About the National Chamber Foundation

The National Chamber Foundation (NCF), a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is dedicated to identifying and fostering public debate on emerging critical issues.  We provide business and government leaders with insight and resources to address tomorrow’s challenges. 

Our resources and programs focus on three goals-to (I) examine emerging business issues, (II) drive public debate, and (III) inform business and government leaders.  We offer research programs, roundtables, and conferences, and leadership development initiatives. 

Our Programs

We aim to be first place policymakers and business leaders for high-level discussions on developing business issues.  Each year, our programs and scope of issues continue to grow serving as a forum where leaders consider challenges and advance new ideas that benefit American business. 

• InFocus examines industries and trends through research and surveys, events, and publications. 
• Outlook brings together business and government leaders to discuss rapidly evolving issues and their impact on the economy and business community. 
• Emerging Issues includes a set of forward-looking programs designed to explore the top issues facing the business community in the coming years. 
• Books That Drive the Debate features books by business leaders and policy experts that are shaping the debate on pressing issues for the business community. 
• The Leadership Series is Washington’s premier business and economic leadership program that attracts top-tier executive to discuss current business topics.  The Series is comprised of the CEO Leadership Series, which offers a platform for Chairmen and CEOs from high profile companies to share their vision and thoughts on current and future critical issues facing their industry and the global business environment. Speakers represent a variety of experiences, industries, and geographical regions.

Would you like to sponsor one of our upcoming events? Click here to find out how.

Leadership

The Honorable Margaret Spellings
Margaret Spellings serves as executive vice president of NCF.  In this capacity, Spellings provides both strategic and ongoing management leadership to the Foundation, including critical support around the Chamber’s Campaign for Free Enterprise.  

Spellings joined the Chamber in April 2009 as a senior advisor to the president and CEO.  Before this, Spellings served as secretary of education under President George W. Bush. Spellings previously served as assistant to the president for domestic policy, where she helped create the No Child Left Behind Act. Prior to this, she worked for six years as senior advisor to Governor Bush, developing and implementing the governor’s education reforms.

She continues to work as the president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic and public policy consulting firm.

Susan Reardon
Susan Reardon is the vice president and executive director of NCF.  In addition to leading NCF staff, she is responsible for the strategic direction of the foundation as well as maintaining and cultivating relationships with the NCF board of directors.  Before joining NCF, Reardon served as executive director of the American Foreign Service Association.  Earlier, Reardon served as director of finance for the League of Women Voters of the United States…view full bio (PDF) 

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors’ is comprised of nationally recognized leaders with a unique appreciation of the challenges facing business.  The board’s participation is important to the success of each of NCF’s initiatives and programs.  NCF relies on board members for new ideas on issues where their knowledge and expertise will help to advance business solutions. 

Read interviews with our board members.

History
Founded in 1967, NCF was created to provide in-depth analyses of critical economic and policy issues facing the nation.  NCF has founded a number of programs to address emerging critical issues.  In the early 1980’s, NCF established the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in response to President Reagan’s Democracy Initiative.  Today, CIPE continues to strengthen the democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform.  It became a stand-alone affiliate of the U.S. Chamber in 1985. 

During the next twenty years, NCF has founded several other programs including the Investment for Growth initiative (now the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness) to response to the complex regulations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2004, and the Intellectual Property initiative, which become the Global Intellectual Property Initiative (GIPC) in 2008.