Shuwanza Goff is an American political advisor serving as the deputy director of the

White House Office of Legislative Affairs The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The ...

. In January 2019, she was named

floor director Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

for legislative operations for

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House majority leader, House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat ...

, making her the first African-American woman to serve as floor director.

Early life and education

Shuwanza Goff lived in New York City, alongside her sister April, as a child. Her parents are Robert and Hershular Smith-Goff. In the 1990s, the family moved to Mechanicsville, Virginia. Goff attended a private school in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Goff became interested in politics at a young age. When Goff was young, her parents used to take her and her sister with them on Election Day to vote. They would let Goff pull the voting machine lever to submit their votes. The family talked about politics regularly at dinner. When David Dinkins lost to

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

in New York City's 1993 mayoral race, Goff wrote a letter to Dinkins expressing her frustration.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

visited Goff's school when Goff was in the fourth grade. The fourth graders did not get to see Clinton, resulting in Goff holding a protest to bring attention to the fact the grade didn't get to see Clinton. In high school, Goff decided to attend the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

after a student at the university spoke to Goff's class in high school. Goff earned her bachelor's degree in political science in 2006. She earned her Master of Arts degree in justice, law, and society from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in 2008. She served as an intern on Capitol Hill.

Career

In 2008, Goff joined

's office as staff assistant with the intention to leave the position at the end of the congressional cycle. However, by 2012 she was serving as Hoyer's deputy director of legislative operations. In January 2019, Goff was named floor director for legislative operations for Hoyer. Goff was the first African American woman to serve as floor director. In this position, Goff communicates across party lines, negotiating on behalf of the Democrats, preparing the agenda and schedule for bills, and wider coordination between Congress, the Senate, and the White House. Goff was named deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, alongside

Reema Dodin Reema Dodin is an American political advisor serving as the deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs in the Biden administration. Upon taking office, she became the highest ranking Palestinian-American woman to serve in the ...

, for the Biden administration in November 2020. In February, 2023, it was reported she would be leaving the White House to join the lobbying firm Cornerstone Government Affairs.

Personal life

Goff lives in northern Virginia.

References

External links

Shuwanza Goff's profile
from the Biden-Harris Transition website {{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Shuwanza Living people African-American people American University alumni University of Tennessee alumni Biden administration personnel People from New York City People from Mechanicsville, Virginia Year of birth missing (living people)