Wendy Chun-Hoon

Wendy Chun-Hoon has decades of experience across the public, advocacy, and philanthropic sectors, with a proven record of centering workers’ lived experiences in policy development and spearheading transformative reform in care policy, workforce development, and family economic security. Throughout her career, Ms. Chun-Hoon has focused on advancing equitable labor and economic policies, particularly by elevating the voices of women, LGBTQ people, and communities that have been historically marginalized. She is widely respected for her strategic advocacy, coalition-building, and leadership of complex, cross-sector initiatives that deliver lasting impact.

She is president and executive director for the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). From 2021 to 2024 Ms. Chun-Hoon was appointed by President Biden to lead the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. In this role, she advanced women’s labor force participation and economic security by aligning DOL priority efforts with the White House’s Gender Equity Action Plan; she also led the drafting and DOL implementation of the federal government’s first-ever National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and Harassment. She helped secure gender equity commitments from mayors across the country through their participation in DOL’s Good Jobs Principles. She also provided essential technical assistance and resources to national and state advocates for gender equity and Commissions for Women nationwide.

Previously, Ms. Chun-Hoon served as executive director of Family Values @ Work, where she led a national network of grassroots coalitions in 27 states advocating for care policies and workplace rights such as paid leave and child care. Under her leadership, the organization expanded rights for more than 55 million workers and their families by supporting the passage of over 60 new laws across the country. She provided strategic guidance that advanced Maryland’s successful paid family medical leave and paid sick days campaigns, and helped launch the national Paid Leave for All campaign.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Chun-Hoon worked in philanthropy, including the Maryland-based and -serving Annie E. Casey Foundation. She began her public service career at the Maryland Department of Human Services, where she served as chief of staff to Secretary Brenda Donald during the first O’Malley Administration, helping to advance the administration’s signature child welfare reform agenda, Place Matters, and other policies supporting low-income families and workers.

Ms. Chun-Hoon currently serves on the boards of the Coalition on Human Needs and Family Values @ Work Action. She holds graduate degrees in Public Affairs and in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University, and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Vassar College.