Angela Sailor

Angela Sailor

Former Vice President, The Feulner Institute

Angela served as vice president of The Feulner Institute at The Heritage Foundation.

This expert is no longer a staff member at The Heritage Foundation.

Angela Sailor was an executive with 20 plus years of experience delivering measurable achievements in both in-house and advisory roles working with government (White House, Congress, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Education), corporate, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and non-profit organizations (NPOs). Most recently she served as Deputy to the President and Founder of The Gloucester Institute the Honorable Kay Coles James, President, as a public member of the Senior Foreign Service Selection Board for the United States Department of State, and adjunct professor for Georgetown University’s Continuing School of Education.

 

Sailor has also worked to promote policy through public sector leadership positions at the federal, state and local levels. Serving in The White House Office of Public Liaison, Sailor successfully formed coalitions to support Presidential policy initiatives while driving stakeholder support and advancing strategic communication to traditional and niche markets. Her portfolio included domestic policy directly impacting the African-American and Senior Citizen communities. She served as a champion for Presidential policies supporting Education, Faith-based initiatives, Health Care, Housing, Small Business, Social Security and Welfare policy. As a White House surrogate, Angela hosted White House briefings, East Room and Rose Garden events with the President, as well as, regional and local town hall meetings with cabinet and senior Administration officials.

 

She served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the United States Department of Education, Office of Secretary Rod Paige. In this role, Sailor worked closely with the White House on a wide variety of policy matters coming before the Secretary and represented the Secretary to internal and external stakeholders. She had oversight of White House Initiatives on Educational Excellence and Higher Education, as well as the Office for Faith-Based Initiatives. Special Projects included No Child Left Behind War Room, 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board Education and the Title IX Commission on Opportunities in Athletics. She worked for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration for former U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham. Also, her roles at the state and local level include work in Michigan’s Legal Office for longtime Republican Governor John Engler, for the State of Michigan Appeals Court, Detroit, Michigan and for Detroit Michigan Wayne County Commission.

 

Sailor has been on the front lines working for the election of conservative leaders to federal and state offices. As National Coalitions Director, Department Head and Senior Advisor at the Republican National Committee, Sailor held budget management and oversight of three departments – Coalitions and Strategic Communications (internal/external), Constituent Services, and the RNC Internship Program. In this capacity, Angela was charged with building a new department, leading program design, planning, logistics, fundraising, cross-cultural messaging, cultural training, alliances, online engagement, roundtable discussions, promotion, and engagement. A signature project included creating and directing operations for a national bus tour covering 14,000 miles, 48 states, and 100+ cities, for which Angela oversaw 200 staff and volunteers and managed the operation at 45% under projected budget.

 

Sailor also served as Director of African-American Affairs, for George W. Bush’s Victory 2000 Presidential Campaign. In this capacity, she served as liaison to Congressional, state, and local African-American Republican candidates. Sailor built stronger alliances with urban-centered businesses, community, education and religious leaders across America, and she managed coalition field staff and volunteers across the country.

 

Sailor's corporate experiences include serving as a Partner for Watts Consulting Group where Sailor managed government and legislative advocacy, crisis management, crisis communications, political, cultural analysis and thought leadership for clients such as John Deere, NASCAR, Strong American Schools, and Wells Fargo. She also built private/public partnerships among Universities, Congressional Offices, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and trade associations.

 

Her early career includes Manager of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce; Communications, Sales and Marketing Strategist for Black Entertainment Television; and Sales and Marketing for Procter and Gamble. Media experiences include serving as a radio host with WGTZ 93 Dayton, Ohio, WCSU-FM 88.9, and as a freelance producer with Fox Morning News, Washington, D.C.

 

Sailor holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University. She is married with two children.