Jason Tengco, Office of Personnel Management’s White House Liaison

Jason Tengco (middle) with President Joseph Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tengco graduated from UCLA with honors with a B.A. in Political Science. He previously served as the National Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs, and as an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) Fellow in the office of former Congressman Mike Honda. Throughout his career, he has participated in fellowships with the New Leaders Council, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Center for Progressive Leadership, and Public Policy and International Affairs Program. He has also served as a delegate to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Young Leaders Summit in Malaysia, and the Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro) in the Philippines. Tengco was the former executive director of NaFFAA, a national affiliation representing four million Filipino Americans.

Gloria Dino Steele, USAID Acting Head

Born and raised in the Philippines, Steele graduated from Maryknoll College with a Business Administration degree and earned a master’s in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University. Before coming to the U.S., she taught Business Economics at Letran Graduate School for Business in Manila. She served as USAID’s Mission Director for the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and Mongolia, from 2010-2015, where she oversaw a program budget of over $500 million. She was a distinguished career member of the U.S. Government’s Senior Executive Service for over 18 years. Her awards include a Presidential Meritorious Executive Award in 2007, Presidential Distinguished Executive Awards in 2008 and 2018, and the Order of Sikatuna award from the President of the Philippines in 2015.

Veronica Valdez, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs

Valdez was born in Manila but grew up in Sydney, Australia. She received a B.S. in International Business from Ohio State University, a master’s in International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, and studied Mandarin at Peking University. She is a Truman National Security Project Fellow. Prior to this new post, she served as a policy advisor to the Commission President at the Port of Seattle and the Secretary of the Navy where she received the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Navy Superior Public Service Award, and Presidential recognition. The Diversity in National Security Network and New America named Valdez as one of the “2020 Asian American Pacific Islander National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders”.

John Santos, Special Assistant at the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs

Before this new appointment, Santos worked in the U.S. Army as the Deputy Press Secretary for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve during a year-long deployment in Kuwait and Iraq. He is joining the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the country’s second-largest federal agency, as a special assistant in the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. He previously served as Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach director at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) where he led the DNC’s efforts to mobilize AAPI voters through a close partnership with the Biden-Harris campaign and community leaders across the country. Santos also has extensive experience in public affairs and communications having served as Western Region press secretary at the DNC.

Angela Dela Cruz Perez, Press Assistant, WH Communications and Press Staff

Perez, a fresh graduate of Georgetown University, was born in New York and raised by Filipino immigrant parents. Perez served as a press assistant and as national communications assistant and communications intern on the Biden-Harris transition team. “I wanted to contribute to the president and vice president-elect’s vision of restoring decency to the White House and fighting for middle-class families,” she said. “The opportunity is nothing short of a dream come true,” she added. She worked as an intern for CBS News Political Unit, at the Georgetown University Office of Communications and for Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Queens).

Camille Calimlim Touton, Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation

Touton credits her mother with giving her the greatest influence in her life. “As an engineer, registered nurse, and a mother to three children, she showed me that you don’t have to choose between personal and professional goals,” she said. Touton holds a BS in Engineering (Civil), BA in Communication Studies, and a Master of Public Policy. She served as Professional Staff for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and was the staff lead on the resiliency provisions enacted as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. She also served as Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the Obama administration. “Her appointment is also historic, as Ms. Touton becomes the first Filipino American to serve in this important agency leadership role,” Rep. Grace Napolitano said. “Ms. Touton is a master of the complicated issues of Western water policy, who fully understands the grave threats posed by climate change and unpredictable drought cycles. She is well respected by the wide spectrum of water leaders, including Democrats and Republicans, federal, state, and local water officials, and non-governmental groups,” Napolitano added.

Michael C. George, Policy Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris

George is the son of Indian and Filipino immigrants. Before joining the new administration. George was a program officer on economic mobility and opportunity for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, studying government and economics, and received a master’s at London School of Economics and the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. He previously worked at the White House National Economic Council during the Obama administration where he worked on anti-poverty policy, education and labor standards. “I’ve devoted my whole career to combating inequality and to ensuring that all of us, not just the powerful, can succeed in our economy,” he said.

The Magazine

Fil-Ams in the Biden-Harris Administration