Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D. is the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, Director of Domestic Policy Studies in the Public Policy Program, and an Affiliate of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He is also a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed member of the independent and bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board.

Chen is a veteran of several high-profile U.S. political campaigns and served as policy director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid for the presidency. In that role, he was Romney’s chief policy adviser; a senior strategist on the campaign; and the person responsible for developing the campaign’s domestic and foreign policy. Previously, Chen served as a senior appointee at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the George W. Bush Administration, in private law practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and has advised numerous other presidential, gubernatorial, and congressional campaigns.

Chen earned his Ph.D. and A.M. in political science from Harvard University, his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, and his A.B. magna cum laude in government from Harvard College.