Zoë Baird is CEO and President of the Markle Foundation, which addresses some of the nation’s most challenging economic, health and national security issues. She leads Rework America, a national initiative of diverse leaders including CEOs, university presidents, elected officials, technology experts, and community leaders focused on creating meaningful work and more paths to opportunity for all Americans. The group recently launched Rework America Connected – an innovative partnership with LinkedIn, ASU, edX, the state of Colorado and the city of Phoenix to build a skills-based labor market. It will reveal the skills needed for good careers, enable people to demonstrate that they have those skills, or connect them with the educators and trainers who can help them secure the knowledge and skills they need.

Zoë previously served as Senior VP and General Counsel at Aetna; as Counselor and Staff Executive at GE; partner at O’Melveny & Myers; as Associate Counsel to President Carter, and as Attorney-Advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Baird has served on numerous boards throughout her career, including publicly held companies, the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1994-2000) and several advisory boards to heads of federal agencies. She currently is a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is an honorary trustee of the Brookings Institution. She is also a LinkedIn Influencer, and has written several posts about creating skills-based labor market. She holds an A.B. Phi Beta Kappa and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.