Speaker Biography:

Gina M. Raimondo is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relation (CFR). From March 2021 through January 2025 she was the United States Secretary of Commerce.

As secretary of commerce, she was focused on a simple but vital mission — make America more competitive by spurring good-paying jobs, empowering entrepreneurs to innovate and grow, and advancing economic and national security. The Department of Commerce, under her leadership, made historic investments in Internet access, manufacturing, economic development, workforce training, supply chain resiliency, and climate readiness through the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Secretary Raimondo also took a leading role in ensuring the responsible development of artificial intelligence. She stood up the U.S. AI Safety Institute in the Department of Commerce, which partnered with leading American AI companies to test major new models prior to deployment for potential risks to public safety and national security. Under her leadership, the Department released industry-standard guidance on topics ranging from red teaming, to generative AI, and synthetic content, spearheaded federal efforts to mitigate national security threats presented by AI, and launched the international network of AI Safety Institutes.

Raimondo was the seventy-fifth governor of Rhode Island and its first woman governor. As governor, she kick-started the state’s economy and made record investments in infrastructure, education, and job training by focusing on creating economic opportunities and good-paying jobs for all Rhode Islanders. Raimondo also made record investments in infrastructure and education. Under her leadership, Rhode Island became one of the first states in the country to offer tuition-free community college for every high school graduate. Raimondo was also nationally recognized for her outstanding leadership during the COVID 19 pandemic, making Rhode Island the face of successful recovery efforts. She was re-elected by the widest margins in a generation and the first governor of Rhode Island in decades to win the majority of the vote.

She also served as the Chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA). During her term, she rebuilt the entire DGA leadership team, bolstered the fundraising, communications, and research teams, and grew the digital program exponentially. She also raised the most money in an off-year election in the organization’s history, a forty percent increase from previous years. Raimondo successfully helped and funded Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards re-election effort and helped to elect Andy Beshear of Kentucky. She created and launched an annual Economic Development and Policy Mission to Israel for Democratic Governors.

Prior to her role as Governor, Raimondo was elected to serve as general treasurer of Rhode Island, receiving the largest number of votes of any statewide candidate. When Raimondo took office as General Treasurer she restructured the state's seven billion dollar underfunded pensions, allowing Rhode Island to “avert pension disaster without raising taxes” (New York Times) and designed a first of its kind retirement system to ensure retirement security for the states public employees and teachers. Prior to her service in state government, she founded Point Judith Capital, a venture capital firm in her home state of Rhode Island, where she led the firm’s healthcare practice.

Raimondo earned her BA in economics from Harvard University and a PhD from Oxford University through a Rhodes Scholarship. She is a graduate of Yale Law School and clerked for U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood. The 2016 recipient of Yale Law School’s prestigious Alumni Award of Merit, Governor Raimondo is an alumni fellow on the Yale Board of Trustees.

100 Days: Portman Lecture with The Honorable Gina Raimondo