Secretary Chao was previously Director of the Peace Corps. Under her direction, the first Peace Corps programs in the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union were established. As President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of America, she restored public trust and confidence in the nation's largest institution of private charitable giving after it was tarnished by mismanagement and financial abuse.

Prior to being Director of the Peace Corps, Secretary Chao had been Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, Deputy Maritime Administrator in the U.S. Department of Transportation and a White House Fellow.

Secretary Chao received her M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and her undergraduate degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College. She also studied at M.I.T., Dartmouth College, and Columbia University. Secretary Chao is the recipient of 25 honorary doctoral degrees from colleges and universities around the world.