Washington, D.C. — Today the Center for American Progress announced that Jocelyn Frye, who most recently served as deputy assistant to the president and director of policy and special projects for the first lady, will join the Center as a Senior Fellow and will work with CAP’s new women’s initiative. Frye brings her experience working on the first lady’s two signature initiatives combating childhood obesity and supporting military families and more than a decade of experience working on workplace fairness and gender discrimination issues at the National Partnership for Women & Families to this role. At CAP, Frye will apply her two decades of experience to developing ideas about how to make progress on work-family balance, pay equity, and women’s leadership issues.
“Jocelyn’s years of on-the-ground experience give her unique insight into what policies will have the largest impact on women’s economic stability and security,” said Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. “Throughout her career Jocelyn has committed herself to eliminating the structural barriers women face in the workplace and to ensuring that women are empowered to take on leadership roles. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join our team.”
Frye was appointed deputy assistant to the president and director of policy and special projects for the first lady in 2009 where she oversaw the broad issue portfolio of the first lady, with a particular focus on women, families, and engagement with the greater D.C. community. She also managed the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative, a program connecting selected local high school students with current and former White House staff as mentors, and providing students with a mix of career exploration, college preparation, and educational opportunities.
Frye’s experience as the general counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she concentrated on employment and gender discrimination issues, with a particular emphasis on employment barriers facing women of color and low-income women, will inform her work at CAP where she’ll explore the intersection of race, sexuality, and gender, and help make the case for policy solutions that take into account the diverse needs of all women.
Frye has extensive experience working on issues related to equal employment opportunity and workplace fairness. During her 15-year tenure at the National Partnership, she testified before Congress and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on federal enforcement of employment-discrimination laws, analyzed the effectiveness of federal equal employment enforcement efforts, coordinated work on amicus curiae briefs and judicial nominations, and participated in a number of civil rights and women’s coalitions.
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