Jill Biden: Educator, former Second Lady of the United States, and wife of current presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Many dedicated and talented educators also make excellent politicians. This is true of Jill Biden, a former high school English teacher who has also served as the Second Lady of the United States. She is the wife of Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate currently running for the office of President of the United States.
Jill was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. She was raised in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. After she graduated from Upper Moreland High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvnia, in 1969, Jill earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware (1975). She earned two Master’s degrees, one in English from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and one in Education from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Education from the University of Delaware.
After earning her degrees, Jill accepted a position teaching English and reading in high school. She taught for three years at Claymont High School in Delaware, and then at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware (1991-1993). For five years she taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at Rockford Center Psychiatric Hospital.
From 1993 to 2008, Jill taught English and writing at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has worked as a professor of English at Northern Virginia community College.
When her husband was elected to serve as the Vice President under the Obama Administration, Jill continued to teach full time. She is believed to be the only Second Lady in history to hold down a full-time job while serving as Second lady. Despite her workload in the classroom, Jill still found time for public service. During her husband’s term, which spanned the years from 2009 to 2017, the hardworking educator co-founded the Book Buddies program and the Biden Foundation. She also spearheaded a nonprofit organization to support women’s health and another to support military families.
Currently, Jill is engaged in campaigning for her husband as he runs for the office of President of the United States. If her husband is elected, would Jill continue teaching in addition to her role as First Lady? “I would love to. If we get to the White House, I’m going to continue to teach,” Biden said during a CBS Sunday morning interview. “And I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and to lift up the profession.”
Click on this link by ABC News to learn more about Jill Biden’s work in the current campaign.