President Joe Biden has announced the appointment of Erika Moritsugu as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Senior Liaison on Wednesday.
Vital voice: Moritsugu, who was also appointed as Deputy Assistant to the President, is set to “be a vital voice to advance the President and the Administration’s priorities,” a recent press release issued by the White House noted.
- The appointment comes amid a rise in attacks against members of the AAPI community.
- Politicians such as Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called out the Biden administration earlier this year for its lack of AAPI representation in the president’s Cabinet.
- Duckworth, who has previously worked with Moritsugu, shared on Wednesday: “I know first-hand that President Biden will benefit from her counsel, policy expertise and strong relationship-building skills, especially as his Administration seeks to make sure AAPI leaders are present at the highest levels of government.”
Noteworthy experience: Moritsugu has “diverse and deep experience on Capitol Hill and within governmental agencies,” the White House shared.
- During the Obama administration, she was the assistant secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- She currently serves as vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families and also leads its Economic Justice team, which works on “advancing public policies to achieve economic stability and security, particularly for women of color and other marginalized communities.”
- According to Moritsugu’s National Partnership for Women & Families bio, she has also recently been appointed as the vice president of a new Congressional Relations team that aims to “provide an enterprise-wide advocacy strategy across all of the Partnership’s program areas.”
Feature Image via National Partnership for Women & Families
