Explainer

Who’s Who in the U.S. Education Department

With Senate confirmation of Miguel Cardona as U.S. education secretary, the Biden administration is filling other positions in the department. To read more about the appointments,  find an alphabetical listing here  or view them on The Churn. Bios for senior officials are available here.

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Secretary: Miguel Cardona

Office of the Secretary

Chief of Staff: Sheila Nix
Deputy Chief of Staff, Policy and Programs: Scott Sargrad
Deputy Chief of Staff: Donna Harris-Aikens
Senior Advisor: Lexi Barrett
Senior Advisor: Amy Levitan
Senior Advisor: Lynda Lopez
Senior Advisor: Chris Soto
Senior Advisor: LaWanda Toney
Senior Advisor, Labor Relations: Maralyn O’Brien
Temporary Advisor, Higher Education: Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Director, Strategic Partnerships: Shital Shah
White House Liaison: Shannon Myricks
Deputy White House Liaison: Jacob Brett-Turner
Director, Scheduling and Advance: Maggie Murphy
Director, Scheduling: Madeline Douglas
Deputy Director,  Scheduling: Rachel Hegarty
Director, Advance: Amanda DelGiudice
Deputy Director, Advance: Jordan Johnson
Special Assistant: Aileen Kim
Special Assistant: Jorge Santiago
Special Assistant: Niki Wagner
Special Assistant: Chase Moore
Special Advisor to the Chief of Staff: Naseam Alavi
White House Fellow: Adan Gonzalez

Deputy Secretary: Cindy Marten

screen-shot-2021-03-05-at-9-25-12-amSenior Advisor, Innovation: Monica Logothetis
Senior Advisor: Staci Monreal
Senior Advisor: Joaquin Tamayo
Special Assistant: Meredith Galanti

Under Secretary: James Kvaal

Deputy Under Secretary: Julie Morgan
Deputy Under Secretary and Chief Economist: Jordan Matsudaira
Deputy Undersecretary: Ben Miller
Chief of Staff: Melanie Muenzer
Senior Advisor: Julie Margetta Morgan
Senior Advisor: Rich Williams
Special Assistant: Wesley Whistle
Adviser for Data Management: Bryan Bowlsbey

Inspector General

Inspector General: Sandra Bruce

Institute of Education Science

Director: Mark Schneider

International Affairs

Director: Maureen A. McLaughlin

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

Assistant Secretary: Amy Loyd
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Jen Mishory
Senior Advisor: J. Noah Brown
Special Assistant: Emily Lamont
Special Assistant: Elias Romanos
Special Assistant: DeAndre Jones

Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Director: Maggie Siddiqi
Deputy Director: Kathryn “Katy” Joseph

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Chief Information Officer: Luis Lopez

Office for Civil Rights

Assistant Secretary: Catherine Lhamon
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Luke Rhine
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy: Monique Dixon
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Legal Affairs: Seth Galanter
Chief of Staff: Sam Ames
Senior Counsel: Alice Abrokwa
Senior Counsel: Jasmine Bolton
Senior Counsel: Adaku Onyeka-Crawford

Office of Communications and Outreach

Assistant Secretary: Kelly Leon (designated)
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Shin Inouye
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Content Creation: Branden Cobb
Deputy Assistant Secretary, State and Local Engagement: Lauren Mendoza
Chief of Staff: Anna Hartge
Deputy Chief of Staff: Chauncey Alexander
Press Secretary, Oversight: Roy Loewenstein
Deputy Press Secretary: Vanessa Harmoush
Digital Director: Chelsea Daley
Director, Rural Engagement: Julia Cunningham
Traveling Digital Director: Hussien Salama
Director, Speechwriting and Editorial Content: Tiffany Taber
Chief Speechwriter: Mintaro Oba
Senior Advisor: Kamau Marshall
Senior Advisor: Rachel Thomas
Special Assistant, Family Outreach: Cecily Darden
Special: Assistant: Kevin Lima
Special Assistant: Precious McKesson
Special Assistant: Ashley Mushnick

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Assistant Secretary: James Lane (designated)
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Adam Schott
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy and Early Learning: Swati Adarkar
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Management and Planning: Mark Washington
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Formula Grant Programs: Ruth Ryder
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Equity and Discretionary Grants and Support Service: Bernadine Futrell
Chief of Staff: Danny Carlson
Senior Advisor: Laura Jimenez
Special Assistant: Levi Bohanan
Special Assistant: Kortne Edogun-Ticey
Special Assistant: Sarah Mehrotra

Office of English Language Acquisition

Deputy Assistant Secretary: Montserrat Garibay (acting assistant secretary)
Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition: Montserrat Garibay
Senior Advisor: Melissa Castillo

Office of Federal Student Aid

Chief Operating Officer: Richard Cordray

Office of Finance and Operations

Deputy Assistant Secretary: Denise L. Carter (acting assistant secretary and chief financial officer)

Office of the General Counsel

General Counsel: Elizabeth “Lisa” Brown
Principal Deputy General Counsel: Lynn Eisenberg
Deputy General Counsel: Toby Merrill
Chief of Staff: Greg Schmidt
Senior Counsel: John Bailey
Senior Counsel: Joanna Darcus
Senior Counsel: William Desmond
Senior Counsel: Jessa Mirtle
Senior Counsel, Oversight: Matthew Robinson
Senior Counsel: Nafees Syed
Special Assistant: Patrick McCarthy

Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs

Assistant Secretary: Gwen Graham
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Blanchi Roblero
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Claire Viall
Chief of Staff: Doralicia “Allie” Aguilera
Director of Higher Education and Oversight Strategy: Alex Payne
Senior Advisor, Oversight: JoAnn Martinez
Special Assistant: Marco Sanchez
Special Assistant: Kalila Winters
Special Assistant: Stephen Cekuta

Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

Assistant Secretary: Roberto Rodriguez
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary: Juliana Rinz
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Mary Wall
Chief of Staff: Kabrillen Jones
Deputy Director, Education Technology: Kristina Ishmael
Senior Advisor: John Garcia III
Senior Advisor: Maureen Tracey-Mooney
Special Assistant: Tariq Habash
Special Assistant: Catherine McConnell
Special Assistant: Kayla Patrick
Special Assistant: Loredana Valtierra
Special Assistant: Jessica Bowen Gall
Special Assistant: Heather Shuttleworth

Office of Postsecondary Education

Assistant Secretary: Nassar Paydar
Deputy Assistant Secretary: Michelle Asha Cooper
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs: Amanda Fuchs Miller
Senior Advisor for ARP Implementation: Antoinette Flores
Senior Advisor: Jennifer Engle
Chief of Staff: Clarence “CJ” Powell
Policy Advisor: Lindsey Tepe
Special Assistant: Heather Ward

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization

Director: Calvin Mitchell, Jr.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Assistant Secretary: Katherine “Katy” Neas (designated)
Office of Special Education Programs Director: Valerie Williams
Rehabilitative Services Administration Commissioner:
Special Assistant: Meghan Whitaker
Senior Advisor: Sue Swenso

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans

Executive Director: Alexis Holmes
Deputy Director:  Larry Bowden

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity Through Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Executive Director: Dietra Trent
Deputy Director: Naeem Jenkins-Nixon

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, Office of the Secretary

Executive Director: Melody Gonzales
Deputy Director: Mariafernanda “Marifer” Zacarias

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities

Executive Director:
Deputy Director: Jason Cummins