Strategy Policy Crisis

 Ann O’Leary is a Partner at Jenner & Block LLP, where she co-chairs the Government Controversies and Public Policy Litigation Practice. A Fellow at The Century Foundation, Ann focuses her work on advocating for paid family leave and broader issues of the Care Economy. She continues to develop the next generation of legal expertise at Stanford Law with her courses, including “The Law and Policy of America’s Safety Net.”
 

Ann recently served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. O’Leary led the Governor’s office during an unprecedented time of challenge for California, including managing the worst wildfires in the state’s history, the bankruptcy of one of the major investor-owned utilities, a strained electricity grid, statewide teacher strikes, COVID-19 public health and economic response, racial riots, and the results of the climate crisis facing California. O’Leary also led the development and implementation of the proactive agenda of the Governor to expand opportunity and affordability in California, including notable expansions of California’s Earned Income Tax Credit and Paid Family Leave.
 

Prior to joining the Governor’s office, O’Leary was a law partner at Boies Schiller Flexner. O’Leary brings decades of experience in government, politics, social policy, and non-profit leadership. She served as Senior Policy Advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and Co-Executive Director of the Clinton-Kaine Transition Project. She co-founded the national non-profit organization, the Opportunity Institute, as a continuation of her work as Senior Vice President of Next Generation– where she launched a national early childhood education initiative “Too Small to Fail” in collaboration with the Clinton Foundation. She was a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco; Executive Director of UC Berkeley Law’s Center on Health, Economic and Family Security and lecturer-in-law at UC Berkeley Law; legislative director for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; and a policy advisor with the White House Domestic Policy Council under President William Jefferson Clinton.
 

O’Leary holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, a M.A. in Education Policy from Stanford University, and a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law. 

Recognized by Politico as one of the top 50 visionaries, doers and thinkers changing the world.

"A national leader in the fight for working families and a best-in-class crisis manager." - Governor Gavin Newsom

Working for an inclusive, equitable economic recovery with a focus on the care economy  A champion for women and children.

A history of navigating major crises from the aftermath of 9/11 to the  COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recovery response.