RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced he has chosen Angela Sailor to be Virginia’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Governor Youngkin also issued Executive Order #10, designating Sailor as a member of his cabinet as the Commonwealth Chief Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion Officer with a stronger and more focused role on promoting ideas, policies, and economic opportunities for disadvantaged Virginians, including Virginians living with disabilities and bringing Virginians of different faiths together.
“The people of Virginia elected the most diverse leadership in the Commonwealth’s history. Virginia is big enough for the hopes and dreams of a diverse people. Angela Sailor’s experience in government, nonprofits and the private sector will guide us as we ensure that the government is working for all Virginians across our diverse Commonwealth, especially when it comes to economic opportunity for all Virginians. In addition, I will introduce and support legislation to change the name of the office to the Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion Office,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Click here to read a full copy of Executive Order #10
Angela Sailor, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
Angela Sailor is an executive with 20 plus years of experience delivering measurable achievements in both in-house and advisory roles working with government (White House, Congress, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Education), corporate, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and non-profit organizations (NPOs). Her most recent positions include, Vice President of The Feulner Institute at The Heritage Foundation, Chief of Staff to Heritage’s President Kay Coles James and public member of the Senior Foreign Service Selection Board for the United States Department of State.
Sailor has also worked to promote policy through public sector leadership positions at the federal, state and local levels. Serving in The White House Office of Public Liaison, Sailor successfully formed coalitions to support Presidential policy initiatives while driving stakeholder support and advancing strategic communication to traditional and niche markets. Her portfolio included domestic policy directly impacting the AfricanAmerican and Senior Citizen communities. She served as a champion for Presidential policies supporting Education, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Faith-based initiatives, Health Care, Housing, Small Business, Social Security and Welfare policy. As a White House surrogate, Angela hosted White House briefings, East Room and Rose Garden events with the President, as well as, regional and local town hall meetings with cabinet and senior Administration officials.
She served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the United States Department of Education, Office of Secretary Rod Paige. In this role, Sailor worked closely with the White House on a wide variety of policy matters coming before the Secretary and represented the Secretary to internal and external stakeholders. She had oversight of White House Initiatives on Educational Excellence and Higher Education to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as the Office for Faith-Based Initiatives. Special Projects included No Child Left Behind War Room, 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board Education and the Title IX Commission on Opportunities in Athletics. She worked for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration for former U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham. Also, her roles at the state and local level include work in Michigan’s Legal Office for longtime Republican Governor John Engler, for the State of Michigan Appeals Court, Detroit, Michigan and for Detroit Michigan Wayne County Commission.
Sailor has been on the front lines working for the election of conservative leaders to federal and state offices. As National Coalitions Director, Department Head and Senior Advisor at the Republican National Committee, Sailor held budget management and oversight of three departments – Coalitions and Strategic Communications (internal/external), Constituent Services, and the RNC Internship Program. In this capacity, Angela was charged with building a new department, leading program design, planning, logistics, fundraising, cross-cultural messaging, cultural training, alliances, online engagement, roundtable discussions, promotion, and engagement. A signature project included creating and directing operations for a national bus tour covering 14,000 miles, 48 states, and 100+ cities, for which Angela oversaw 200 staff and volunteers and managed the operation at 45% under projected budget.
Sailor also served as Director of African-American Affairs, for George W. Bush’s Victory 2000 Presidential Campaign. In this capacity, she served as liaison to Congressional, state, and local African-American Republican candidates. Sailor built stronger alliances with urban-centered businesses, community, education and religious leaders across America, and she managed coalition field staff and volunteers across the country.
Sailor’s corporate experiences include serving as a Partner for Watts Consulting Group where Sailor managed government and legislative advocacy, crisis management, crisis communications, political, cultural analysis and thought leadership for clients such as John Deere, NASCAR, Strong American Schools, and Wells Fargo. She also built private/public partnerships among Universities, Congressional Offices, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and trade associations.
Her early career includes Manager of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce; Communications, Sales and Marketing Strategist for Black Entertainment Television; and Sales and Marketing for Procter and Gamble. Media experiences include serving as a radio host with WGTZ 93 Dayton, Ohio, WCSU-FM 88.9, and as a freelance producer with Fox Morning News, Washington, D.C.
Sailor holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University. She attended Spelman College and graduated from Central State University. She is married with two children.
