Jeanine Chirlin is the Brennan Center’s chief of staff. She manages the Office of the President and board relations, assists the president in a variety of initiatives, supports the leadership team, drives key special projects and partnerships, and oversees the organization’s annual retreat.
Chirlin previously served in a variety of roles at the Brennan Center, including director of special projects. In that role, she helped launch the center’s events series. She also helped convene civic, philanthropic, cultural, and business leaders for New York campaign finance reform and oversaw an internal communications initiative in the wake of organizational growth. Prior to that, she served as vice president of the Communications and Strategy Department, where she oversaw media relations, publications, digital strategy, promotional content creation, and public events. In that role, Chirlin was integral to raising the center’s national profile and shaping the public debate on democracy and justice issues in the media through the center’s newsletters and public events. In 2013, she served on the board-staff steering committee for a five-year strategic planning process, and in 2015, she edited, with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Legal Change: Lessons from America’s Social Movements. She has a BA with honors from Northeastern University and an MA from Columbia University.