Today, Rep. Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced the appointment of Charla Ouertatani as the Committee’s Staff Director. Ms. Ouertatani has held several positions under Rep. Waters during her seven years on Capitol Hill, including Deputy Staff Director, Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director, Staff Director of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, and Professional Staff Member.

“I’m very pleased that Charla is now the Committee’s staff director,” said Ranking Member Waters. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Charla for seven years on a variety of financial services issues and I have full confidence in her abilities to lead the Committee staff as we continue our work on the important issues facing our country.”

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Ouertatani served as the Committee’s Deputy Staff Director, where she managed the day-to-day operations of the Committee and its staff and supervised the implementation of the Ranking Member’s legislative and policy agenda. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director for Rep. Waters, managing the Member’s legislative agenda, including her agenda as Ranking Member of the Capital Markets Subcommittee.  As part of her work on the Capital Markets Subcommittee, Ms. Ouertatani advised the Ranking Member on legislative and policy approaches to a variety of capital markets issues, including key provisions of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. In this role, Ms. Ouertatani also advocated for the Member’s positions on insurance issues before the Committee.

Also an expert in housing policy, Ms. Ouertatani formerly served as Staff Director of the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee. There, she supervised every aspect of the Subcommittee’s operations and helped to devise and execute the Chairwoman’s extensive legislative and oversight agenda, including foreclosure prevention, HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods authorization, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program reforms, and authorization of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

As the Ranking Member’s lead financial services staffer during the conference committee on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Ms. Ouertatani worked on important provisions of the law, including proxy access, the Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion, and an expansion of the NSP.

Prior to joining the Committee, Ms. Ouertatani worked at the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, where she researched and analyzed Housing Choice Voucher and HOPE VI program data to determine the impacts of legislation and HUD policies on housing programs at the nation’s largest housing authorities. Ms. Ouertatani has also worked at the Government Accountability Office and ICF Consulting.

Ms. Ouertatani graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Political Science.  Fluent in French, she received a diploma of international and political sciences from the L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, France. She earned a Master’s of Public Affairs from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

A wife and mother of two small children, Ms. Ouertatani resides in Northern Virginia with her family.

###