She has known Amy Rule, Rahm Emanuel's wife, since they were teenagers together in suburban Cleveland.[7] She graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1978,[1] and received her law degree in 1984 from Northwestern University School of Law.

Tchen made 13 donations totaling $7,850 to various Democratic political campaigns in 2008.[12] She was also an early supporter of Barack Obama's run for the U.S. presidency, and was an effective fundraiser for his campaign.