Chief of Staff

Steven M. Kaufmann is the Chief of Staff at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. As Chief of Staff, Mr. Kaufmann serves as the lead advisor to the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, providing guidance and leadership on corporate strategy, operations, and policy matters. The Chief of Staff supports the CEO’s management of the agency’s administrative and program issues and ensures that the CEO’s vision and priorities are implemented in all aspects of MCC’s operations. The Chief of Staff also supervises staff in the Office of the CEO.

Prior to joining MCC, Mr. Kaufmann was a litigation partner at the international law firm of Morrison & Foerster, LLP. Mr. Kaufmann practiced law for twenty-five years, focusing on complex commercial disputes and working extensively on class actions, antitrust cases, securities litigation and employment matters. Mr. Kaufmann served as the chair of the firm’s Global Litigation Department for three years, overseeing over 500 attorneys and an extensive support staff in 14 cities around the world. As Litigation Department Chair, Mr. Kaufmann was one of a handful of attorneys at the firm responsible for developing and executing on the overall strategic direction for the enterprise. He also served as managing partner of Morrison & Foerster’s Denver, Colorado office for almost 7 years.

Before law school, Mr. Kaufmann worked for the consulting firm of ICF, Inc., where he undertook economic analysis of energy markets and related environmental issues. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Kaufmann served as a law clerk to Hon. John L. Kane of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Mr. Kaufmann received his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, with high honors from Wesleyan University in 1980, and received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1984, where he was a member of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Mr. Kaufmann is a fifth-generation Coloradan.  He previously served on a number of boards of directors, including the boards of National Jewish Health, the Colorado Lawyer’s Committee, and the Colorado “I Have a Dream” Foundation.