Chief of Staff — Ana M. Ma
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Ana M. Ma is currently the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Ma was Chief of Staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2009-2011 and served as Senior Counsel and Chief of Staff to Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Arizona) for three terms. She began her work for him after spearheading his first Congressional campaign in 2002 and helping him win an open seat in Pima County with forty percent of the vote.
Ana M. Ma grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Ms. Ma graduated from the University of Arizona and received a degree in Political Science. Ms. Ma has been involved in grassroots organizing for over twenty five years, and has participated in the electoral process at all levels - from the school board to the last six presidential campaigns.
In 1996, Ms. Ma was asked by the Clinton/Gore Presidential Campaign and the Democratic National Committee to serve as their Southern Arizona Coordinator. This commitment helped the Clinton/Gore ticket win in the state of Arizona and put it in the Democratic column for the first time in almost half of a century.
In 1997, the Clinton Administration selected Ms. Ma to join the U.S. Department of Labor under Secretary Alexis Herman as the Intergovernmental Affairs Officer and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration. During her tenure at the Department of Labor, Ms. Ma worked on issues such as welfare to work, youth employment and training and unemployment insurance. She also served as a liaison to county and municipal officials across the country.
In 2001, then newly elected Chairman of the Democratic Party, Terry McAuliffe, hired Ms. Ma to serve as the Western Political Director for the DNC where she oversaw 13 states and territories from Montana, to New Mexico, to Guam.
From January through September of 2008, Ms. Ma was on leave from Congressman Grijalva’s staff to serve as the Director of Party Affairs and VIPs for the Democratic National Convention Committee in Denver, Colorado.
