Anna Maria Chávez
Chief Executive Officer
Anna Maria Chávez
Chief Executive Officer
Anna Maria Chávez is a lifetime member Girl Scout and an award-winning community leader. Prior to accepting the position of Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, Ms. Chávez served as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (GSSWT). Prior to her leadership roles with Girl Scouts, Ms. Chávez served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Urban Relations and Community Development for the former Governor of Arizona and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. In this position, she promoted the Governor's policies, programs and initiatives through coordination and partnership with City, County, and Tribal Governments, Federal agencies and community organizations. In addition, Ms. Chávez served as the Governor's Policy Advisor to the Arizona Department of Housing and advised the Governor on strategies for coordinating housing and economic development.
Ms. Chávez also advised the Governor on issues impacting the Latino community. She was a catalyst for the creation of the Raul H. Castro Institute which is a "Do Tank" focusing on issues that affect the Latino community in Arizona, emphasizing education, health and human services, as well as leadership and civic participation.
Prior to being appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff, Ms. Chávez served as Governor Napolitano's Director of Intergovernmental Affairs from November 2003 to January 2007. She also served as In-House Counsel and Assistant Director for the Division of Aging & Community Services (DACS) at the Arizona Department of Economic Security. As Assistant Director for DACS, she provided oversight for programs that provided food distribution for the hungry, shelter and supportive services to victims of domestic violence, refugee resettlement services and shelter services for the homeless. She also oversaw the state's adult services programs, which included Adult Protective Services.
Ms. Chávez entered state service after serving as Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Rodney E. Slater. Prior to this appointment, she served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington, D.C. Anna also served as Chief of Staff for SBA's Office of Government Contracting and Minority Enterprise Development. In this position, she provided direct policy, program, and managerial support to the offices of Government Contracting, Size Standards, Technology, and Small Disadvantaged Business Certification and Eligibility. She also served as an advisor to senior SBA and White House officials on a variety of policy issues including civil rights, affirmative action, minority and small business development, procurement reform, and electronic commerce.
From 1996 to 1998, Anna served as Legal Counsel for the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C. She was instrumental in developing Departmental policies in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Adarand v. Peña and assisted with the reauthorization of the agency's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program as part of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). She also served as an attorney advisor in the Office of the Counsel to the President.
Lauded for her work in military affairs, Ms. Chávez is a recipient of The Adjutant General's Medal and the Diversity Champion Leadership Award present by the Arizona National Guard. She was presented with the Exemplary Leadership Award by Valle del Sol in 2008 and was named Woman of the Year at the Latina Excellence Awards in 2007. Since arriving in San Antonio, Anna Maria Chávez received the inaugural ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award in 2010 and was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame in March 2011.
Ms. Chávez holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona, College of Law and a B.A. in American History from Yale University. Bar admissions include U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Arizona Supreme Court, and U.S. Supreme Court. She was also appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court's Committee on Examinations, which is responsible for writing, grading and administrating the Arizona Bar Examination.
