Gina Raimondo

Gina Marie Raimondo (/rəˈmɒndoʊ/; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce from 2021 to 2025. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021 and was the first woman to serve in the role.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Raimondo began her career in venture capital after law school. In 2000, she co-founded Point Judith Capital, Rhode Island's first venture capital firm. Raimondo entered politics in 2010, when she was elected general treasurer of Rhode Island. During her first year in office, she prioritized reforming Rhode Island's public employee pension system.

In 2014, Raimondo was elected governor in a three-way contest with 41% of the vote. While in office, Raimondo was elected to serve as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) for the 2018 election cycle. Reelected in 2018, Raimondo was tasked with overseeing the state's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2020 presidential election, she served as co-chair of Michael Bloomberg's 2020 presidential campaign. During her tenure, Raimondo consistently maintained a negative net approval rating and was one of the least popular governors in the country.

Described as a "moderate technocrat" in The Washington Post, Raimondo is often characterized as a centrist within her party. Chosen to serve as Secretary of Commerce by President Joe Biden, she played a leading role in negotiations for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.

Gina Marie Raimondo was born in 1971 in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where she later grew up. Born to a family of Italian descent, she is the youngest of Josephine (Piro) and Joseph Raimondo's three children. Her father, Joseph (1926–2014), made his career at the Bulova watch factory in Providence, Rhode Island; he became unemployed at 56 when the Bulova company moved its operations to China, shuttering the factory in Providence. Raimondo is a childhood friend of U.S. Senator Jack Reed.

Raimondo graduated from LaSalle Academy in Providence. She was one of the first girls allowed to attend the Catholic school, from which she was graduated as valedictorian. She went on to Harvard College, graduating magna cum laude in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. While at Harvard, Raimondo resided in Quincy House and served on the staff of The Harvard Crimson. She played rugby at the Radcliffe Rugby Club, later joking that the experience "was good training for a career in politics".

A Rhodes Scholar, Raimondo attended New College, Oxford, where she received a Bachelor of Arts (later promoted to Master of Arts by seniority) and Doctor of Philosophy in 2002 in sociology. Her thesis on single motherhood was supervised by Stephen Nickell and Anne H. Gauthier while she was a postgraduate student of New College, Oxford. Raimondo received her Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1998. She has said that her experience working at housing and poverty clinics inspired her to attend law school.

After graduating from law school, Raimondo served as a law clerk to federal judge Kimba Wood of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Later, Raimondo acted as senior vice president for fund development at the Manhattan offices of Village Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and backed by Bain Capital and Highland Capital Groups.