Michele Chang became Strada chief strategy officer in November 2022. She will lead a new strategy and innovation team in supporting efforts to improve outcomes of postsecondary education and training.

Chang most recently served in the Biden-Harris Administration as deputy assistant secretary for policy for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. In that position, she led the design, launch, and implementation of EDA’s $3 billion American Rescue Plan grant programs — including the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and the Good Jobs Challenge — to help communities across the country accelerate their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Chang was the executive director for the Markle Foundation’s Rework America Business Network, where she created and led a coalition of 12 Fortune 500 companies committed to adopting practices to place underrepresented workers without four-year degrees into quality jobs.

Previously, Chang served in the Obama Administration as acting chief of staff and deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration, where she managed the day-to-day operations of the 3,000+ person agency.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Chang worked at McKinsey & Company, where she helped local governments, public school systems and Fortune 500 companies alike tackle some of their most challenging and urgent issues. She has also held roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hope Street Group, a national nonprofit where she led their national workforce development programs.

Chang earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in mathematics/applied sciences and her master’s of business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.