate director for domestic policy in the Clinton White House and senior policy adviser to the First Lady.
Later, she became the deputy campaign manager for Clinton during her 2000 Senate election election.
She also worked with President Obama in White House.
Tanden is now heads of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic-leaning think tank in Washington D.C.
Tanden was born to Indian parents in Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1970. Her mother, a divorcee, struggled to bring her up but fighting all odds Tanden graduated from UCLA in 1992 and received a degree from Yale Law School in 1996. She became involved in politics from an early age, first working on the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.
Tanden and her husband, Ben Edwards, have two children.
Updated on August 16, 2016.