Ms Verdugo’s extensive experience includes leading the Washington, DC office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the nation’s preeminent Latino civil rights organizations; serving in President Clinton’s administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs, where she directed and supervised civil legislative agenda for the Division of Civil Rights and other Department divisions; working as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard of California; and serving as Executive Director of Americans for a Fair Chance, a collaborative civil rights project. From 2002 to 2003, Ms Verdugo was Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego, California, where she advised on border crimes and civil rights enforcement for the Department, and from 2004 to 2008 she was Associate Counsel for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she provided legal and policy advice, and advised the District on civil rights, First Amendment, and other issues affecting the students and the school district. Just prior to joining OCR, Ms. Verdugo was a Partner in private practice in Los Angeles representing public entities. Ms. Verdugo received her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and her law degree from the University of San Francisco. She also received a Master of Laws degree from the University of London (King’s College/London School of Economics), and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School, Harvard University.