William A. Ramos was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Secretary at the U. S. Department of Commerce on May 4, 2009. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, William was the Director of the Washington, DC Office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, leading a team that represents NALEO’s mission related policy and advocacy issues in our nation’s capitol. William’s passion for community service, social and racial justice and the empowerment of the Latino community spans a twenty plus year professional career. Prior to joining the NALEO Educational Fund, William was a member of the National Urban Fellows program where he completed a fellowship for King County Executive Ron Sims in Seattle. William began his career at ASPIRA of Florida, a Puerto Rican organization, dedicated to youth leadership development. In 1996, William was appointed as Director of Policy and Legislation for a Miami-Dade County Commissioner where he served for five years. In 2001, William moved to Washington, DC where he served as Director of Government Relations for Americas Promise, and later joined the YMCA of the USA as Government Relations and Policy Consultant. William earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Florida International University in 1985, and Master of Public Administration from Bernard Baruch College, School of Public Affairs at the City University of New York, through the National Urban Fellows program in 2006.

William has been active in grassroots and national politics in both South Florida and Washington, DC. William is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his work, among them are the 2010 Ana G. Méndez University System Presidential Medal and the St. John’s University School of Law - 2010 Ronald H. Brown Civil Rights and Economic Development Award, named after former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.