Anna Maria Farias is an American lawyer and government official who currently serves as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Prior to assuming her current role, Farias served as vice chair of the Republican Party of

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

from 2015 through 2017. Farias is also chair of the Board of Regents at

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...

Early life and education

Farias grew up in the

housing projects Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

Crystal City, Texas Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,354 at the 2020 census. It was settled as a farming and ranching community and was a major railroad stop being from San Antonio. Spinach ...

. She was high school

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

and earned a scholarship to attend

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, where she received a B.A. with honors. Farias has a J.D. from

Temple University Beasley School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...

and was a fellow at Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Career

Anna Maria Farias, Assistant Secretary of HUD on July 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas

From 1980 to 1985, Farias was an attorney with the

United States Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for federa ...

. From 1985 to 1988, she worked for

United States Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on ...

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

. Farias served as counsel to a member of the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

from 1989 to 1992. From 1992 to 1993, she was a member of the Wage Appeals Board and Board of Service Contract Appeals at the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploym ...

. From 1993 through 2000, Farias was executive director of the Housing Authority of

, her hometown. From 2001 to 2008, Farias served as senior counsel to former

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

Mel Martínez Melquíades Rafael Ruiz Martínez (born October 23, 1946) is a Cuban-American lobbyist and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Florida from 2005 to 2009 and as general chairman of the Republican Party from November 200 ...

and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Initiatives, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, and Director for the

White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, formerly the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) is an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President ...

. Farias serves on the board of directors for the One Star Foundation in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. She was inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans, or a resident of Texas at the time of th ...

in 2000. Farias served as vice chair of the Republican Party of

from 2015 to 2017, when she was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. She is the current chairwoman of the Board of Regents at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farias, Anna Maria Living people Boston University alumni Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Texas Republicans Reagan administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel Trump administration personnel Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Year of birth missing (living people) People from Crystal City, Texas 21st-century American women