The Biden-Harris administration on Thursday announced its senior political appointees for the U.S. Education Department (ED), including a former community college student.
Among the dozen appointees is Rich William, who would serve as chief of staff for the office of postsecondary education. He most recently helped to lead an initiative at Pew Charitable Trusts on policies to better support student loan borrowers. Prior to that, Williams led efforts to strengthen consumer protections for college students at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and helped craft higher education policy and strategy as a senior higher education policy advisor for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Williams is a first-generation college graduate who received a bachelor’s degree in history from Northern Arizona University after attending Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The administration also named Ben Miller, vice president for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress, as temporary senior advisor to the chief of staff. Previously, Miller was a senior policy advisor in ED’s office of planning, evaluation and policy development.
