Tauscher, Ellen O. (Ellen O'Kane), 1951-2019

Ellen O'Kane Tauscher (November 15, 1951 – April 29, 2019) was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician who was the U.S. Representative for California's 10th congressional district from 1997 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. She then served as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense at the State Department.

Born Ellen O'Kane in Newark, New Jersey, she earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Seton Hall University in 1974 before becoming one of the first women to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, beginning a 14-year Wall Street career which included serving as an American Stock Exchange officer. In 1989 she married William Tauscher and raised a daughter, Katherine. The couple later divorced. In 1992 Ellen Tauscher founded a company that screened prospective childcare providers. She later authored The Child Care Source Book. She also created the Tauscher Foundation, which donated $200,000 to elementary schools in California and Texas to buy computer equipment. In 1992 and 1994, Tauscher served as the state co-chair for Dianne Feinstein’s successful campaigns to the U.S. Senate. Her later marriage with James Cieslak ended in divorce.

In 1996 Tauscher challenged incumbent California Republican William P. Baker in a newly created delta district comprising bedroom communities that were known as the most conservative in the Bay Area. Tauscher, who wanted to reduce certain government spending she considered wasteful, ran on a platform of gun control, women’s right to abortion, and increased spending on education, narrowly defeating Baker. A leading centrist Democrat, Tauscher was the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate Democrats in the House. She also served as vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Leadership Council from 2001 to 2005.

On March 18, 2009, President Obama nominated Tauscher to the position of Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 2009, by unanimous consent.Tauscher served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until her appointment on February 6, 2012, as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense. Tauscher retired from the State Department on August 31, 2012. After leaving the State Department, Tauscher assumed a number of publicly held corporate and non-profit board positions.

In July 2010, Tauscher was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer; after a grueling regimen of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery to remove her esophagus, Tauscher was declared cancer-free in December 2010. Following that time, she was active as a board member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and as Chair of the NCCN Foundation, as well as speaking around the country, advocating for more information, more funding and earlier screening for the disease. She died of pneumonia on April 29, 2019, at the age of 67 at the Stanford University Medical Center, in Stanford, California.