Former Deputy Director of The China Center Jeff Prescott ’97 Named to Top Post on Vice President Biden’s National Security Staff

The former Deputy Director of The China Center at Yale Law School Jeff Prescott ’97 has been chosen as Vice President Joe Biden’s new Deputy National Security Advisor.

Prescott, who had been serving as a special advisor for Asian Affairs at the Office of the Vice President, first joined Biden’s team in 2010 as a White House Fellow. Prescott accompanied Biden on his 2011 trip to Japan, Mongolia, and China and advised him on his visits with then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. As the Deputy National Security Advisor, Prescott will hold the number two position on the Vice President's national security staff. Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan ’03, is also a Yale Law School alumnus.

“This is a tremendous development for Jeff, and great news for United States foreign policy,” said Paul Gewirtz ’70, Potter Stewart Professor of Constitutional Law and Director of the China Center at Yale Law School. “And of course we’re proud that Yale Law School’s China Center was where Jeff started his work related to China in 2002 and his professional home for eight years. He’s one of the most talented people of his generation that I know, and an exceptionally decent human being. It’s no surprise that the United States government has recognized this, but it’s also very reassuring that someone with his qualities will be making ever-larger contributions to shaping the opportunities and challenges that face the United States around the world, especially in Asia.”

After graduating from Yale Law School, Prescott went on to found the China Center’s Beijing office, leading it from 2002 until 2007. During that time, he was also a visiting scholar at Peking University Law School and taught human rights as a visiting professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. He speaks and writes on a wide range of topics related to Chinese policy and U.S.-China relations and is fluent in Mandarin.

The China Center, established in 1999, is a unique institution dedicated to helping promote China’s legal reforms and advance U.S.-China relations.