Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Shuwanza Goff
The Center for Effective Lawmaking is excited to welcome Shuwanza Goff to our Board of Advisors.
Ms. Goff has distinguished herself as a leader in national politics, with an accomplished career spanning over 15 years. Beginning her career on Capitol Hill in 2008 in the Office of former House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), she demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities across multiple roles in Rep. Hoyer’s office before making history in 2019 as the first African American woman to serve as Floor Director for the House of Representatives under the Majority Leader. In this groundbreaking role, she exercised strategic oversight of the House legislative agenda, wielding significant influence in determining which bills reached the House floor, managing the legislative calendar, and directing the Democratic Party’s vote-counting operation. Her leadership was instrumental in shaping and executing the House Democratic agenda.
Ms. Goff brought her talents to the Executive Branch in January of 2021 when she joined the Biden-Harris Administration as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. In this capacity, she played a pivotal role in the Administration’s most significant legislative achievements, including the successful passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, while managing critical bipartisan relationships between the White House and Congress. Following a brief period in the private sector, she was asked if she would rejoin the White House in September of 2023 as Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs. In this position, she led the entire operation charged with advancing President Biden’s agenda on Capitol Hill. Her executive leadership was particularly evident in early 2024, when she served as the principal liaison between the White House and Capitol Hill in securing the passage of a crucial Ukraine aid package. Her deep relationships across party lines, cultivated over more than a decade on Capitol Hill, have earned her recognition as a proven leader and trusted voice on both sides of the aisle.
Originally from Virginia, Ms. Goff holds degrees from the University of Tennessee and American University. Her unique combination of strategic insight, legislative expertise, and proven ability to build bipartisan consensus has established her as one of Washington’s most effective legislative strategists.
We look forward to working closely with Ms. Goff and engaging with her expertise to promote effective lawmaking.
