Championing Girls
Chelsea Clinton on how family and a love of data have shaped her journey in public health
Chelsea Clinton is living her public health moment. In 2010, Chelsea gained her Masters of Public Health from Columbia University, where she currently lectures on global health governance. Last year, Chelsea became a first-time mother and received her doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University. In 2013, she was appointed Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, which was simultaneously renamed The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. Chelsea reflected on how these experiences have shaped her professional goals and leadership style at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on April 9, 2015, as part of the ongoing Voices in Leadership series.
As the only daughter of two prominent political figures, Chelsea’s leadership training started at an early age. Some of her earliest memories are fierce political debates with her parents. At just six years old, Bill and Hillary expected Chelsea to be able to support her opinions with evidence. Though it was challenging at the time, Chelsea is grateful for the parenting tactic, saying, “I didn’t understand just how profound and empowering a gift that was until I became a mother myself.”
Now, as Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea heads the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which aims to reduce childhood obesity in the U.S. Toward that end, the Alliance has teamed up with the food industry to encourage healthier options in school lunches. Their latest partner is McDonalds, a fast-food chain that often gets blamed for contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic. Chelsea emphasized that, in order to ensure success in the fight against childhood obesity, both traditional and unlikely partners are necessary and that “we need to consider the food systems in which our children live, learn and play in.”
Chelsea has been hailed for her hands-on approach to leadership, which she admits has to do with her “obsession with data.” She notes that statistics was the most important tool she gained from her public health education, as it allows her to absorb and catalogue information more quickly. She applies this efficiency to her personal life also, saying:
“I’m always looking for ways to maximize time spent with my daughter, Charlotte.”
Last year, Chelsea was named Woman of the Year by Glamour Magazine for her work on championing the role of girls and women across the world. She mentioned her mother’s early work on women’s rights as an important influence in shaping her passion in public health. The Foundation’s latest project is No Ceilings, which produced a comprehensive report on global gender equality. Throughout this process, Chelsea strongly advocated data transparency and insisted on making all datasets freely available online to “speed up collective success.”
Despite her young age, Chelsea brings significant maturity to her leadership position at the Clinton Foundation. As advice for future leaders, Chelsea emphasized the importance of introspection, gaining feedback from our mentors to drive us forward, and allowing the injustice in the world help guide one’s focus in life.
For more from the Voices in Leadership (@VoicesHSPH) series at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (@HarvardHSPH), visitwww.hsph.harvard.edu/voices.
Story edited by Jeffrey Reynoso
