Jill Biden Steps Into Powerful New Role Championing Women’s Health

After years in the East Wing, Dr. Jill Biden is just getting started—and this time, she’s leading a nationwide movement to fix what she calls “a broken system” for women’s health.

In her first major move since leaving the White House, former First Lady Jill Biden has accepted a new position as chair of the Women’s Health Network at the Milken Institute, a prominent think tank based in California. Her mission? To revolutionize how the U.S. approaches women’s health—an area she says has been neglected for too long.

“Too much of modern medicine was built around the male body. It’s time we fix that,” Biden declared Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.

Biden’s appointment follows a whirlwind four years where she juggled being First Lady, a college professor, and a policy advocate—most notably for the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which she helped launch in 2023.

That initiative, she said, “was born out of frustration. Women have been treated like medical afterthoughts for decades. We wanted to change that—fast.”

President Joe Biden backed the effort wholeheartedly, according to his wife. “Joe said, ‘Let’s flood the system with funding,’” Jill recalled. “And that’s what we did—$1 billion in one year. That’s unprecedented.”

Her new post at the Milken Institute places her at the helm of a multi-sector effort aimed at shaking up how private industry, government agencies, and academic researchers approach everything from endometriosis and heart disease to menopause and mental health. It’s a mission deeply personal to the Bidens.

“This isn’t about politics—it’s about fairness, equity, and life-saving science,” said Biden, who holds a doctorate in education and was a professor at Northern Virginia Community College until late 2024.

The Milken Institute, known for its bipartisan economic focus, praised Biden’s appointment in a statement last week: “Dr. Biden brings both compassion and credibility to this critical role. Her leadership will galvanize action in a space that’s long overdue for innovation.”

Her role will involve convening national leaders, shaping public-private partnerships, and guiding the Network’s investment in female-focused research and care models. It’s a continuation of the work she began inside the White House—but this time with fewer bureaucratic hurdles and more room for bold thinking.

A Quiet Power Player, Re-Emerging Post-Presidency

Jill Biden’s new job comes just weeks after her husband’s dramatic announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2024. Speaking to ABC News, Jill described the decision as “the right call,” suggesting it was based on a shared recognition that it was time to focus on legacy rather than campaigning.

Political memoirs hitting shelves this summer paint a more chaotic picture of those final months—detailing staff concerns about the president’s stamina and sharpness, and alleging internal pressure to keep him from unscripted appearances. But Biden, ever the steadfast partner, has stayed above the fray, focusing instead on forward momentum.

“She’s always been the steady hand,” said longtime Biden advisor Ron Klain. “While others were second-guessing, she was building something lasting.”

Her new platform at Milken offers precisely that—legacy work rooted in progress, not politics.

Uniting Medicine, Equity, and Momentum

Women’s health has never lacked passionate advocates. What it has lacked, Biden argues, is serious funding and executive-level attention.

At Monday’s panel, she detailed how her team pushed agencies like the NIH and Department of Defense to disaggregate research by sex and reframe how clinical trials evaluate efficacy across genders. She also emphasized the need to “de-risk” early-stage investment in women’s health technologies—a gap she says the federal government must help fill.

“There are answers out there—cures, treatments, innovations,” Biden said. “We just need to stop waiting for someone else to solve this. Let’s lead.”

She’s already recruiting private sector leaders and philanthropists to join the cause. “This is a moment,” Biden told the crowd, “and we’re not letting it pass us by.”

For many Democrats and longtime Biden supporters, Jill Biden’s continued activism offers hope in a time of political turbulence. Her move from first lady to national advocate solidifies her status as one of the country’s most influential public figures—not just as a symbol of dignity and service, but as a driving force for change.

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