ILA Podcast

Growing Up Biden: Family Lessons on Leadership

Maureen Metcalf Podcast Cover

with Valerie Biden Owens

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Although Joe Biden is in the spotlight as the 46th President of the United States, his sister Valerie Biden Owens is a leader in her own right and is one of the first women in U.S. history to have managed U.S. Senatorial and Presidential campaigns with prominent leadership roles as a campaign manager and senior advisor.

Valerie joins host Maureen Metcalf to discuss her book, Growing Up Biden. She shares the challenges she faced breaking gender barriers, the importance (and elusiveness) of confidence, and growing women as leaders. She’ll also dive into the ingrained lessons and expectations that have been the guiding principles of the Biden’s close-knit, Irish American, Catholic family. These stories and insights speak deeply to the impact of family and generational leadership on political and personal ethos.

It’s a revealing conversation unfolding the many ways our parents’ guidance shapes us as leaders of our own families, organizations…and nations.

About Valerie Biden Owens

Valerie Biden Owens is the first woman in U.S. history to have run a presidential campaign — that of her brother, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. She also led his seven straight U.S. Senate victories and has been his principal surrogate on the campaign trail. Her new book is Growing Up Biden

Valerie is Chair of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and a partner at Owens Patrick Leadership Seminars. Valerie sits on the Advisory Board of the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. For 20 years, when Valerie was not managing or advising President Biden’s campaigns, she served as Executive Vice President of Joe Slade White & Co., a media consulting firm. She has worked extensively with Women’s Campaign International, teaching women how to organize and develop communication and political skills. Valerie has also served on the National Board of the Women’s Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee and has served for 35 years on the board of The Ministry of Caring.

In 2015, Valerie delivered the keynote address for Harvard Law School’s International Women’s Day celebration and was one of 50 women presented with the law school’s international “Women Inspiring Change” award. In 2021, she was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 Women Who Are Leading the Way in Impact list.

She is a graduate of the University of Delaware. She is married to Jack Owens, an attorney and businessman. They have three children.

Host Maureen Metcalf

Maureen Metcalf

Maureen Metcalf, Founder and CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute, is a highly sought-after expert in anticipating and leveraging future business trends to transform organizations. She has captured 30 years of experience in an award-winning series of books used by public, private, and academic organizations to align company-wide strategy, systems, and culture using Innovative Leadership techniques. 

Maureen shares her hard-won insights through public speaking, industry publications, interviews, and video presentations. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com, host of the top international radio show, Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future, and author of the award-winning Innovative Leadership book series. The series includes: Innovative Leadership FieldbookInnovative Leaders Guide to Transforming Organizations; Innovative Leadership Workbook for Global Leaders; and Innovative Leadership for Health Care, among others.

She is a Fellow of the International Leadership Association.

About Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future

The pace of change in the world is increasing exponentially. Leadership must evolve. And that gets to the heart of our mission: To bring you the latest thoughts on leadership so you can innovate, learn, and evolve…growing your team, your business, and yourself! This series features a new interview every week. Host Maureen Metcalf interviews world leaders, global business and NPO executives, thought leaders, and researchers in a wide range of industries. It’s a breadth of perspectives unavailable anywhere else. Become an innovative leader in your own right! 

Innovating Leadership is proud to partner with the International Leadership Association on a yearly series of episodes on global leadership with special ILA speakers, members, and guests. 

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