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91–164 PDF 2014

S. HRG. 113–464 

NOMINATION OF NANI A. COLORETTI 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON 

THE NOMINATION OF NANI A. COLORETTI TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY 

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

APRIL 8, 2014 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

( 

Available at: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 

COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota, Chairman 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK R. WARNER, Virginia 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KAY HAGAN, North Carolina 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

CHARLES YI, Staff Director 

GREGG RICHARD, Republican Staff Director 

LAURA SWANSON, Deputy Staff Director 

BRIAN FILIPOWICH, Professional Staff Member 

ERIN BARRY FUHER, Professional Staff Member 

GREG DEAN, Republican Chief Counsel 

CHAD DAVIS, Republican Professional Staff Member 

DAWN RATLIFF, Chief Clerk 

TAYLOR REED, Hearing Clerk 

SHELVIN SIMMONS, IT Director 

JIM CROWELL, Editor 

(II)

C O N T E N T S 

TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014 

Page 

Opening statement of Chairman Johnson ............................................................. 1 

Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: 

Senator Crapo ................................................................................................... 1 

Senator Warren ................................................................................................ 2 

NOMINEE 

Nani A. Coloretti, to be Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing 

and Urban Development ...................................................................................... 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 

Biographical sketch of nominee ....................................................................... 12 

(III)

(1) 

NOMINATION OF NANI A. COLORETTI TO BE 

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT 

OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met at 10:05 a.m., in room SD–538, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Tim Johnson, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN TIM JOHNSON 

Chairman JOHNSON. I gavel this hearing to order to order. 

Today we consider the nomination of Ms. Nani Coloretti to be 

Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development. The HUD Deputy Secretary is a critical component 

of the agency’s management team, overseeing the budget for HUD’s 

programs that provide affordable rental housing, community development, opportunities, and an opportunity for all credit-worthy 

families to achieve the dream of home ownership. I believe Ms. 

Coloretti has the skills and experience necessary to take on this 

role. 

The nominee is currently the Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Prior to joining 

Treasury, she held positions at the San Francisco Mayor’s office; 

the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families; and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. She is also 

a recipient of the National Public Service Award, the Public Policy 

and International Affairs Achievement Award, and the Federal 100 

Award. 

I believe Ms. Coloretti is an excellent choice to serve as the HUD 

Deputy Secretary and I hope that we can move quickly on her nomination. I now turn to Ranking Member Crapo for his opening 

statement. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKE CRAPO 

Senator CRAPO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Ms. 

Coloretti. Ms. Coloretti has been nominated to be the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If 

confirmed, this would make her the second-most senior official at 

HUD, and according to HUD, this position would manage the Department’s day-to-day operations, the annual operating budget, and 

the agency’s 8,900 employees. 

2 

In Ms. Coloretti’s current role at Treasury, she advises the Secretary of Treasury on the development and execution of Treasury’s 

budget and strategic plans, as well as the internal management of 

the Department and its bureaus. Prior to this, she served as the 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Management and also the Deputy 

Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget. 

As such, it would seem that Ms. Coloretti possesses the necessary background to be successful at this role at HUD. Given this, 

what I would like most to hear from Ms. Coloretti this morning is, 

if confirmed, how she expects her management style to impact not 

only the inward operations of HUD, but also HUD’s outward facing 

interactions with stakeholders, affected persons, and Congress. 

I commend HUD for its work with Congress, especially as it pertains to our efforts on housing finance reform. Secretary Donovan 

and senior members of his staff have spent countless hours with 

the Chairman, myself, and our staffs working toward solutions that 

we can all support. 

Likewise, I commend the Secretary and his staff on their outreach to this body and advocacy of each of us, ending the status 

quo and moving forward with this legislation. It will certainly take 

efforts of all of us to successfully implement the needed changes in 

this area. 

Ms. Coloretti, what I hope you will be able to do, if you are confirmed to this position, is to spread that spirit of cooperation 

throughout all the employees and departments of the agency. During our questioning, I look forward to you discussing some examples of where you have had the opportunity to be a positive influence in that respect. 

Thank you again for appearing before the Committee today and 

I look forward to hearing more from you. And I thank you, Mr. 

Chairman, for holding this hearing. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Crapo. Senator Warren 

will know introduce Ms. Coloretti. Senator Warren. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN 

Senator WARREN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am delighted 

today to welcome Nani Coloretti to the Banking Committee. Before 

my time in the Senate, I had an opportunity to work at the Treasury Department to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau. By the time I arrived, Nani had already been hard at work 

with a team of Treasury employees putting together the pieces for 

what would eventually become the Consumer Bureau. 

I had the chance to work closely with Nani at the time and I got 

to know her as someone with vision, with persistence, warmth, 

dedication, and perhaps most of all, as an operational whiz. Nani 

is someone who can take on any challenge, no matter how big, how 

complicated, or how difficult, and we had a number of challenges 

for her to take on. 

Nani is dedicated to Government service and her background 

working for the Treasury Department, the city of San Francisco, 

and the Office of Management and Budget is broad and deep. I am 

very pleased to see Nani nominated for this new role and she has 

my strong, heartfelt support for it. HUD will be lucky to have her. 

3 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Warren. We will now 

swear in Ms. Coloretti. Please rise and raise your right hand. 

Do you swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about to 

give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so 

help you God? 

Ms. COLORETTI. I do. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Do you agree to appear and testify before 

any duly constituted Committee of the Senate? 

Ms. COLORETTI. I do. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Please be seated. Your full written statement will be made part of the record. Before you begin your statement, I invite you to introduce your family and friends in attendance. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you so much. Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Crapo, Senator Warren, and distinguished Members of 

the Committee, it is a great privilege to be here, and I just wanted 

to take a minute to introduce my husband of over 15 years, David 

Goldstein, who I met many years ago at UC–Berkeley School of 

Public Policy, and he is a teacher and an education policy consultant and shares a commitment to public service, and has also been 

just a fantastic supportive partner during my years of service. 

We are also proud of our son, our 12-year-old son, Kaleo Goldstein-Coloretti, who is a committed student and athlete, but he also 

composes his own songs, volunteers at the public library, and reminds both of us to always look on the bright side. 

I am joined here by several colleagues from Treasury and friends 

and colleagues from HUD and from other parts of my life. So welcome to the very sympathetic audience that I have here. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Ms. Coloretti, please begin. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Sure, thanks. 

STATEMENT OF NANI A. COLORETTI, TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Ms. COLORETTI. I come from a family with a tradition of community service and one that represents the best of what our country 

has to offer. My grandparents on both sides of my family were immigrants from three different countries, the Phillippines, Italy, and 

Spain, and they all came to America in search of a better life. My 

Filipino grandfather was first a minister and later a community organizer to address the working conditions for Filipino workers in 

Hawai‘i’s sugar cane fields, and my grandmother was one of the 

first in a long tradition of Filipino nurses. 

My mother, one of six children, was also a nurse and later became a preschool teacher. The tradition of service was reinforced 

by my parents’ decision to raise their five children in the beautiful 

State of Hawai‘i. Because Hawai‘i is a set of islands with a diverse 

population, it is there that I learned how to listen, how to celebrate 

differences, and to make space for others. These values of community involvement and inclusion directly contribute to my values and 

my passion for public service today. 

I bring over 20 years of experience in budget, finance, economic 

and program analysis, and implementation skills, as well as over 

15 years managing and leading teams to accomplish better outVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:09 Dec 19, 2014 Jkt 046629 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 L:\HEARINGS 2014\04-08 NOMINATION OF COLORETTI\HEARING\40814.TXT JASON
4 

comes. Much of my experience has helped deliver better value for 

the public by grounding public organizations in a strong operational context. My work spans the public and private sectors, and 

I have contributed to improving outcomes and increasing efficiency 

at the local, State, and Federal Government levels. 

My Federal service started just after graduate school when I arrived in Washington, DC, to join the Office of Management and 

Budget as a Presidential management intern. At that job, I got 

helpful exposure to Federal budgeting and performance management, and also learned how to ask the right questions, and seek 

ways to invest even while reducing the budget. 

I left as Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 while 

creating the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. A few 

years later, I began a 10-year stint at the City and County of San 

Francisco. While there, I helped manage a small department called 

the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families, and later 

went on to serve Mayor Gavin Newsom as his Deputy Policy Director and then as his Budget Director. 

At the Department, I led teams that helped children and youth 

by partnering with other agencies across the city, the private sector, and public foundations. For example, we expanded and enhanced high quality early child care and education and after-school 

options by grounding our analysis in data, consulting with the community, and rethinking how to best use public funding streams, ultimately adding 3,000 more high quality child care spaces over a 

number of years. 

At the Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom, I led cross-cutting teams 

to implement universal health care coverage and a citywide 

wellness initiative, to addition to balancing three citywide budgets. 

At Treasury, I have been fortunate to work for Secretaries 

Geithner and Lew and they have both supported efforts to modernize Treasury systems and structures, even in a time of diminishing resources. This effort has largely been aided by a data-driven approach to decision making. Over the last 4 years, I helped 

Treasury create and sustain an analytical approach to management 

through quarterly performance reviews run by the Deputy Secretary of Treasury and my position, the Assistant Secretary for 

Management. 

Through this effort, we have provided visibility into Treasury’s 

operations for decision making and accountability, which has yielded over $1 billion of savings and has also allowed the Department 

to better complete the merger of two its bureaus, and also meet 

some of its priority goals, such as processing over 95 percent of 

payments electronically instead of on paper. 

To create a culture of continuous improvement at Treasury, I focused on operational effectiveness and Government performance 

and governance by applying lean principles developed in the private sector to dozens of process-improving projects. This work has 

yielded improvements such as data reporting efforts that now span 

hours instead of days. 

I have also set up a governance structure to review all of our IT 

investments, providing a forum to track cross-cutting efforts across 

bureaus, such as the closure and consolidation of 18 data centers 

over the last 4 years. 

5 

All of this work continues to help Treasury structure itself for 

the future. The role of the Deputy Secretary is to be the chief operating officer, and if confirmed, I will work under the Secretary’s direction to manage the day-to-day operations at HUD. I will build 

on the legacy of those who came before me and did impressive 

work, including continuing the transformation of HUD’s human resources and financial management systems. 

I am humbled and honored by the nomination and grateful to the 

President and Secretary Donovan for asking me to serve the country in this capacity. If confirmed, I will apply my experience, energy, values, and passion to build upon the great work that is already happening and further improve the effectiveness of HUD. 

Thank you for allowing me to appear before you today and I will 

answer any questions that you have. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you for your testimony. As we begin 

questions, will the clerk please put 5 minutes on the clock for each 

Member? 

Ms. Coloretti, what would your priorities be for HUD as Deputy 

Secretary? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for that question, Senator. HUD has 

recently released, in their strategic plan for FY14 to 2018, a list of 

top management priorities at the agency. My priorities would be 

developed using this as a guide post and in consultation with the 

Secretary, but the efforts include things like transforming their 

procurement system, grants management, and human capital management. 

If confirmed, I would also support efforts to address HUD’s recent financial audit and significant deficiencies. 

Chairman JOHNSON. The Deputy Secretary of HUD has traditionally acted as chief operating officer. If confirmed, do you see 

yourself playing this role at HUD, and how has your experience 

prepared you for this? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for that question. If confirmed, I 

would continue to be the chief operating officer at HUD, and my 

experience at Treasury really helps guide this. Right now I manage 

all operational areas of Treasury, including Finance and Budget, 

Procurement, Information Systems, and Human Resources, and it 

is from this role that I actually work with all the bureaus to drive 

efficiency, accountability, transparency, and improvements at 

Treasury. So I think that that experience would serve me well at 

HUD. 

Chairman JOHNSON. HUD plays an important role in helping 

American Indian tribes meet their best needs for safe, high quality 

housing. Are you familiar with the housing needs in Indian Country? If confirmed, do you commit to working with me to address 

these housing needs and engaging in consultation with tribes? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for the question. I have not had the 

opportunity to work on the Native American issues in the past. 

However, I know these issues are very important, critically important. If confirmed, I will learn more about these programs and 

work with you and your staff to ensure that they are effectively implemented. 

6 

Chairman JOHNSON. In the past, HUD has had issues with its 

audits. What steps would you take, as the Deputy Secretary, to improve HUD’s audits? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for that question. It is an excellent 

question. So first, I would need to learn more about their material 

weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the audit. My understanding is that they have been there for a few years. My understanding is also that they have some ideas to transform some of 

their core financial systems. So that is the first place I would look. 

And then I would identify a set of milestones to implement—but 

really, this would be done in partnership with a chief financial officer who I am hoping will one day be confirmed as well so that I 

could get someone to help partner with me on that work. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Oftentimes, local governments work with 

HUD as grantees and partners in housing and community development efforts. In your experience in the San Francisco Municipal 

Government, did you work at all with HUD? How would your experience working in a local government inform your decisions as Deputy Secretary of HUD? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for that question. As Budget Director 

in San Francisco, I got visibility into all of the funding streams, 

into the city and county, and my understanding is that HUD was 

very helpful in helping San Francisco implement its Housing First 

strategy. And part of the reason for that is because of the McKinney-Vento grant program and other programs that were allowed to 

leverage with local dollars to address some of the Housing First 

needs to house—to provide supportive housing to San Franciscans. 

So I have had a great visibility into the good work that HUD is 

able to do on the ground. Although I did not work with HUD directly at San Francisco, I know that it is a good partner for local 

communities and can really make a difference. 

Chairman JOHNSON. What are some best practices you have 

learned in your Government experience that you would apply to 

the Deputy Secretary role at HUD? 

Ms. COLORETTI. One of the key best practices, both that I have 

learned at the local government and also have applied at Treasury 

is something I mentioned in my opening statement, which is really 

a relentless focus on quarterly reviews to basically track a number 

of management and operational metrics and milestones. 

That helps both bring visibility to leadership from—in Treasury, 

we are organized by bureaus, so from the bureaus, but also provides a forum to troubleshoot around why a particular issue, and 

let us just say it would be a material weakness in an audit, is either gaining traction or not gaining traction. 

That practice is fairly rigorous, but it does yield results when you 

focus on outcomes and you focus on those metrics. So I would hope 

to bring that to HUD, and I understand they do quarterly reviews 

as well. I think I would be able to bring some of the management 

suite of metrics that we use at Treasury. It might help HUD, if 

helpful, if confirmed. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Crapo. 

Senator CRAPO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And, 

Nani, you may not be surprised, but I want to talk about GSE reform. As I indicated in my opening statement, I really appreciate 

7 

Secretary Donovan’s efforts in this regard, and the assistance that 

we have received from HUD in putting together the legislation that 

the Chairman and I have recently put out, the expertise and, 

frankly, the assistance in working through a number of the issues 

has been invaluable. 

My main question to you is just to elicit from you your feelings 

about how important you feel it is that we move ahead on this legislation right now, and why—assuming you agree that we need to 

move forward on this legislation expeditiously, why you feel that is 

necessary. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Senator, thank you for that question. It is an excellent question. I am aware of the ongoing bipartisan housing reform work, housing finance reform work that this Committee is 

doing. I am not currently involved in it in my current position at 

Treasury. However, I am supportive of the substantive reform efforts that this Committee is doing and the ongoing process. 

And if confirmed, I would be happy to both engage with you and 

the Secretary, obviously, and see if I can be helpful in any way to 

this effort. 

Senator CRAPO. Thank you. I hope that we can get you confirmed 

soon so that you can get very heavily engaged in that effort. We 

really need that assistance. I also want to talk with you a little bit 

about FHA. Recently, some groups have put pressure on FHA to 

lower insurance fees, despite FHA’s insurance fund still operating 

below the minimum capital ratio that is required by statute to 

maintain. 

Given that this insurance fund is the only protection that taxpayers have in preventing another bailout of FHA, it would seem 

to me that it is important that FHA maintain its legal obligations 

and rebuild the insurance fund. Do you agree that the FHA insurance fund must regain its statutory minimum obligations before 

entertaining the idea of any reductions in the revenue that it collects to insure against those losses? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Senator, I thank you for that question. I am not 

aware of this issue in the detail that you mention, but I am generally supportive of FHA solvency. I would note that the President’s budget says that FHA would actually not need another appropriation in the coming year. However, if confirmed, I intend to 

learn more about it so we can have a more in-depth conversation 

and see if we can work together to get FHA on solid footing. 

Senator CRAPO. All right. Thank you. I would encourage you to 

pay close attention to this issue because we do not want to have 

the budget of the United States kicking in again and having yet 

again another bailout of FHA, and I think that its solvency needs 

to be managed very carefully. So I appreciate your attention to 

that. 

I also want to talk to you about transparency in general. I ask 

this question in this context: If confirmed, you will manage the 

day-to-day operations at HUD. And as such, your management provides you with the opportunity to instill the importance of transparency and cooperation by HUD with HUD stakeholders, with 

Congress, and others, frankly. 

I recently asked a previous HUD nominee a series of questions 

related to actions that were brought by HUD, and specifically, I 

8 

asked if he believed that a Federal agency should at least share the 

analysis that it uses to bring an action with the entity being accused. Not only did the nominee decline to indicate support for this 

basic level of transparency, but he did not appear to directly answer any part of my question. 

If confirmed, will you work to instill upon those you manage a 

culture that fosters more open communication, both with stakeholders with whom HUD deals, and with Congress? 

Ms. COLORETTI. Senator, thank you for that question. First, if I 

could mention, I do sit on the Government Accountability Transparency Board, which is comprised of a few departments and several IGs, and we work together to bring transparency to Federal 

financial and procurement data. So I am very supportive of the 

concept that more transparency is a good thing. 

I am not aware, in any detail, of the issue that you raise, but 

certainly if confirmed, I would work with you and your staff to understand more about it, have a more in-depth conversation, and see 

how I could be helpful. 

Senator CRAPO. Thank you very much. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Warren. 

Senator WARREN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The advantage to 

being the junior Member on the Committee is that I get to follow 

the good and detailed questions of the Chairman and the Ranking 

Member. 

As I noted in my introductory remarks, you have been managing 

and overseeing Governmental agencies for over two decades, starting at the Office of Management and Budget, and then at various 

positions in local government in San Francisco, and finally as Acting Assistant Secretary for Management at the Treasury Department. 

So you have a lot of experience managing bureaucracies, large 

and small. And what I would like to ask you to do is just spend 

a minute reflecting on what lessons you have learned from this 

range of management experiences. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Sure. Thank you for that question, Senator. One 

thing that I have learned is that—this is going to sound like a cliche, but it is very important to have the best people and to have 

them in the right places and to support them, because—and you 

know this. As you go higher up in an organization, you are doing 

your work through people. 

And so, you are a facilitator of the very best work that that agency, that group, that team can bring. And that requires really just 

understanding your team and being able to deploy them in the 

right way and supporting them when they do their work. 

The second thing that I know you also are aware of is, it is important to understand how to work with the different systems that 

support an agency, and I think this is what I can bring to HUD. 

In other words, how does the procurement system work and can 

you make it better? Can you make that process work better? Does 

the financial system do what it needs you to do? 

These are sort of the wiring and piping of any organization, but 

they really can help programs and policies succeed if they are both 

understanding the mission and the outcomes that are hoped for 

and supporting them adequately. 

9 

Senator WARREN. That is very helpful. Thank you. Can you just 

give me some insight from your perspective about the special challenges you think you will face at HUD or the special opportunities 

or, let us say, both? Maybe that is even better. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Let us call them opportunities. 

Senator WARREN. OK. Good. 

Ms. COLORETTI. Thank you for that question, Senator. Like many 

Federal agencies, HUD has a fantastic set of very committed civil 

servants working very hard every day to do what looks to be a very 

difficult portfolio, but important to communities and to this country. And also like many agencies, some of its deepest challenges are 

in its operating systems. 

And so, HUD itself has identified these in their strategic plan 

that they just released and you do see some of it in their audit. 

Some of their biggest challenges are really around their human 

capital, both systems and processes and their grants management 

and financial management, and those are some of the things I hope 

I can help HUD improve. 

Senator WARREN. Excellent. As I said in my opening statement, 

you have my wholehearted support, and if you are confirmed to 

this position, I hope that we will be able to work together to help 

advance HUD’s very important mission. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Ms. Coloretti, for your testimony and for your willingness to serve our Nation. 

I ask all Members to submit questions for the record by COB this 

Friday, April 11. Ms. Coloretti, I will ask you to please submit your 

answers to the written questions as soon as possible so that we can 

move your nomination forward in a timely manner. This hearing 

is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:31 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

[Prepared statements and biographical sketch of nominee supplied for the record follow:] 

10 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF NANI A. COLORETTI 

TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN

DEVELOPMENT

APRIL 8, 2014 

Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Crapo, and distinguished Members of the 

Committee, it is a great privilege to appear before you as President Obama’s nominee to be Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Before I begin, I would like to introduce my husband of over 15 years, David Goldstein, who I met many years ago at UC Berkeley’s school of public policy. As a 

teacher and education policy consultant, he shares a commitment to public service, 

and he has been a fantastic, supportive partner during my years of Government 

service and private sector work. We are both very proud of our 12-year-old son, 

Kaleo Goldstein-Coloretti, who is a committed student and athlete but he also 

composes songs, volunteers at the public library, and reminds both of us to always 

look on the bright side. 

I come from a family with a tradition of community service and one that represents the best of what our country has to offer. My grandparents on both sides 

of my family emigrated here from three different countries: the Philippines, Italy, 

and Spain, and all came to America in search of a better life. My Filipino grandfather was a minister and later became a community organizer to address working 

conditions for Filipinos in Hawai‘i’s sugar cane fields. My grandmother was one of 

the first in a long tradition of Filipino nurses. My mother, one of six children, and 

was also a nurse and later, a preschool teacher. This tradition of service was reinforced by my parents’ decision to raise their five children in the beautiful State of 

Hawai‘i. Because Hawai‘i is a set of islands with a diverse population, it is there 

that I learned how to listen, celebrate differences, and to make space for others. 

These values of community involvement and inclusion directly contribute to my passion for public service today. 

I bring over 20 years of experience in budget, finance, economic and program 

analysis, and implementation skills, as well as over 15 years managing and leading 

teams to accomplish multiple outcomes. Much of my experience has helped deliver 

better value for the public by grounding public organizations and programs in a 

strong operational context. My work spans the public and private sectors, and I 

have contributed to improving outcomes and increasing efficiency at the State, local, 

and Federal Government levels. 

My Federal service started just after graduate school, when I arrived in Washington, DC, right out of graduate school to join the Office of Management and Budget as a Presidential Management Intern. At that job, I got helpful exposure to the 

Federal budgeting and performance management framework and learned how to ask 

the right questions and seek ways to invest even while reducing the budget. I left 

as Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 while creating the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. 

A few years later I began a 10-year stint at the City and County of San Francisco. 

While there, I helped manage a small department and later went on to serve Mayor 

Gavin Newsom as his deputy policy director and then as his budget director. At the 

Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, I led teams that helped children 

and young people by partnering with other agencies across the city, the private sector, and public foundations. For example, we expanded and enhanced high quality 

early care and education and after school options by grounding our analysis in data 

and rethinking how best to use public funding streams, ultimately adding 3,000 

more high quality child care spaces. 

At the Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom, I led cross-cutting teams to implement universal health care coverage and a citywide wellness initiative. As budget director 

for San Francisco, I balanced three consecutive budgets, the last year being the 

most difficult since we faced a $575 million shortfall—initially about half of the 

city’s discretionary budget. I balanced the budget that year by working with the legislative branch to prioritize core city services, working with the unions, and managing the city’s revenue effectively. 

At Treasury, I have been fortunate to work for two great Secretaries and they 

have both supported efforts to modernize Treasury’s systems and structures even in 

a time of diminishing resources. This effort has largely been aided by a data-driven 

approach to decision making. Over the last 4 years, I helped Treasury create and 

sustain an analytical approach to operations and management through quarterly 

performance reviews, run by the Deputy Secretary of Treasury and my position, the 

Assistant Secretary for Management. Through this effort, we have provided visibility into Treasury operations for decision making and accountability, which has 

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yielded over $1 billion dollars in budget savings, allowed the department to better 

complete the merger of two bureaus (saving $96 million over 10 years), and allowed 

Treasury to more successfully achieve its priority goals, such as processing over 95 

percent of payment transactions electronically instead of on paper. 

To create a culture of continuous improvement at Treasury, I have focused on 

operational effectiveness and governance. I helped create a new Treasury Operations Excellence team, which has successfully applied lean principles developed in 

the private sector to improve performance at Treasury. This work encompassed dozens of process improvement outcomes—ranging from an eightfold efficiency gain in 

processing visitor access requests to the Main Treasury building to improvements 

in data reporting efforts that now span hours instead of days. This work has saved 

Treasury money and staff time while engendering a culture of continual improvement. I have also set up a governance structure to review all IT investments, providing a forum to track cross-cutting efforts across bureaus, such as the closure and 

consolidation of 18 data centers over the last 4 years. Treasury continues to achieve 

clean audit opinions with no new material weaknesses since fiscal year 2009, which 

is an accomplishment that I am proud of considering the complexity and breadth 

of Treasury’s programs and financial systems. All of this work continues to help 

Treasury structure itself for the future. 

The role of the Deputy Secretary is to be the Chief Operating Officer, and if confirmed, I will work under the Secretary’s direction to manage the day-to-day operations at HUD. I will build on the legacy of those who came before me and did impressive work, including beginning the transformation of HUD’s human resources 

and financial management systems. 

I am humbled and honored by the nomination and grateful to the President and 

Secretary Donovan for asking me to serve the country in this capacity. If confirmed, 

I will apply my experience, energy, values and passion to build upon the great work 

that is already happening and further improve the effectiveness of HUD. 

I thank you for allowing me to appear before you today and will answer any questions you have. 

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