Erika L. Moritsugu

Vice President Congressional Relations / Economic Justice

National Partnership for Women & Families

The Honorable Erika L. Moritsugu has spent most of her career in the federal government and politics fighting for social justice and the empowerment of communities and individuals. She served as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Julian Castro in the Obama Administration after being confirmed by the Senate in 2014.

In addition to her appointment in the Obama Administration, Erika has diverse and deep experience on Capitol Hill and within governmental agencies. Erika served as the General Counsel for Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, for whom she provided legislative and political strategic counsel and managed the Senator’s judiciary, civil rights and economic policies, including her work on the Commerce, Science and Transportation and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees. She was the first Deputy Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs at the newly-established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Deputy Legislative Director for Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawai’i focused on economic policy and health issues; and held several different roles at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, including Acting Staff Director and Policy Director. She previously worked at the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, the Prosecutor’s Office for the City and County of Honolulu, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

Before recommitting to a career in public service, she practiced international trade, legislative, and immigration law at Hogan and Hartson and managed grassroots and coalition-building campaigns at The Wexler Group.

She is currently at the National Partnership for Women & Families as its Vice President for the Economic Justice team, which is committed to advancing public policies to achieve economic stability and security for women of color and other marginalized communities and all people. In addition, she has recently been appointed as the Vice President of a newly formed Congressional Relations team to provide an enterprise-wide advocacy strategy across all of the Partnership’s program areas. Prior to her work at the National Partnership, Erika led the Government Relations, Advocacy and Community Engagement team at the Anti-Defamation League.

Erika has been active in the community, volunteering or leading organizations focused on voting rights, civil rights, community engagement, mentoring, Asian American and Pacific Islander empowerment, including service as the Executive Director and Advisory Board member of the AAA-Fund and a Member of the Board of the Pan-Pacific American Leaders and Mentor organization,

She attended Brandeis University, the College of William and Mary, and George Washington Law School. Born in California and raised in Hawai’i, Erika lives on Capitol Hill with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Vianne Leilani and Chester Likeke and their two cats.