Elizabeth O’Brien

Elizabeth O’Brien was appointed CEO of the Freedom Learning Group in April 2020.

The last six years O’Brien has served in significant leadership roles as a Senior Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program, and as Chairwoman for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs, the first military spouse to be appointed to that role.

As Senior Director at HOH, O’Brien evolved the military spouse program’s event-centric focus to become a national comprehensive resource at the forefront of military spouse workforce development for over one million military spouses. In addition to overseeing the program’s research and strategic operations, she led the growth of the Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council (MSEAC), a coalition she grew in five years comprised of more than 35 companies with a combined market value of over three trillion dollars to include Amazon, Booz Allen Hamilton, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. The MSEAC focused on creating innovative workforce development strategies through upskilling and reskilling a chronically unemployed and underemployed workforce. O’Brien has worked closely with current and past administrations to advance the narrative around military spouse workforce development solutions; most recently co-chairing the release of a Collective Effort: Workforce Development Solutions for the 21st Century Military Spouse with Mrs. Karen Pence, Second Lady of the United States.

Prior to joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, O’Brien spent over a decade coaching college women’s basketball at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Hofstra University, and The University of Hawaii.