# Thomas Freedman

> Thomas Z. Freedman is the CEO and co-founder of Freedman Consulting, a Washington-based strategy firm that advises philanthropies, nonprofits and public-interest coalitions. His career has moved from Capitol Hill and the Clinton White House to the Welfare to Work Partnership, presidential transitions and campaigns, and more than two decades of consulting focused on policy, philanthropy and cross-sector collaboration.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Freedman Consulting, LLC
- **Organizations:** Freedman Consulting, LLC, Welfare to Work Partnership, Clinton Administration, Clinton/Gore 1996, Office of Congressman Charles E. Schumer, Obama-Biden Transition Project, Obama for America 2012, Resources for the Future, Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree, honors graduate, Carleton College, Graduate; Editor-in-Chief, California Law Review, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded a welfare-to-work coalition that grew to more than 20,000 participating companies and reported more than 1 million hires from public assistance., Served in senior policy and strategy roles in the Clinton White House and 1996 reelection campaign., Built Freedman Consulting into a multi-office firm advising philanthropies, nonprofits and public-interest coalitions.

## Career timeline

- **1985** — Received a traveling Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and spent a year studying African famine.
- **Before 1996** — Served as press secretary and later legislative director to U.S. Representative Charles E. Schumer.
- **1996** — Served as chief of staff for strategy for the Clinton/Gore presidential campaign.
- **Clinton Administration** — Served first as special assistant to the president for policy planning and later as senior advisor to the president.
- **Late 1990s** — Co-founded the Welfare to Work Partnership, which grew to more than 20,000 companies and reported more than 1 million hires from public assistance.
- **2001** — Joined Resources for the Future as a visiting scholar, working on the American response to hunger in developing countries.
- **2003** — Co-founded Freedman Consulting, LLC; the firm marked its 20th anniversary in 2023.
- **2008** — Joined the Obama-Biden Transition Project's Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group.
- **2009** — Contributed chapters on the Domestic Policy Council and ending child hunger to two policy books.
- **2012** — Worked as a policy consultant for Obama for America.
- **2025** — Co-authored a Washington Post essay with Republican pollster Jim McLaughlin on bipartisan policy agreement.

## Achievements

- Co-founded a welfare-to-work coalition that grew to more than 20,000 participating companies and reported more than 1 million hires from public assistance.
- Served in senior policy and strategy roles in the Clinton White House and 1996 reelection campaign.
- Built Freedman Consulting into a multi-office firm advising philanthropies, nonprofits and public-interest coalitions.
- Served on the 2008 Obama-Biden transition working group for technology, innovation and government reform.
- Led the California Law Review as editor-in-chief while studying at UC Berkeley.

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Joined Bridgespan Group partner Preeta Nayak at Yale's Dwight Hall for a fireside chat on careers crossing the public and private sectors.
- **2025-06** — Freedman Consulting released results from a national survey of 2,000 likely voters conducted with McLaughlin & Associates.
- **2025-05** — Co-authored a Washington Post guest essay arguing that politicians underestimate voter agreement on several practical policy proposals.

## Links

- Website: https://tfreedmanconsulting.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-freedman-4a1987306
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/freedmanteam
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/pages/Freedman-Consulting-LLC/226719584059884

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/thomas-freedman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-22