NaFFAA is pleased that after months of advocacy and in time for Thanksgiving, Biden is fulfilling his pledge to appoint a diverse group of key White House personnel.
If confirmed, Coloretti, whose mother is Filipino, would be the first Asian American woman to serve as deputy director of OMB.
Coloretti served the Obama administration for almost eight years, most recently as deputy secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As the second-most senior official at HUD, she managed the department’s day-to-day operations and cross-cutting program initiatives, including a $45 billion annual budget and approximately 8,000 employees.
Before joining HUD, Coloretti spent five years at the US Department of the Treasury, most recently as the assistant secretary for management. She oversaw all operational areas including the development and execution of the department’s budget, performance, and strategic planning processes; procurement; human resources; information technology; and management of Treasury’s headquarters and bureaus. At Treasury, she also helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as its acting chief operating officer.
Before joining the Obama administration in 2009, Coloretti spent four years as policy adviser and budget director for San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. Coloretti’s prior experience includes work in San Francisco to improve the lives of children, youth, and families; budget analysis in the Clinton administration’s Office of Management and Budget and for the State of Hawaii; and economic consulting.
Together with Shalanda Young as Director and as women leader of color, Coloretti will oversee all budget development and execution and has significant influence over the President’s agenda.
The role of Deputy Director of OBM is considered among the federal government’s top positions. Especially with the Infrastructure Deal and the Build Back Better bill being the centerpiece of Biden’s domestic and economic agenda, Young and Coloretti will handle a potentially multi-trillion dollar package to expand the nation’s social safety net.
The director and deputy director serve as senior adviser to the President on the economy and will be primarily responsible for producing Biden’s annual budget request.
“NaFFAA congratulates Nani Coloretti for this momentous nomination. We applaud President Biden for selecting two women of color to lead the largest component of the Executive Office of the President. ” said Brendan Flores, NaFFAA National Chairman. “If confirmed, Coloretti would be the highest ranking Filipino American in US government in any administration, and her confirmation would strengthen the visibility and representation of the Filipino American and Asian American community on a national scale.”
Coloretti’s nomination comes on the heels of almost 20 Filipino Americans holding key roles in the Administration.
