Full Name
Carolyn Cawley
Job Title
President
Company
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Speaker Bio
Carolyn Cawley is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Under her leadership, the Foundation has launched new signature programs, including the America Working Forward initiative to bring jobs to distressed communities, the NextGen program to engage M.B.A. students, the Sharing Solutions initiative to combat the opioid crisis, and the Fast Forward event series to showcase innovators that are changing the way we live and do business. She is a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council, an invitation-only collective of innovative and creative business leaders, and the Urban Institute’s WorkRise Advisory Board, which helps turn research into action for jobs, workers, and economic mobility.
Cawley joined the Chamber Foundation in 2016 with more than 20 years of experience in both public service and business. She was a partner at the communications consultancy Fleishman Hillard and led some of the firm’s largest global accounts. As Chair of the public sector practice, she helped governments, foundations, and NGOs sharpen their focus and engage stakeholders on issues ranging from public health to economic development. In the Washington office, she was a member of the management committee, group leader for public affairs, and managing director of new business development.
Earlier in her career, she served on the speechwriting staff for President George H.W. Bush and later as an aide to California Governor Pete Wilson. Her husband’s military career took them to the Middle East, where she launched an English-language business magazine in Egypt’s newly privatizing economy. Raised abroad, Cawley moved to the U.S. to attend the University of California, earning a B.A. in political science. She and her family are supporters of Habitat for Humanity and the Humane Rescue Alliance.
Under her leadership, the Foundation has launched new signature programs, including the America Working Forward initiative to bring jobs to distressed communities, the NextGen program to engage M.B.A. students, the Sharing Solutions initiative to combat the opioid crisis, and the Fast Forward event series to showcase innovators that are changing the way we live and do business. She is a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council, an invitation-only collective of innovative and creative business leaders, and the Urban Institute’s WorkRise Advisory Board, which helps turn research into action for jobs, workers, and economic mobility.
Cawley joined the Chamber Foundation in 2016 with more than 20 years of experience in both public service and business. She was a partner at the communications consultancy Fleishman Hillard and led some of the firm’s largest global accounts. As Chair of the public sector practice, she helped governments, foundations, and NGOs sharpen their focus and engage stakeholders on issues ranging from public health to economic development. In the Washington office, she was a member of the management committee, group leader for public affairs, and managing director of new business development.
Earlier in her career, she served on the speechwriting staff for President George H.W. Bush and later as an aide to California Governor Pete Wilson. Her husband’s military career took them to the Middle East, where she launched an English-language business magazine in Egypt’s newly privatizing economy. Raised abroad, Cawley moved to the U.S. to attend the University of California, earning a B.A. in political science. She and her family are supporters of Habitat for Humanity and the Humane Rescue Alliance.
