Jill Jacobs Biden
Born
June 3, 1951 in Hammonton, New Jersey.
Residence
Jill and Joe Biden reside in the White House.
Legacy
Dr. Jill Biden holds an Ed.D. in Education. As second lady during the Obama-Biden administration, Dr. Biden worked to bring attention to the sacrifices made by military families, to highlight the importance of community colleges to America’s future, and to raise awareness around areas of particular importance to women, including breast cancer prevention, all while continuing to teach English full-time at Northern Virginia Community College.
As first lady, Dr. Biden is continuing her professional career while living in the White House, making her the first First Lady to do so. She has been teaching at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009. She previously taught English at a community college in Delaware, as well as at a public high school and a psychiatric hospital for adolescents.
As the daughter of a Navy veteran and as a military mother, working with the military and their families has been a special mission for Dr. Biden. In 2011 Second Lady Dr. Biden collaborated with First Lady Mrs. Obama to launch Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative aimed at providing American service members and their families additional opportunities and support. In 2012 Dr. Biden published a children’s book titled Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman) and illustrated by Raul Colon, which tells the story of a military family’s experience when a parent serves far away from home. In 2021 as she embarks on her tenure as first lady, Dr. Biden has announced that she will be resuming her work with Joining Forces.
Read more about Dr. Biden’s tenure as second lady here.
Quotes
Regarding her role as first lady, Dr. Biden has stated, “The beauty of it is that you can define it however you want. And that’s what I did as Second Lady—I defined that role the way I wanted it to be. I would still work on all the same issues. Education would be right up there—and military families. I’d travel all over this country trying to get free community college. We need good reading programs, and we need equity in schools. We’re competing in this global market, and the U.S.’s standing has got to get better.” (As stated in an interview with Jonathan Van Meter, published in Vogue on March 17, 2020)