As Senior Vice President for Global Policy & Advocacy at The Rockefeller Foundation, Christine Heenan leads several key programmatic and external functions for the Foundation, including its global policy and influence, strategic partnerships, and communications teams, as well as its Bellagio and Fellows team and regional teams in Asia and Africa. 

Heenan is founder and president of Clarendon Group, a strategy and communications firm helping global organizations with communications and social impact strategy. Clarendon has advised notable global organizations including Harvard University, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ballmer Group, the Broad Institute, philanthropist Donald Sussman, and others. From 2008 to 2015, Heenan was Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications for Harvard University.

Previously she served in the White House as a senior policy analyst and speechwriter in the Clinton Administration focused on health care policy, health reform, and women’s issues. Heenan has taught communications and public policy at both Brown and Harvard, and received the Bok Center Certificate Of Teaching Excellence for her contributions to teaching undergraduates at Harvard College.

She speaks and writes frequently on crisis communications, global development communications, and social impact strategy.  She holds a B.S. in journalism from Boston University, and lives with her family in New York and Rhode Island.