Ron Klain is an American attorney and political operative who has held various senior public and private sector positions. He currently serves as White House Chief of Staff to President Joe Biden.
Ron Klain began his career clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White and later clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He then worked as a lawyer and lobbyist in private practice before returning to government service in the 1990s.
In the Clinton administration, Klain served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Al Gore and played a key role in the administration’s efforts on issues such as climate change and campaign finance reform. After leaving the White House, Klain worked as a strategic advisor to a variety of clients, including serving as a senior advisor to the Gore campaign during the 2000 presidential election.
In the Obama administration, Klain served as White House Chief of Staff to Vice President Joe Biden, where he oversaw the administration’s efforts on a wide range of policy issues, including the stimulus, healthcare reform, and the H1N1 pandemic response.
After leaving the White House, Klain returned to private practice and also worked as an executive at a venture capital firm. In 2014, he was appointed by President Obama as the “Ebola Czar” to coordinate the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Klain is also an active political commentator, frequently appearing on news programs and writing for various publications. He is also a visiting professor of law at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses on government and politics.
In 2020, Klain was announced as incoming President Joe Biden’s White House Chief of Staff. Klain will manage the day-to-day operations of the White House and serve as a top advisor to the President. He is expected to play a key role in shaping the Biden Administration’s agenda and working with Congress.
Wife of Ron Klain: Meet Monica Medina
Ron Klain is married to Monica Medina, a marine environmentalist, policy analyst, and lawyer. She served as Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the Obama Administration.
Prior to joining NOAA, Monica was the Senior Director for Ocean Conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she led the organization’s work on ocean conservation, including the creation of a network of marine protected areas in the U.S. and around the world.
During the Clinton Administration, she also served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Monica has more than two decades of experience in marine conservation and policy, and has worked on a wide range of issues including sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, and the impacts of climate change on the ocean.
Monica has an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law. She was also an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law, where she taught courses on ocean and coastal law and policy.
Together, Ron and Monica have been actively involved in a variety of social and political causes, and have supported a number of charitable organizations. They are also known as avid supporters of ocean conservation efforts.