Tom Kalil
Tom Kalil is a global leader in science and technology. Kalil is Chief Innovation Officer at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative that finds exceptional people and helps them do more for others. In his role, he leads initiatives to harness technology for societal challenges, improve science policy, and identify and pursue 21st-century moonshot. Prior to joining Schmidt Futures, Kalil served in the White House for two Presidents—Obama and Clinton—helping to design and launch national science and technology initiatives in the areas of nanotechnology, the BRAIN initiative, data science commercial space, and STEM education, among others. He previously served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as well as Senior Advisor for Science, Technology and Innovation for the White House National Economic Council. Today, he also serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UC Berkeley.
Tom Kalil Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Chief Innovation Officer
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Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation
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Deputy Director for Policy
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Special Assistant to Chancellor for Science and Technology
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Deputy Assistant to the President for Technology and Economic Policy
Academic History
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Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy
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BA in International Relations and Political Science
WHITE HOUSE
Kalil was Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Technology and Economic Policy and the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.
He was Chair of the Global Health Working Group, where he developed new public and private sector initiatives for maternal and child health, under-nutrition, and vaccines.
He also led a number of White House tech initiatives, including bridging the digital divide, e-learning, and increasing funding for long-term information technology research.
He was also involved in making IT more accessible to people with disabilities, and addressing the growing imbalance between support for biomedical research and for the physical sciences and engineering.
ACADEMIA & EARLY CAREER
Kalil served as Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Science and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley.
At UC Berkeley, he developed new multidisciplinary research and education initiatives spanning information technology, nanotech, microsystems and biology.
He launched the “Big Ideas @ Berkeley” program to support multidisciplinary teams of Berkeley students interested in addressing economic, environmental and societal challenges.
He was a trade specialist at the Washington offices of Dewey Ballantine, where he represented the Semiconductor Industry Association on U.S.-Japan trade issues and technology policy.