Today will be Chelsea Clinton’s first day of work as an NBC News special correspondent. The daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton will handle pieces that NBC Nightly News will use for its “Making A Difference” segment that focuses on people who do volunteer work, as well as segments for Rock Center With Brian Williams. Reportedly, she’ll donate her NBC salary to the Clinton Foundation and George Washington University Hospital. Hiring Chelsea may further fuel GOP claims that NBC is soft on Democrats, but NBC already employs Jenna Bush and Meghan McCain. This is an intriguing career choice for Chelsea because she has spent much of her adult life stiff-arming the press: When she made public appearances during her mother’s presidential campaign in 2008, Chelesa refused to answer questions from reporters — although she did respond to those from audience members. She also seems to have a full plate outside of NBC: After working at a management consulting company and a hedge fund, Clinton is going for a doctorate degree at Oxford University. She works at New York University, the Clinton Foundation, and the Clinton Global Initiative. And in September she joined the board of Barry Diller’s IAC. Here’s NBC’s release:

November 14, 2011 — New York, N.Y. — Chelsea Clinton is teaming up with “Rock Center with Brian Williams” and “NBC Nightly News” as a Special Correspondent, the network announced today. Clinton’s role with the shows and the network will be to highlight stories within the “Making a Difference” franchise. “Making a Difference” segments have a history of profiling organizations and individuals who represent the best of what works in the United States and around the world, frequently emphasizing stories about everyday people doing extraordinary things. Clinton’s dedication to public service, solution-based advocacy and focus on empowering people across the country and around the globe resonates with the purpose and content of “Making a Difference.” Her position with NBC News will still allow Clinton to continue her work with the Clinton Foundation and her studies in parallel.

“Chelsea is a remarkable woman who will be a great addition to NBC News. Given her vast experiences, it’s as though Chelsea has been preparing for this opportunity her entire life,” said Steve Capus, President of NBC News. “We are proud she will be bringing her considerable, unique talents and dedication to NBC News.”

“Our Making a Difference segments have become a signature of the broadcast. They adhere to a simple goal of highlighting the good works being done across the country and around the world,” said Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor of Nightly News and Rock Center. “Chelsea Clinton has led a remarkable life. She possesses an uncommon understanding of humanity — on city streets, across this country and around the globe. We are so excited she’s joining us to tell the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

“People who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and in our world have always inspired me,” said Clinton. “I hope telling stories through “Making a Difference” – as in my academic work and non-profit work – will help me to live my grandmother’s adage of “Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you, ” Clinton continued. “I have long been impressed that Brian and his team at NBC place consistent importance on sharing stories of empowerment that in turn, help empower other people and families. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this tradition.”

NBC News has been a leading source of global news and information for more than 75 years. Every week, NBC News provides more than 30 hours of television news programming, including the top-rated NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today and Meet the Press programs. Dateline NBC and Rock Center with Brian Williams are the network’s primetime newsmagazines. NBC is the only broadcast news division with an affiliated cable channel, MSNBC, which provides 24-hour-a-day coverage of news events around the globe. Online, MSNBC.com is the number one video news site on the Internet. NBC News has also built an engaged following on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

In addition to its leading news programs, the network’s portfolio includes cutting-edge platforms such as NBC News Mobile and NBC News Radio, and innovative ventures such as Peacock Productions, an award-winning in house production company; NBC Learn, the network’s educational arm; NBC News Archives, a sales website leveraging over 70 years’ worth of NBC News content; and TheGrio.com, a video-centric news community devoted to the African-American audience. NBCNewschannel is the network’s liaison to over 200 affiliate stations across the country.

Chelsea Clinton has worked at McKinsey & Company and Avenue Capital and studied at Stanford, Oxford and Columbia Universities. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at Oxford, working at New York University and working with the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. Her recent professional and academic work, including her recent academic publications, have focused on questions around how to improve access to relatively low-cost, high-quality health care services around the world, for both acute and chronic health care needs, as well as questions of empowerment and equal rights, including areas related to health, the arts and focused more holistically, on areas that particularly concern children. Chelsea currently serves on the boards of the Clinton Foundation, the School of American Ballet, Common Sense Media, the Weill Cornell Medical College and IAC. Chelsea and her husband Marc live in New York City.