Former Director of Domestic Policy Council, Obama Administration, Immigration Policy Expert, Author
Cecilia Muñoz: Biography at a Glance
- Cecilia Muñoz was a Senior Advisor to President Obama, making history as the first Latinx to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council
- As Obama’s domestic policy adviser, and in her previous role as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Muñoz was instrumental in implementing policies to improve education, access to health care, jobs and the economy for the Latino community
- She is a Senior Advisor at New America and a Senior Fellow at Results for America, a nonprofit that advances the use of data and evidence in policy making
- Author of More than Ready: Be Strong and Be you....and Other Lessons for Women of Color on the Rise, an inspirational and informative memoir that is full of invaluable lessons and thoughtful insight about working through fear, facing down detractors, and leading with kindness
- Washington’s leading expert on immigration policy, Muñoz was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship for her work on immigration and civil rights
Videos
Biography
Cecilia Muñoz served for eight years on President Obama’s senior staff, first as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, then as Director of the Domestic Policy Council, making her the first Hispanic person to serve in the role. She is now a Senior Advisor at New America focused on public interest technology, and a Senior Fellow at Results for America, a nonprofit that advances the use of data and evidence in policy making.
Before working in government, Muñoz was Senior Vice President at the National Council of La Raza (now UNIDOS US), the nation’s largest Hispanic policy and advocacy organization, where she served for 20 years.
Muñoz is the author of More than Ready: Be Strong and Be you....and Other Lessons for Women of Color on the Rise, an offering of advice and inspiration to women of color who are no longer willing to be invisible or left behind. Full of invaluable lessons about working through fear, facing down detractors, and leading with kindness, she provides the thoughtful insight and tactical tools to be successful-without compromising who you are.
Muñoz was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 2000 for her work on immigration and civil rights. She serves on the Boards of the Open Society, MacArthur, Joyce and Kresge Foundations, as well as several nonprofits.
Topics
An Inside Look at Public Policy
Muñoz has been a policymaker for three decades; she was the first Latina to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council, and served longer in that role than anyone in the nation’s history. In addition to her expertise on immigration and civil rights, she is also expert in education, health care and a range of domestic policy issues. Preparing for a world of change, Muñoz is currently a Vice President at New America, where she is building strategies to address the ways that technology is changing everything from how we work to how we govern. In particular, she is working to build a field of public interest technology.
Ready to Lead: Women, Latinas and Women of Color
The only woman of color in the room for much of her career, Muñoz has stories from the front lines that echo the experiences of other women of color. She describes strategies she deployed for beating back impostor syndrome when a top aide to the President suggested that she was a ‘diversity hire,’ or the time when a U.S. Senator complimented her on her English. Juggling work, life and family. Muñoz talks about the strong traditional female role models she had in her mom and her aunts… and also the pressure to be a super-mom for her own kids while serving community and country. More than ready to lead, women of color will be the majority of women in America by 2060 according to Catalyst; they play crucial roles in the economy and the political system as entrepreneurs, as voters, and as community leaders. The country is more than ready for what we bring, and we are more than ready to bring it.
Hispanic Heritage and The American Dream
Muñoz spent two decades at the National Council of La Raza (now Unidos US) and can speak to the history and contributions of the nation’s Hispanic community as well as what they offer to the nation’s future. From the front lines of reform and policy implementation, Muñoz won a MacArthur “genius” award for her work on immigration and civil rights and is a frequent speaker on these topics. Her experience as a child of immigrants from Bolivia who raised their family in Michigan set her resolve to ensure that the doors of opportunity remain open to future generations to also achieve the American Dream.
Spirit of Service: Building Community
On building community values across difference, Muñoz, a Michigan native from a conservative Congressional district, reflects on the Michigan neighbors who supported her family through her parents’ illnesses, while also supporting a President hostile to her family’s very presence in the country. A powerful voice for diversity and inclusion, Muñoz speaks about the value of having more women of color at the table. Decision makers in every sector are beginning to realize that when there aren’t women of color at the table where decisions are being made, they are missing talent and undercutting their capacity to understand their customers and the people they serve. But change is coming too slowly; success will take deliberate effort. Muñoz shares advice with audiences on how to build a stronger, more diverse community within their organization. She inspires younger generations to engage with their community, get involved in the debates that will directly affect their futures, and do their part to make this country and this world a better place for everyone.
