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U.S. Department of Education

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# U.S. Department of Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees

# U.S. Department of Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees

February 25, 2021

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Education  announced more political appointees that will lead various parts of the agency.  These diverse and accomplished individuals will bring a wealth of knowledge and  expertise to the Department, and work to quickly advance key education  priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration.

**Clarence  “CJ” Powell, Special Assistant, Office of Postsecondary Education**

CJ Powell most recently served as the higher education  program analyst at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The  Leadership Conference Education Fund.  In this role, he staffed the higher  education civil rights coalition, a table of more than 50 national civil rights  and policy organizations. CJ began his career in education equity as a college  adviser in the College Advising Corps, assisting students in rural North  Carolina in planning their postsecondary lives. Following graduate school, CJ  served as the founding director of college preparation for a new high school in  Nashville, Tennessee. CJ holds a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from the  University of North Carolina and a Master of Science in education, in higher  education, from the University of Pennsylvania.

**Doralicia  “Allie” Aguilera, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary**

 For over a decade Allie has been in operations,  management, policy, and communications within government and nonprofits. Most  recently, Allie supported Domestic appointments during the Biden-Harris  transition. During the 2020 election cycle Allie served as deputy chief  operating officer of Kamala Harris for the People and as a youth vote expert  for various national voting organizations. She was previously a higher  education and health care advocate at young adult non-profit Young Invincibles.  Allie served at the U.S. Department of Transportation during President Barack  Obama’s second term and prior to that worked on racial and gender equity issues  in the office of the Mayor of New York City. Allie has extensive experience in  campaigns and elections at the federal, state, and local levels and began her  career at the Democratic National Committee. She is a proud immigrant and  Virginian and a graduate of the University of Virginia. 

**Christian  Rhodes, Chief of Staff, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education**

Christian Rhodes served as Chief of Staff for Prince  George’s County Public Schools. In this role, Rhodes supported the chief  executive officer through management of specific business functions of the  school system. He began his career as a political organizer for the Maryland  State Teachers Association, a state affiliate of the National Education  Association, and education advisor Office of the Prince George’s County  Executive. Rhodes has a Master of Public Administration degree from the  American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts degree in  political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

**Blanchi  Roblero, Chief of Staff, Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs**

Blanchi Roblero will serve as chief of staff at the  Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs. Blanchi started her career at  the U.S. Department of Education in 2012, where she managed a range of policy  and funding areas, including appropriations, civil rights policy, higher  education policy and other key policy issue areas. She has passionately engaged  in advocacy efforts addressing immigrants’ and women’s issues in the education  field. As a former student-immigrant herself, she understands the importance of  empowering students by encouraging them to explore and learn stories about  their communities to preserve history and promote inclusiveness.

**Aaliyah  Samuel**, **Deputy  Assistant Secretary for State and Local Engagement, Office of Communications  and Outreach**

 Aaliyah Samuel, Ed.D., was most recently a senior fellow  at the Center on the developing Child at Harvard University and the executive  vice president of Government Affairs and Partnerships at NWEA. Aaliyah is a  bilingual executive leader with expertise from early childhood through higher  education. Aaliyah is a former elementary special education teacher, assistant  principal, and principal. Aaliyah has informed state policy agendas, assisted  with developing cross systems approaches to develop policy solutions that  support children and families and leading systems-level change. Prior to NWEA,  Dr. Samuel was the director of education at the National Governors Association  (NGA). Aaliyah holds an undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University, a  master’s from University of South Florida, and a specialist and doctorate  degree from NOVA Southeastern.

**Kelly  Leon, Press Secretary, Office of Communications and Outreach**

Kelly Leon most recently served as communications officer  at the Kresge Foundation where she supported the foundation's Education and  American Cities grantmaking programs. She previously served as communications  and advocacy officer at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. She also  previously served as assistant press secretary in the Office of Communications  and Outreach and as confidential assistant in the Office of Postsecondary  Education at the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama-Biden  administration. Prior to her work at the Department of Education, she served in  strategic communications roles at the District of Columbia Public Schools  system and George Washington University.

**Ben  Cobley, Senior Director of Digital Strategy, Office of Communications and  Outreach**

Ben Cobley joins the Department of Education after  serving in numerous digital roles on President Biden and Vice President Harris’  Inaugural Committee and Presidential Campaign. Prior to his work for President  Biden, Ben developed and implemented digital and communications strategies for  candidates and causes at nearly every level. Ben holds a degree from the  University of Iowa and served our country in Afghanistan as a non-commissioned  officer in the First Infantry Division of the United States Army. Ben resides  in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Danielle, and ten-year-old son, Thomas.

**Vanessa  Harmoush, Special Assistant, Office of Communications and Outreach**

Vanessa Harmoush recently served as the Colorado  communications director for the Biden for President campaign. Prior to that,  Vanessa was communications director at Rocky Mountain Values, working on issues  of health care and climate. She also worked at the Colorado State Legislature  for the Speaker of the House and prior to that at the State Innovation  Exchange. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University  of Colorado – Boulder. Vanessa is born to Lebanese immigrants, and currently  resides in Denver, Colorado.

**Latricia  Hardman, Confidential Assistant, Office of the Under Secretary**

Latricia Hardman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in  political science from Alabama State University. She recently served as a  deputy organizing director on the Georgia Senate Runoff and the Biden-Harris  campaign in North Carolina. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,  Inc.

**Loredana****Valtierra, Special  Assistant, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development**

Loredana was recently education policy counsel for the  House Committee on Education and Labor under Chairman Bobby Scott and worked on  K-12 and juvenile justice policy.  Prior to her position on the Committee,  Loredana worked to promote equitable school policies for girls of color and  represented pregnant and parenting students at the National Women’s Law Center.  She has also represented immigrant children and families and is a former 7th  grade English teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political  science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a J.D. from the  University of Wisconsin Law School. Loredana is a proud Chicagoan and  daughter of immigrant parents. 

**Montserrat Garibay,  Senior Advisor for Labor Relations, Office of Secretary**

Montserrat Garibay was the secretary-treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO.  Previously, she served as vice president for Certified Employees with Education  Austin, a merged union local with the American Federation of Teachers, National  Education Association, and the American Federation of Labor Congress of  Industrial Organizations.  An activist on education and immigration  issues, Garibay came to the U.S. from Mexico City as an undocumented immigrant  and became a citizen 20 years later. She has been instrumental in promoting  opportunities for all students, including those from immigrant families. She  promoted passage of the Texas version of the DREAM Act and comprehensive  immigration reform. A bilingual pre-kindergarten teacher for eight years  and National Board-Certified Teacher, she is a graduate of the National Labor  Leadership Initiative with the Worker Institute at Cornell  University. Garibay is a University of Texas -Austin graduate with a  master’s degree in Education.  

**Christopher Rush,  Director of Educational Technology, Office of the Secretary** Chris joins the department with a critical focus on reimagining the role of  technology and innovation in teaching and learning, as we move towards a post  pandemic world.  He also co-founded New Classrooms Innovation Partners, a  nonprofit focused on new instructional models including the School of One  personalized learning program, named one of Time Magazine's Top 50 Inventions  of the Year. There he has served as both chief program officer overseeing model  design, build and nationwide school implementation as well as de facto chief  operating officer/president overseeing day to day organizational activities.  Previously, Chris most notably worked in the Office of Accountability at the  NYC Department of Education to co-lead and salvage the design and development  of NYC’s $95MM+ Achievement Reporting and Innovation System; launched an  ed-tech consulting services practice at Amplify Education; specialized in  financial management and IT development services at IBM; launched a pair of  tech startups during the dotcom bubble; and taught earth sciences for the Upper  Dublin (PA) School District at Robbins Park Environmental Center. Chris is a  Pahara Fellow alum of the Aspen Institute, a recipient of the Robin Hood Heroes  award, and holds a Master of Science in information technology and a Bachelor  of Science in management science and information systems.  He is a  recurring university guest lecturer at Stanford and Harvard Business Schools  and sits on a number of boards of national social impact organizations.

**Monique Dixon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office for Civil Rights**

Monique  L. Dixon previously served as deputy director of policy and director of state  advocacy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), Inc. In these  roles, she was responsible for assisting with the development, coordination,  and implementation of LDF’s overall federal policy and legislative reform  priorities with a focus on criminal justice and education. She also serves as  the lead architect of LDF’s state and local legislative and policy activities,  including LDF’s Justice in Public Safety Project, which used policy and  legislative advocacy, public education, community organizing, litigation, and  communications strategies to advance laws, policies, and practices that would  result in unbiased and accountable policing and community-based public safety  systems.  Dixon also served as co-chair of the Education Task Force of the  Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.  She is a graduate of the  University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and Hunter College of  the City University of New York. 

**Juliana Herman, Chief of  Staff, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development**Juliana  Herman previously served as chief of staff and senior advisor at the Markle  Foundation. Prior to that she was a deputy chief and Broad Resident at District  of Columbia Public Schools, a senior policy advisor in the Office of Senator  Michael Bennet, and an education policy analyst at the Center for American  Progress.

**Scott Sargrad, Deputy  Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs, Office of the Secretary**

Scott  Sargrad was most recently vice president for K-12 education at the Center for  American Progress. Previously, he served in the U.S. Department of Education  during the Obama Administration as deputy assistant secretary in the Office of  Elementary and Secondary Education; senior policy advisor in the Office of  Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; and Presidential Management  Fellow in the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.   Sargrad began his career as a special education paraprofessional, math  teacher, and cross-country and track coach, and is a graduate of Haverford  College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

**Jen Mishory, Chief of  Staff, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education**Jen  Mishory most recently served as a senior fellow and senior policy advisor at  The Century Foundation, working on policies related to higher education finance  at the federal and state level, workforce development, and health care  coverage. Prior to joining TCF, she co-founded and served as the executive  director of Young Invincibles. While at YI, Jen led initiatives focused on  policy solutions to a range of economic challenges facing today's young people. 

**Maggie Murphy, Director  of Advance, Office of the Secretary**Maggie Murphy has been a  social studies teacher since 2013, and has taught in Texas and New York. Maggie  worked on the Biden-Harris campaign as director of surrogate advance. On  President Obama's re-election campaign, she was a political trip coordinator  for Mrs. Obama. Since 2011, Maggie served on President Biden's advance  teams on domestic and international trips. Maggie is a graduate of Scripps  College and earned her master’s degree in education from Southern Methodist  University.  

**Donametria “Tria”  Stallings, Confidential Assistant, Office of the Secretary**

Tria Stallings is a proud Delawarean and recently served as a partnership associate  for the Biden Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to the PIC, Tria worked  on the 2020 Biden-Harris presidential campaign in several capacities, including  as the Virginia African American Vote Director on the state coordinated  campaign. Prior to her time on the campaign trail, Tria worked on Capitol Hill  for two members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Tria is a proud graduate of  two HBCUs. She earned her Master of Arts in political science from Howard  University and her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Delaware State  University.

**Kabrillen  Jones, Special Assistant, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative  Services**

Kabrillen Jones most recently served as a consultant  for UPD Consulting and a business analyst for education technology firm Crocus.  Prior to these roles, she served as a policy analyst for the D.C. Office of the  State Superintendent of Education, where she worked on a variety of K-12 issues  with a primary focus on regulation and guidance on special education. She is a  graduate of Spelman College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

**Jordan Matsudaira,  Deputy Under Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary**

Jordan  Matsudaira is an associate professor of economics and education policy at  Teachers College Columbia University. His research leverages administrative  data, working with government and institution partners, to understand and  improve education and labor market programs and policies aimed at promoting the  mobility of low-income Americans. He previously served as chief economist of  President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he contributed to higher  education access and accountability initiatives and policies to support lower  wage workers and workforce development. He is also visiting associate professor  at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University,  senior research scholar at the Community College Research Center, and a  nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C
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