Angela E Washington

This principle has always stuck with me, and I knew my career needed to involve social justice advocacy. I wanted to improve the quality of life for at-risk communities in the United States. Before my career in the federal government, I worked in employment and labor rights nonprofits. For the last 10 years, I have been with the U.S. Department of Justice where I'm a legislative and policy analyst in the Civil Rights Division. Our mission is to safeguard the civil rights of all people in the United States by enforcing federal laws and coordinating policy and legislative initiatives across the executive branch.

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A highlight of my time in federal service was working across federal agencies in 2014 to issue non-discrimination principles to guide federal, state, and local governments' response to the Ebola virus. We were tracking alleged discrimination against those who were from or perceived to be from an African country or of African descent. People were denied access to public benefits, housing, education, and employment, out of unfounded fear, hysteria, and prejudice. That project was emblematic of why I love public service. We learned about the issues a class of people were facing and strategized how we could use our position as law enforcement agencies to communicate that the civil rights of all people must be respected and founded in science and law. The lessons learned have remained significant during the pandemic and will for whenever we're amidst a public health emergency.

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