Cheryl Mills
Encyclopedia
Cheryl D. Mills is an American
lawyer
, administrator, and corporate executive. She is most known for being deputy White House Counsel
for President Bill Clinton
, whom she defended during his 1999 impeachment trial. She worked for New York University
as Senior Vice President. She served as Senior Adviser and Counsel for Hillary Rodham Clinton
's 2008 presidential campaign and is considered a member of "Hillaryland
". She currently serves as Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
in the U.S. Army, and grew up on Army bases all over the world, including Belgium
, West Germany
, and the U.S. She attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. Mills received her B.A.
from the University of Virginia
in 1987, where she was Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D.
from Stanford Law School
in 1990, where she was elected to Stanford Law Review
.
She worked as an associate at the powerful Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson; while there, she represented school districts seeking to achieve racial integration per Brown v. Board of Education
.
During the impeachment trial, the BBC
reported that she was "widely regarded as the shining star of the defense team, and gave an effective presentation on President Clinton's behalf on the second day of defense arguments." Other media outlets also viewed her work quite favorably. Her presentation to the Senate focused on refuting the obstruction of justice charge and the House managers' claim that failure to convict the President would damage the rule of law. Her summation became known for its endorsement of Clinton's record with respect towards women and minorities; she said, "I stand here before you today because President Bill Clinton believed I could stand here for him ... I'm not worried about civil rights, because this President's record on civil rights, on women's rights, on all of our rights is unimpeachable."
After Clinton was acquitted, Mills was offered the White House Counsel
position when Charles Ruff stepped down, but she declined.
's Oxygen Media. By 2002, she was working for New York University
. While at NYU, Mills played a central role in the university administration's efforts to avoid signing union contracts with adjunct faculty and graduate students.
said, “I think Secretary Clinton wants to know you’re a team player, but she wants to hear it straight and she gets exactly that from Cheryl.”
Mills currently is leading the Department’s interagency global hunger and food security initiative (Feed the Future) and diplomacy and development efforts in Haiti
working closely with USAID and others across the government. She serves as the United States' representative on the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC). In January 2011, Mills joined Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, the Inter-American Development Bank
, Sae-A and the IHRC to announce the construction of an industrial park in Northern Haiti. Its first tenant will create 20,000 jobs alone. Mills has said, "I feel a special connection to Haiti and the Haitian people. The power of Haitian heritage and the strength of the Haitian people is tremendous. And, Haiti holds a unique and rich role in the history of African Americans." Shortly after taking office Secretary Clinton asked Mills to lead an interagency consultation of current agriculture and food security efforts. The subsequent strategy became (Feed the Future). The Obama administration pledged $3.5 billion over three years to boost agricultural productivity. Describing the importance of food security Mills said, "We are always worried whenever people cant feed themselves. And particularly worried when that actually might translate to destabilization of a country. It is one of the reasons why this program is such an important one."
Mills has been active in community service and civic affairs. In 1990, she worked with DCWorks, a non-profit organization that supported the academic and social development of underprivileged high school students of color. She served on the Boards of the See Forever Foundation, National Partnership for Women and Families, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Education Fund, the Jackie Robinson Foundation
, the Center for American Progress
and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Foundation. In 2010, Mills received UVA's Distinguished Alumna Award. In the corporate world, Mills served on the board of Cendant Corporation.
Mills has spoken about women in the work place and work-life balance. “There weren't often a lot of models where you could see women at the height of what they were doing and balancing their family,” she told ABC News. “And being able to see her [Clinton] with Chelsea, see what their relationship was like, see when she took the time, all those things helped you to be thoughtful about how to be an effective parent yourself."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, administrator, and corporate executive. She is most known for being deputy White House Counsel
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
for President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, whom she defended during his 1999 impeachment trial. She worked for New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
as Senior Vice President. She served as Senior Adviser and Counsel for Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
's 2008 presidential campaign and is considered a member of "Hillaryland
Hillaryland
Hillaryland was the self-designated name of a group of core advisors to Hillary Rodham Clinton, when she was First Lady of the United States and again when, as United States Senator, she was one of the Democratic Party candidates for President in the 2008 election.The group included Huma Abedin,...
". She currently serves as Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Hillary Clinton.
Early life and education
Mills is the daughter of a Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the U.S. Army, and grew up on Army bases all over the world, including Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and the U.S. She attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. Mills received her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1987, where she was Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
in 1990, where she was elected to Stanford Law Review
Stanford Law Review
The Stanford Law Review is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president...
.
She worked as an associate at the powerful Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson; while there, she represented school districts seeking to achieve racial integration per Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
.
White House counsel
She served as Deputy General Counsel of the Clinton/Gore Transition Planning Foundation after Clinton's 1992 election, and then Associate Counsel to the President in the White House from 1993 on. Until impeachment, she was little known to the public.During the impeachment trial, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that she was "widely regarded as the shining star of the defense team, and gave an effective presentation on President Clinton's behalf on the second day of defense arguments." Other media outlets also viewed her work quite favorably. Her presentation to the Senate focused on refuting the obstruction of justice charge and the House managers' claim that failure to convict the President would damage the rule of law. Her summation became known for its endorsement of Clinton's record with respect towards women and minorities; she said, "I stand here before you today because President Bill Clinton believed I could stand here for him ... I'm not worried about civil rights, because this President's record on civil rights, on women's rights, on all of our rights is unimpeachable."
After Clinton was acquitted, Mills was offered the White House Counsel
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
position when Charles Ruff stepped down, but she declined.
Post-White House career
After leaving the Clinton Administration, Mills took a break from the practice of law; from 1999–2001, she served as Senior Vice President for Corporate Policy and Public Programming at Oprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's Oxygen Media. By 2002, she was working for New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. While at NYU, Mills played a central role in the university administration's efforts to avoid signing union contracts with adjunct faculty and graduate students.
Department of State
Mills has served as the Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton since January 2009. In her capacity as Counselor, she is a principal officer who serves the Secretary as a special advisor on major foreign policy challenges. As Chief of Staff, Mills manages the Department's staff, providing support to the Secretary in administering operations of the Department. As former White House Press Secretary Joe LockhartJoe Lockhart
Joseph Lockhart is a spokesman and communications consultant, best known for being the White House Press Secretary from October 5, 1998 to September 29, 2000, during the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton...
said, “I think Secretary Clinton wants to know you’re a team player, but she wants to hear it straight and she gets exactly that from Cheryl.”
Mills currently is leading the Department’s interagency global hunger and food security initiative (Feed the Future) and diplomacy and development efforts in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
working closely with USAID and others across the government. She serves as the United States' representative on the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC). In January 2011, Mills joined Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, the Inter-American Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
, Sae-A and the IHRC to announce the construction of an industrial park in Northern Haiti. Its first tenant will create 20,000 jobs alone. Mills has said, "I feel a special connection to Haiti and the Haitian people. The power of Haitian heritage and the strength of the Haitian people is tremendous. And, Haiti holds a unique and rich role in the history of African Americans." Shortly after taking office Secretary Clinton asked Mills to lead an interagency consultation of current agriculture and food security efforts. The subsequent strategy became (Feed the Future). The Obama administration pledged $3.5 billion over three years to boost agricultural productivity. Describing the importance of food security Mills said, "We are always worried whenever people cant feed themselves. And particularly worried when that actually might translate to destabilization of a country. It is one of the reasons why this program is such an important one."
Other
Throughout her career, the African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Mills has been active in community service and civic affairs. In 1990, she worked with DCWorks, a non-profit organization that supported the academic and social development of underprivileged high school students of color. She served on the Boards of the See Forever Foundation, National Partnership for Women and Families, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , formerly called The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.-Organizational history:...
Education Fund, the Jackie Robinson Foundation
Jackie Robinson Foundation
The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a non-profit organization which gives scholarships to minority youths for higher education, as well as preserving the legacy of Baseball Hall of Fame member, Jackie Robinson. The foundation was founded by Rachel Robinson, the wife of Jackie, in 1973, a couple of...
, the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Foundation. In 2010, Mills received UVA's Distinguished Alumna Award. In the corporate world, Mills served on the board of Cendant Corporation.
Mills has spoken about women in the work place and work-life balance. “There weren't often a lot of models where you could see women at the height of what they were doing and balancing their family,” she told ABC News. “And being able to see her [Clinton] with Chelsea, see what their relationship was like, see when she took the time, all those things helped you to be thoughtful about how to be an effective parent yourself."