Valerie Biden Owens (November 5, 1945) is an American

political strategist Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

, campaign manager and former educator. She is the younger sister of Joe Biden, the 46th and current

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. In 2016, president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

nominated her Alternate Representative of the United States to the 71st Session of the General Assembly of 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 ...

. Owens has played a substantial role in all of her brother's political campaigns. She was the campaign manager during all of his Senate elections and for his

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

presidential campaigns, as well as a senior advisor to his successful 2020 presidential campaign. Owens published her autobiography, ''Growing Up Biden'', in 2022.

Early life and education

She was born the daughter of Catherine Eugenia "Jean" ( née Finnegan; 1917–2010) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002). Her brothers are Joe, Francis "Frank" Biden, and James "Jim" Biden. Her family is of

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

background. Biden's father was initially wealthy, but later suffered several financial setbacks; for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. Joe Biden Sr. later became a successful used car salesman, maintaining the family a middle-class lifestyle. Owens graduated from Ursuline Academy in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

in 1963, and went on to study at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

, where she was on the

dean's list A dean's list is an academic award, or distinction, used to recognize the highest level scholarship demonstrated by students in a college or university. This system is most often used in North America, though institutions in Europe, Asia, and Aust ...

and was

homecoming queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

, graduating in 1967.

Career

After college, Owens was a teacher at Wilmington Friends School before focusing on politics. From 1997 until 2016, she served as executive vice-president of Joe Slade White & Company, a media consultant firm. Owens has worked with the service organization Ministry of Caring for over 35 years and sits on their Board of Directors. She has worked extensively with Women's Campaign International to help teach women how to develop and grow their political skills. In 2013, Owens traveled with her brother Joe Biden to the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

as an official U.S. delegate for the inauguration of Pope Francis. In 2014, Owens was a Resident Fellow at the

Harvard Institute of Politics The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, as well as to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in politi ...

. In 2017, Owens was a featured speaker at a

Ted Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

conference in Wilmington, Delaware. Owens is vice-chair of both the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and the

Biden Foundation The Biden Foundation was a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States tax code that existed from 2017 to 2019. It was established by former vice president of the United States Joe Biden and former second lady Jill Biden w ...

. Owens returns to the University of Delaware periodically to give lectures on politics and her experiences as a woman on the campaign trail. Jill Biden visits Seoul, South Korea (2015-07-18) 03

Jill Biden visits Seoul, South Korea (2015-07-18) 03

She has traveled around the world as a motivational speaker, and teacher of leadership and communication seminars. She helped to found the Owens-Patrick seminar group. Owens currently sits on the advisory board for the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

Public Policy Institute. Owens has played a substantial role in all of her brother's political campaigns dating back to his first campaign, for the

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of th ...

council in 1970. Owens managed for Joe Biden's 1988 presidential campaign. In 2008, Owens and

Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna ...

campaigned together in North Carolina at several events in support of

and Joe Biden. Joe Biden mentioned her in his presidential acceptance speech on November 7, 2020. Owens was in attendance at the event in Wilmington, Delaware, where she also met Maya Harris, the sister of

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

-elect

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

Personal life

Owens' first husband was Bruce Saunders, whom she married shortly after graduating college. Bruce and Valerie moved in with Joe Biden and his two sons, Hunter and

Beau Beau may refer to: * Beau (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name, nickname or surname * Beau (guitarist) (born 1946), songwriter and 12-string guitar specialist * Beau (grape), another name for the Italian wine grape ...

, following the death of her sister-in-law Neilia in a car crash in December 1972. Valerie helped look after her nephews so that Joe could begin his first term as senator in 1973. Valerie and Bruce had both worked on Joe Biden's first Senate campaign in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

. Owens is married to attorney John T. Owens, with whom she has three children: son Cuffe Owens, also an attorney, and two daughters, Missy Owens and Casey Owens Castello. John T. Owens was a friend of Joe Biden's during their law school years at Syracuse University. The two were wed in a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

ceremony at the Church Center for the United Nations in 1975.

Awards and honors

The University of Delaware bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Law to her in 2018.

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

honored her with their 'Women Inspiring Change" award in 2015.
Ursuline Academy inducted her to their Distinguished Alumnae Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2021, Forbes listed Owens on their Impact List of 50 Women over 50 who are inspiring change in their communities through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy and education.
Forbes 50 accessed 07/17/2021

References

30. �
White House Archives for President Barack Obama
09/13/2016

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Valerie Biden 1945 births 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators American campaign managers American political activists American political consultants American women academics Biden family Catholics from Delaware Communications consultants Harvard Fellows Delaware Democrats Living people Motivational speakers University of Delaware alumni