Maria Echaveste
Encyclopedia
Maria Echaveste is a former U.S. presidential advisor to Bill Clinton
and White House Deputy Chief of Staff under the second Clinton administration. She is one of the highest-ranking Latinas
to have served in a presidential administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
and a co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a policy, legislative strategy and advocacy group working with non-profit and corporate clients.
, as one of seven children born to Mexican
immigrants. The family later moved to California
, where she received a Bachelor of Arts
in anthropology
from Stanford University
in 1976 and a law degree
from UC Berkeley's
Boalt Law School in 1980. Following her graduation from Boalt, Echaveste specialized in corporate litigation at the former Los Angeles
firm Wyman Bautzer and at Rosenman & Colin
in New York
.
of the Department of Labor
. In that role, she was responsible for the management and policy direction of programs related to a variety of Federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (including minimum wage, overtime and child labor) and federal contracting laws. Under her leadership, Wage and Hour initiated an anti-sweatshop
initiative – an initiative that received one of the 1996 Innovations in American Government Awards, which are overseen by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
.
Echaveste left the Department of Labor to become Director of Public Liaison at the White House
from February 1997 to May 1998, where she also developed communications, legislative and public outreach strategies. From 1998 to 2001, she served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton
. Echaveste managed Clinton’s domestic policy initiatives on education
, civil rights
, immigration
and bankruptcy
reform. She also coordinated relief efforts within the White House for foreign and domestic disasters, and specialized in international issues related to Latin America
including the Caribbean Basin Initiative and Africa Growth Opportunity Act and Plan Colombia, a federal effort to assist Colombia
in its anti-drug campaign. At the end of the Clinton administration she had responsibility for the management of the White House preparations for the millennium celebrations and the 2000 presidential transition.
, Echaveste co-founded the Nueva Vista Group, a strategic and policy consulting group that works with nonprofit organizations, associations and corporations on such issues as immigration, health care, telecommunications, labor and finances. She is a part time lecturer at Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley
School of Law. She currently resides in both California
and Washington D.C. and works as a consultant. Her clients include AOL Time Warner and the Rockefeller Foundation
.
Echaveste is a commentator on the PBS
television show "To the Contrary." During the 2004 Democratic primaries, she advised Howard Dean
and frequently spoke for him on talk shows. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee
, a member of the Board of Directors of People for the American Way
, the Children's Law Center of Washington, D.C., CARE
, a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and the Level Playing Field Institute, an organization devoted to promoting fairness in education and the workplace. She is married to Chris Edley
, whom she met while working together in the Clinton Administration
.
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and White House Deputy Chief of Staff under the second Clinton administration. She is one of the highest-ranking Latinas
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
to have served in a presidential administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
and a co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a policy, legislative strategy and advocacy group working with non-profit and corporate clients.
Early life
Echaveste was born in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, as one of seven children born to Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
immigrants. The family later moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1976 and a law degree
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from UC Berkeley's
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Boalt Law School in 1980. Following her graduation from Boalt, Echaveste specialized in corporate litigation at the former Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
firm Wyman Bautzer and at Rosenman & Colin
Rosenman & Colin
Rosenman & Colin LLP was a New York City-based law firm that practiced from 1912 to 2002, at which point the firm merged with Chicago-based Katten Muchin Zavis to form Katten Muchin Rosenman...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Public service
From 1993 to 1997 Echaveste served as the administrator of the Wage and Hour DivisionEmployment Standards Administration
The Employment Standards Administration , was the largest agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. Its four subagencies enforced and administerered laws governing legally mandated wages and working conditions, including child labor, minimum wages, overtime pay, and family and medical leave;...
of the Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
. In that role, she was responsible for the management and policy direction of programs related to a variety of Federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (including minimum wage, overtime and child labor) and federal contracting laws. Under her leadership, Wage and Hour initiated an anti-sweatshop
Anti-sweatshop
Anti-Sweatshop refers to campaigning movements to improve the conditions of workers in Sweatshops, i.e. manufacturing places characterized by low wages, poor working conditions and often child labor...
initiative – an initiative that received one of the 1996 Innovations in American Government Awards, which are overseen by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
.
Echaveste left the Department of Labor to become Director of Public Liaison at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
from February 1997 to May 1998, where she also developed communications, legislative and public outreach strategies. From 1998 to 2001, she served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Echaveste managed Clinton’s domestic policy initiatives on education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
reform. She also coordinated relief efforts within the White House for foreign and domestic disasters, and specialized in international issues related to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
including the Caribbean Basin Initiative and Africa Growth Opportunity Act and Plan Colombia, a federal effort to assist Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in its anti-drug campaign. At the end of the Clinton administration she had responsibility for the management of the White House preparations for the millennium celebrations and the 2000 presidential transition.
Current activities
After leaving the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Echaveste co-founded the Nueva Vista Group, a strategic and policy consulting group that works with nonprofit organizations, associations and corporations on such issues as immigration, health care, telecommunications, labor and finances. She is a part time lecturer at Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
School of Law. She currently resides in both California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Washington D.C. and works as a consultant. Her clients include AOL Time Warner and the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
.
Echaveste is a commentator on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television show "To the Contrary." During the 2004 Democratic primaries, she advised Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
and frequently spoke for him on talk shows. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, a member of the Board of Directors of People for the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
, the Children's Law Center of Washington, D.C., CARE
CARE (relief)
CARE is a broad-spectrum secular relief, humanitarian, and development non-governmental organization fighting global poverty. It is non-political, non-sectarian and operates annually in more than 70 countries across the globe.One of the organization’s primary focuses in its fight to eradicate...
, a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and the Level Playing Field Institute, an organization devoted to promoting fairness in education and the workplace. She is married to Chris Edley
Christopher Edley, Jr.
Christopher Fairchild Edley, Jr. is Dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law . After receiving his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, he attended Harvard Law School, where he later served as a professor. He is married to Maria Echaveste, former deputy chief of staff...
, whom she met while working together in the Clinton Administration
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
External links
- Faculty Biography
- Center for American Progress
- Backbone Campaign
- http://www.nationwidespeakers.com/speaker/670/48
- Nueva Vista Group
- To the Contrary