Jocelyn Frye is President of the National Partnership for Women & Families. Under her leadership, the organization is focused on advancing economic justice, affordable and equitable health care, civil rights, and reproductive freedom for women who face the steepest barriers – including women of color, women with the lowest incomes, women with disabilities, and transgender women.
Prior to taking the helm of the National Partnership, Frye was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), one of the country’s foremost progressive think tanks. In that role, she shaped policy development for CAP’s Women’s Initiative across a wide range of issues – including narrowing the gender pay gap, improving women’s employment opportunities and economic stability, combating gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence, and addressing the Black maternal health crisis.
Before joining CAP, Frye served in the White House during the administration of Barack Obama. As Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Special Projects for the First Lady, she oversaw a broad issue portfolio focused on improving the lives of women and families. She helped lead the two signature initiatives of then-First Lady Michelle Obama: tackling childhood obesity and supporting military families. She also played an important part in fostering career development opportunities for young women through the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative.
Frye’s current tenure at the National Partnership marks her second stint with the organization. She previously acted as the National Partnership’s General Counsel, concentrating on employment and discrimination issues facing women of color and low-income women. Furthermore, she helped spearhead the organization’s advocacy around judicial nominations and the Supreme Court.
Frye began her legal career at the firm of Crowell & Moring. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.
