Deputy Assistant to the President
and
Director of Women's Initiatives and Outreach

Jenny Luray was named Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach in December of 1998. In that capacity, Ms. Luray serves as the President's top advisor on women's issues. In announcing Ms. Luray's appointment, the President noted that her extensive background in the primary issues concerning women will be enormously helpful as the Administration continues its strong advocacy on behalf of women and families.

Ms. Luray was the Legislative Director for Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) from 1995 to 1998. In addition to serving as the Congresswoman's associate staff on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, Ms. Luray played a leadership role on many legislative fronts including family planning and abortion rights, women's health, and school construction legislation. Ms. Luray coordinated the House effort which led to passage of landmark legislation guaranteeing the full range of contraceptive health care to women in federal health employee benefit plans. She also worked closely with advocates to boost federal funding for breast cancer research.

Ms. Luray was a policy analyst with the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Study Group from 1992 to 1995 where she provided information to Congress on domestic economic and social policy issues. From 1987 to 1989, Ms. Luray served as Acting Executive Director and Assistant Director of Harvard University Trade Union Program, the nation's premier academic program for union leaders.

Ms. Luray was the Education and Research Director at the Office Technology Education Project in Boston, where she led workshops for private and public sector managers and employees on the impact of new workplace technologies, and developed legislation to curb electronic monitoring. Ms. Luray also worked as an advocate on behalf of workers injured on the job, coordinating a state-wide campaign in Rhode Island to improve the worker's compensation system.

Over the course of her career, Jenny has designed and led numerous skills training sesssions for union women, legislative advocates, and female political candidates.

Ms. Luray earned an M.A. from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in 1991 and an A.B. in Sociology from Brown University in 1983.