Chan, Zuckerberg add political muscle to philanthropy

The two are trying to ensure their efforts make an impact on policy as well

The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have vowed to put their enormous wealth toward philanthropic causes. Now the couple are putting infrastructure in place to make sure their money and efforts will make an impact on policy as well.

Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan have hired a top political operative to lead the next phase of their philanthropic work at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the limited liability company they set up in 2015 to conduct charitable efforts. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and is chief adviser and a board member at Uber, is leaving the ride-hailing company to join the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as president of policy and advocacy.

In addition, Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan are forming a public policy advisory board of former government officials and other experts in the fields of education, science communications and advocacy. The new board will be led by Kenneth Mehlman, who managed President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign and is now head of global public affairs at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the private equity firm. Mr. Mehlman will volunteer part of his time to the new board, which is recruiting other members who will also serve in a part-time capacity.

The additions underline how Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan are pushing to give their philanthropic work - which has focused on education, science and curing disease — a greater voice in Washington and among movements and advocacy groups across the country. 

Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan, who live only a few miles from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's office in Palo Alto, Calif., are regularly involved in its direction and major decisions. The couple have identified several main causes, including curing all disease, to which they have pledged $3 billion, and changing the way children are educated through personalized learning, under which teaching is more tailored to each child.

In his new role, Mr. Plouffe will run the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's policy and advocacy team. Mr. Plouffe described the job in terms similar to a campaign effort.

Mr. Plouffe and Mr. Mehlman join other notable appointments. In May, the couple hired James H. Shelton III, a former deputy secretary of the Department of Education, to oversee efforts in education. Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist formerly of Rockefeller University, was tapped in September as president of science. Brian Pinkerton, a former Amazon executive, was named chief technology officer in October.

Mr. Zuckerberg's earlier efforts in policy included Fwd.us, an advocacy group focused on immigration reform, a popular issue in Silicon Valley because of the high number of engineers that come from outside the United States to join technology companies. The group's efforts largely stalled after President Obama shelved plans for an immigration overhaul in 2014.

Mr. Zuckerberg continues to support the group's efforts separately from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Mr. Zuckerberg said he still wanted to spur change at a national level. 

© 2017 New York Times News Service