During his presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden vowed his cabinet would be “the most diverse in history,” and Elizabeth Wilkins is one of the Black women now serving in his administration.
It seems that as president he is living up to that promise. There are more women and people of color in President Biden’s proposed cabinet than in the last four administrations.
“Building a diverse team will lead to better outcomes and more effective solutions to address the urgent crises facing our nation,” he said in a speech in December when announcing some of his cabinet nominees.
His cabinet has record-breaking nominations and fulfills Mr. Biden’s campaign promise to select a team that “looks like America.” The diversity isn’t exclusive to the cabinet nominees. It extends throughout positions in the Biden-Harris Administration.
This month we’ll introduce you to some of the Black women who hold these positions.
Elizabeth Wilkins
Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff
Elizabeth Wilkins served as the Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff for the Biden-Harris Transition.
Prior to joining the transition, Wilkins served in various senior leadership roles at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG), including Senior Counsel for Policy and Chief of Staff.
Prior to joining OAG, Elizabeth served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Elena Kagan of the U.S. Supreme Court, and to then-Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Before law school, Elizabeth served as an urban policy and economic opportunity advisor in the Obama-Biden White House Domestic Policy Council; led field operations in Michigan for President Obama’s 2008 campaign; and worked as a political organizer for the Service Employees International Union.
Wilkins is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School and lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, son and daughter.
