Congressional Chief of Staff Maisha Leek ’03 to Give Keynote Remarks at Cap and Gown Convocation on September 24

Congressional Chief of Staff Maisha Leek ’03 to Give Keynote Remarks at Cap and Gown Convocation on September 24

Trinity graduate Maisha C. Leek ’03 will give the keynote remarks at Cap and Gown Convocation and receive Trinity’s Washington Woman of Genius Award for her outstanding leadership in public service on Saturday, September 24, in the Trinity Center at 5:00 pm.  Leek currently serves as chief of staff to Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), ranking member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.  She is one of the youngest chiefs of staffs on Capitol Hill. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Trinity teaching courses in mass communication and women in leadership.

Prior to earning the chief of staff position, Leek served as Congressman Fattah’s senior policy advisor. In this role she was his liaison to the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, labor groups and state and local activists. During the Bush administration, she was appointed to serve as special assistant to Vice Chair Gracia M. Hillman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent bi-partisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act.

Leek got her start in politics and public service working for the NAACP’s Youth and College Division in Washington, D.C., EMILY’s List, and on congressional races in Kentucky, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Active in her community, Leek is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumnae Association of Trinity College and serves on the board of Operation Understanding, a cross-cultural program intended to build bridges of understanding between African-American and Jewish communities. A Philadelphia native, she earned her bachelor of arts from Trinity with a major in communication in 2003 and earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania.