Adrienne Schweer

Adrienne Schweer is a BPC fellow and leads its Paid Family Leave Task Force.

A Nebraska native, Schweer first came to Washington, D.C., to work for then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, following many years of working in campaigns. After her years of service on Capitol Hill, Schweer joined the rock star Bono’s non-profit organization, The ONE Campaign, where she led partnership strategy and advocacy in support of African development, including maternal and child health.

From 2014 to 2017, Schweer served as chief of protocol to Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel, Ashton Carter, and Jim Mattis in the Pentagon. During her tenure, she proposed and led creative new initiatives to raise the profile and advance the priorities of the Secretary of Defense, including creating a partnership with the World Economic Forum; organizing the Counter ISIS Coalition meetings; and helping roll out a 12-week paid maternity leave policy for the military.

In 2015, Schweer started a non-profit organization, Family Leave Works, to find bipartisan solutions to paid family leave. She has worked across the aisle to shape policy and helped corporations elevate stories of how paid family leave is good for business. In 2018, she helped BPC stand up the first bipartisan Paid Family Leave Task Force.

She and her husband have five children. Schweer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.