Jane S. Hoffman (born July 20, 1964) is an American public policy expert and author on consumer affairs and the environment, and, most recently, on big tech companies and private data. She has served many roles in government and civics, including at the United Nations
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
governments.
Early life
Hoffman grew up in
Llewellyn Park
Llewellyn Park is a neighborhood in West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a gated residential community of 175 homes, west of New York City.
History
Llewellyn Park was founded in 1853 by Llewellyn Solomon Haskell, ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, the daughter of
David Steiner and Sylvia Steiner, a Jewish affairs power couple.
Her father is a real estate developer, owner of
Steiner Studios (the largest movie studio complex in the eastern United States),
and was president of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, among other communal roles. She has two sisters and one brother.
Hoffman graduated with a B.S. in communication from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, where she was later a trustee. She also studied
labor relations
Labor relations is a field of study that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In an international context, it is a subfield of labor history that studies the human relations with regard to work in its broadest ...
at the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
.
Career
Hoffman worked as a
Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and the most profitable firm on Wall Street durin ...
analyst,
and as a show producer for
Cable News Network
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
before switching to a public career. She worked for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
where coordinated events with the New York City government,
followed by a complementary position as New York City deputy commissioner to the United Nations at the start of the
Giuliani administration. She then moved to the city's Commission of
Consumer Affairs, spending three years as assistant commissioner, before being appointed its commissioner in 2000 for the remainder of Giuliani's term in office.
In 2002, Hoffman ran for
Lieutenant Governor of New York State
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
.
She was a leading contender for the position, but abandoned the campaign for health reasons. Later, she ran New York State's reform program for public authorities and was on city commissions for public advocacy and cultural affairs.
In 2007, Hoffman founded a private civic organization, the
Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy
The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy was created to ensure that renewable energy, sustainability, and conservation were top issues in the 2008 presidential election. It brought together 2008 presidential candidates to generate discussion a ...
.
It brought focus to sustainability and conservation, and sponsored a presidential debate.
In 2008, she and her husband wrote ''Green: Your Place in the New Energy Revolution'', an environmental book proposing a United States renewable energy policy.
The book was excerpted in
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...
.
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
called it an "accessible and surprisingly entertaining, ... informed overview."
In 2020, Hoffman was made fellow of
Harvard University's Advanced Leadership Initiative and served as a senior fellow for 2021 and 2022. She served as co-chair of gender equity for the fellows.
She is a trustee or director of many civic institutions.
In September 2020, Hoffman penned an op-ed for the New York Daily News titled ''Put your money where your anti-racist mouth is: Creating a social inequality index''.
In April 2022, Post Hill Press published her second book, ''Your Data, Their Billions: Unraveling and Simplifying Big Tech'', which explains how websites use and sell everyday tech users' data and how they can protect themselves from major tech companies.
Personal life
She married Michael Hoffman, an investment banker with
The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
, on October 28, 1995.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani performed the ceremony, together with Rabbi
Daniel Cohen, at the Metropolitan Club.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Jane
1964 births
Living people
People from East Orange, New Jersey
Northwestern University alumni
Alumni of the London School of Economics