Burrows has served as an EEOC Commissioner since 2015, and her prior experience includes serving as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice and as General Counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to former Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
“I am deeply honored to be chosen by President Biden to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC’s mission to advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace is particularly critical as we work to rebuild the American economy and address the challenges of systemic discrimination,” Burrows said. “I look forward to working with the President, my colleagues at the Commission, Congress, and the American people to ensure that everyone has a fair chance at success.”
Jocelyn Samuels, who initially joined the EEOC in October 2020, will serve as Vice Chair. She has previously served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services under the Obama Administration. She has also served as an political appointee at the Department of Justice as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Most recently, Samuels served as the Executive Director and Roberta A. Conroy Scholar of Law at the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law.
“It is a privilege to be able to serve the EEOC and the American people in this capacity,” Samuels said. “The EEOC’s mission to eradicate workplace discrimination could not be more critical than at this moment, and I look forward to our work to fully and truly realize the promise of our nation’s civil rights laws.”
