Linda Tarr-Whelan is a Distinguished Senior Fellow and Director of the Women's Leadership Initiative at Demos, a US national progressive think tank.  She is the author of the award-winning book, Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping up to Leadership and Changing the World (Berrett-Koehler, 2009 and 2011). She is also Chair of the National Women's Advisory Council for Pax World Resources. Linda served as Ambassador to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in the Clinton Administration, Deputy Assistant to President Jimmy Carter for Women's Concerns in the White House and a member of the President's Advisory Council on Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Named as one of the 50 most powerful women in Washington by Ladies Home Journal, her career has included government, unions and NGO's including as President/CEO of the Center for Policy Alternatives, and as Managing Partner of Tarr-Whelan & Associates, Inc, an international management consultancy. She appears frequently nationally and internationally as a speaker, writer, media commentator and blogger (www.lindatarrwhelan.com) on Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Bloomberg News, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, and Newsday. 

She began her career as a nurse and holds a BSN from Johns Hopkins, MS from the University of Maryland and honorary PhD's from Chatham University and Plymouth State University.  She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Linda and Keith Tarr-Whelan live on St. Helena Island, SC and Burlington, VT. They have two adult children and four grandchildren.

About Demos

A Network for Ideas and Action

Demos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization that was founded in 2000. Headquartered in New York City, Demos works with advocates and policymakers around the country in pursuit of four overarching goals:

• a more equitable economy with widely shared prosperity and opportunity;
• a vibrant and inclusive democracy with high levels of voting and civic engagement;
• an empowered public sector that works for the common good;
• and responsible U.S. engagement in an interdependent world.

A multi-issue national organization, Demos combines research, policy development, and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change. We publish books, reports, and briefing papers that illuminate critical problems and advance innovative solutions; work at both the national and state level with advocates and policymakers to promote reforms; help to build the capacity and skills of key progressive constituencies; project our values into the media by promoting Demos Fellows and staff in print, broadcast, and Internet venues; and host public events that showcase new ideas and leading progressive voices.