Dennis Cheng
Alma materSwarthmore College
London School of Economics

Dennis Cheng is an American development executive. He served as the chief development officer of the Clinton Foundation from 2011 to 2015. He served as the national finance director of the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and senior advisor of external outreach for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign.

Education

Cheng graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and economics from Swarthmore College in 2001.[1] He received an MSc in international relations[2] from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Career

Cheng served as the Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States from July 20, 2009 to July 2011.[3]

Cheng has since 2008 acted in important roles for Hillary Clinton. He served as New York state finance director for the 2008 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.[4] He also served on campaigns for John Kerry, Andrew Cuomo, and Wesley Clark.[2] During the Clinton-led State Department he was deputy chief of protocol.[4] He joined the Clinton Foundation in 2011 as chief development officer in 2011 and is credited with raising $248 million until 2015.[5]

In 2015, Cheng became the national finance director of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.[4] His role in the campaign is to direct fundraising activity and serve as a close aide to Hillary Clinton with major donors describing Cheng's presence as "often as close as you get to talking to Hillary Clinton".[4][6] Cheng spent the summer of 2016 taking Clinton from fundraiser to fundraiser in the richest zipcodes across the United States, including Beverly Hills, California, the Silicon Valley, Cape Cod and The Hamptons.[7] According to Cheng more than 1,500 fundraisers were hosted and raised $972 million for Clinton's campaign, the DNC and state parties. Clinton attended almost 400 of those fundraisers and donations were made by more than 3 million people.[8]

In May 2017, Hillary Clinton hired Cheng for the launch of her new political action organization Onward Together.[9]

Cheng joined the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign as senior advisor for external outreach.[10]

In May 2021, it was announced that Cheng would executive produce "Recipe for Change" for YouTube alongside LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Michelle Kwan, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron. The special, set to air June 16, 2021 and produced by the SpringHill Company, will bring together Asian American celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators to celebrate API culture and discuss the recent and historic acts of hate and violence against the API community.[11] "Recipe for Change" was nominated for "Outstanding Daytime Special" at the 49th Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards.[12]

Cheng is currently a senior advisor to The Asian American Foundation[13] and a board member of The American LGBTQ+ Museum.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Alumni Weekend 2011 Registrations". Swarthmore Class of 1971.
  2. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2018-03-04.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Biography: OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PROTOCOL: Mr. Dennis Cheng". United States Department of State. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Top aide leaving foundation to build Clinton's 2016 fundraising team". CNN. February 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "Hillary Clinton email scandal: Fundraiser who joined her at State Department under scrutiny". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  6. ^ "Hillary Clinton's $2 Billion Money Man". Daily Beast. August 6, 2015.
  7. ^ Chozick, Amy; Martin, Jonathan (September 3, 2016). "Where Has Hillary Clinton Been? Ask the Ultrarich". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2016. The campaign's finance team is led by Dennis Cheng, previously the chief fund-raiser for the Clinton Foundation, and it employs a couple dozen staff members. Mr. Cheng, who attends the events with Mrs. Clinton, offers donors a number of contribution options that provide them and their families varying levels of access to Mrs. Clinton.
  8. ^ Wagner, John; O'Keefe, Ed; Tumulty, Karen (2016-11-12). "What's next for Democrats? For starters, a battle for the soul of their party". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  9. ^ "Hillary Clinton to launch political group as soon as next week". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  10. ^ "Biden homes in on Asian Americans with new campaign". Axios. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  11. ^ "Will Smith & Alicia Keys Docuseries Lead Latest YouTube Originals Lineup". Our Team. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  12. ^ "49th Daytime Emmys Nominees - Program Non-Drama". Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Biden homes in on Asian Americans with new campaign". The Asian American Foundation. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  14. ^ "Who We Are". The American LGBTQ+ Museum.
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