Experience

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  City of chicago - office of mayor richard daley

  Apr 2003 - Jun 2003

  Intern

  •Researched and prepared internal memos on federal environmental policies and Great Lakes water management issues.•Compiled a database to support reconciliation of discrepancies between issuances of water and construction permits.

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  United states senate

  Jul 2003 - Sept 2003

  Intern, office of senator richard durbin

  •Assisted staff with constituent services and performed research and administrative assignments.•Gathered biographical and statistical information on Chicago Aldermen. •Worked with Internship Coordinator to train fall interns and compile Internship Program materials.

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  Northwestern university school of law

  Jun 2004 - Aug 2004

  Legal research intern

  • Compiled and briefed cases for Professor Stephen Presser’s treatise, Piercing the Corporate Veil.• Researched wrongful conviction cases/data at NU Center on Wrongful Convictions.

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  Congressional hunger center

  Jan 2005 - Jan 2006

  Bill emerson national hunger fellow

  •One of twenty-four Class of 2006 Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows, selected through nation-wide competition to be mentored and cultivated as leaders in the fight against hunger and poverty.•Conducted comprehensive analysis of Alameda County’s Food Stamp Program, which involved tracking 60 applications, interviewing more than 80 eligibility workers/clerical staff, and comparing procedures of four county offices; several recommendations, including: (i) need to move toward electronic application process; (ii) an improved system for processing emergency food stamps; and (iii) the need to hire additional “food stamp” only eligibility workers, were subsequently adopted.•Provided research assistance on domestic federal hunger policy issues for Farm and Food Policy Project coalition in advance of 2007 Farm Bill reauthorization. Show less

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  U.s. house of representatives - office of congresswoman jan schakowsky

  Aug 2006 - Dec 2007

  Legislative correspondent/staff assistant

  •Analyzed legislative proposals across various criteria, such as interest-group perspectives, budgetary impact and congressional district ramifications to inform recommendations to Congresswoman and senior staff. •Recommended Congresswoman participate in Food Stamp Challenge to increase awareness of need to raise program benefits; participated in and provided staff support to the Congresswoman during weeklong Challenge, which resulted in an invitation for the Congresswoman to appear on The Colbert Report.•Conducted research, drafted constituent correspondence and met with advocacy organizations on behalf of office. •Managed constituent correspondence system, congressional website and other technology needs for the office. Show less

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  World food program usa

  Jan 2008 - May 2011

  Senior public policy associate/public policy associate

  •Managed public policy and government relations functions of a 10-20 person nonprofit established by World Food Program.•Assumed senior managerial responsibilities such as developing the Public Policy Department’s annual budget, annual work plan and written reports outlining activities and performance for the Board of Directors. •Served as the organization’s primary federal lobbyist, determining agency’s policy positions (in consultation with CEO), drafting factsheets and policy briefs, and exhibiting exemplary communication skills in conveying nuanced organizational policy positions to federal legislators and executive branch officials. •Provided research and analytical support to the Roadmap to End Global Hunger working group, which developed a 2008 policy proposal that helped form the basis of President Obama’s Feed the Future Initiative. •Built and maintained organization’s advocacy coalitions in support of federal efforts to address global hunger, including the Roadmap to End Global Hunger Coalition, consisting of more than 40 organizations.•Supervised Public Policy Associate and Public Policy Intern.•Designed and delivered graphical presentations at conferences on programs/policies to address global hunger. Show less

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  St. agnes parish school

  Sept 2011 - Apr 2012

  Clinical social work intern

  •Assessed biopsychosocial functioning of students and provided individual and group counseling services to middle-school students in an under-resourced Catholic school. •Formalized school’s counseling program through creation of client assessment and consent forms.•Developed recommendations to enhance school’s use of technology based on analysis of local KIPP and Catholic schools.

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  University of southern california

  May 2012 - Aug 2013

  •Oversaw internal operations of a complex organization with a $1.5 million budget, an 80-member Senate and 10 committees. •Co-managed development and implementation of organization’s strategic plan, which involved gathering staff input, outlining measurable goals/objectives and conducting performance reviews to benchmark progress. •Administered organization’s $140,000 Conference Travel Grant Program, which provides funding for graduate students who present at and attend conferences relevant to their program’s course of study. •Increased Conference Travel Grant Program responsiveness and implemented a professionally-designed, online application system, which involved gathering stakeholder feedback and directing vendor in making needed system enhancements.•Identified indicators and created an analytical report template to track performance of the Conference Travel Grant Program. •Managed team of graduate students in a) proposing enhancements to the organization’s programs and governing documents; and b) conducting federal legislative advocacy on issues of importance to graduate students. Show less

  • Advisor, USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans

    Jun 2013 - Aug 2013

  • Vice President and Chief of Staff, Graduate Student Government

    May 2012 - May 2013
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  Los angeles county department of public social services (dpss)

  Sept 2012 - May 2013

  Graduate student fellow

  •Managed a stakeholder analysis project, which involved conducting interviews with key agency stakeholders, including nonprofit advocate organizations, think tanks, and government agency officials (at the County, State and Federal levels), while making recommendations to senior agency management for long-range planning of stakeholder relationships. •Co-managed an agency-wide special project team tasked with automating application processes for annual benefit recertifications/ redeterminations for CalFresh, CalWORKS and Medi-Cal. •Developed a monthly, agency-wide e-newsletter outlining impacts of Health Care Reform implementation on the agency’s eligibility determination staff. Show less

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  Los angeles county workforce development board

  Dec 2013 - Jan 2016

  Deputy director/management fellow

  Comprised of representatives from government, labor organizations, community colleges, varied industry sectors and other stakeholders, The Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board provides oversight and creates policy for employment and job training programs in L.A. County. With an annual budget of $40 million and programs serving residents in 58 cities and all of the County's unincorporated areas, the L.A. County Workforce Development Board oversees the fourth largest public workforce system in the nation. Show less

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  County of los angeles, workforce development, aging and community services

  Feb 2016 - Jan 2023

  Chief of staff / special assistant to the director

  In this capacity I provide a wide-range of high level staff support on complex departmental and operational needs and act as liaison and coordinator for the Department Head with departmental management, the Board of Supervisors offices, County Commissions, other County departments and public officials. I also manage the Department's communications team and strategies.

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  Los angeles county department of economic opportunity

  Feb 2023 - now

  Head of policy and strategy