William A. Ramos

William A. Ramos was appointed by President Joe Biden as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Economic Development Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce in August 2022, and began his tenure as a detailee to the Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Department Commerce.

William is a government affairs expert with extensive experience in government relations, public policy, advocacy, academia and economic development at the intersection of local, state, and national governmental and non-profit organizational levels directly shaping and influencing the issues, policies, and systems that affect the nation.

Prior to joining the President Biden Administration, William was an Adjunct Lecturer and currently serves as a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of the Austin Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, his graduate school alma mater.

In 2009 William was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Secretary at the U. S. Department of Commerce, promoting President Obama’s and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker's "America is Open for Business" agenda with state, local, tribal and territorial elected officials across the country for the full two terms of the Obama Presidency. He was also a member of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status.

William’s passion for community service, social and racial justice and the empowerment of the Latino community and communities of color spans a thirty plus year professional career. William began his career at ASPIRA of Florida, a Puerto Rican youth leadership development organization. He later served as Director of Policy & Legislation for a Miami-Dade County Commissioner. In 2001 William moved to Washington, DC where he served as Director of Government Relations for Americas Promise, The Alliance for Youth, and later joined the YMCA of the USA as Government Relations & Policy Consultant. William was also the Director of the Washington, DC Office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, leading a team representing NALEO’s mission related policy and advocacy issues in our nation’s capital.

William earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the Robert Stemple College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, and has remained an active alumni of FIU serving as President of the FIU in DC Alumni Network, and currently serving as a Founding Member of the FIU Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership Advisory Council.

A 2006 National Urban Fellows alumnus where he served as an Executive Fellow for the King County Executive in Seattle, William is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his work and contributions to society.  William is a highly acclaimed speaker and panelist, and has been regularly featured and quoted on local, national and international print, radio, television and new media in both Spanish and English on issues of importance to the Latino community and the nation.