Biden, Jill, 1951-

<p>Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is a mother and grandmother, a lifelong educator, a proud military mom, and an active member of her community. As Second Lady, Dr. Biden works 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 as a full-time English professor at a community college in Northern Virginia.</p>

<p>Dr. Biden has always said that community colleges are “one of America’s best-kept secrets.” As a teacher, she sees how community colleges have changed the lives of so many of her students for the better. As Second Lady, she works to underscore the critical role of community colleges in creating the best, most-educated workforce in the world. In 2012, she traveled across the country as part of the “Community College to Career” tour to highlight successful industry partnerships between community colleges and employers. In the fall of 2010, she hosted the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges with President Obama, and she continues to work on this outreach on behalf of the Administration – frequently visiting campuses, meeting with students and teachers, as well as industry representatives around the country.</p>

<p>As a military mom, Dr. Biden understands firsthand how difficult it can be to have a loved one deployed overseas. Dr. Biden’s children’s book – <i>Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops</i> – was released in June 2012. Inspired by real-life events, the book tells the story of a military family’s experience with deployment through the eyes of Dr. Biden’s granddaughter, Natalie, during the year her father is deployed to Iraq. The book also includes resources about what readers can do to support military service members and their families.</p>

<p>Through their <i>Joining Forces</i> initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden have issued a national challenge to all Americans to take action and find ways to support and engage our military families in their own communities. <i>Joining Forces</i> aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society – citizens, communities, businesses, non-profits, faith-based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and government – to ensure that service members, veterans, and their families have the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives.</p>

<p>In 1993, after four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, Dr. Biden started the Biden Breast Health Initiative in Delaware, which has educated more than 10,000 high school girls about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Dr. Biden and the Vice President have also served as the Honorary Co-Chairs for the Global Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C. As Second Lady, Dr. Biden continues to stress the importance of breast cancer research and early detection.</p>

<p>Dr. Biden has been an educator for more than three decades. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., she taught English at a community college in Delaware, at a public high school and at a psychiatric hospital for adolescents. Dr. Biden earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in January of 2007. Her dissertation focused on maximizing student retention in community colleges. She also has two Master's Degrees — both of which she earned while working and raising a family.</p>

<p>Jill and Joe’s daughter, Ashley, is a social worker and Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice; their son, Beau (1969-2015), was a lawyer, former Attorney General of the State of Delaware, and a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard; and the Bidens’ other son, Hunter, is a lawyer and Chairman of the World Food Program USA. They have a son-in-law, Howard, two daughters-in-law, Hallie and Kathleen, and are the proud grandparents of five incredible grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, and Hunter. The oldest of five sisters, Jill Jacobs was raised just outside of Philadelphia in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania by Bonny and Donald Jacobs, both of whom are now deceased.</p>

<p>Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (formerly Stevenson, née Jacobs; born June 3, 1951) is an American educator. She is married to the 47th vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, and served as second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017.</p>

<p>Born in Hammonton, New Jersey, she grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. She married Joe Biden in 1977, and became stepmother to his two young sons from his first marriage, Beau and Hunter, whose mother and baby sister died in a car accident in 1972. Joe and Jill Biden have a daughter, Ashley, born in 1981.</p>

<p>Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Delaware. She taught English and reading in high schools for thirteen years, and also taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008, she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College and is thought to be the initial second lady to hold a paying job while her husband was vice president. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative non-profit organization, co-founder of the Book Buddies program, co-founder of the Biden Foundation, is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground, and is co-founder of <i>Joining Forces</i> with Michelle Obama.</p>