Cristina Killingsworth serves as EDA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs, responsible for EDA’s national programs, including Tech Hubs, Recompete, the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, and the Good Jobs Challenge, legislative and public affairs, and the policy portfolio. Earlier in the Biden-Harris administration, Cristina served as Chief of Staff for the International Trade Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Cristina helped launch and was Vice President at WestExec Advisors, a geopolitical strategic advisory firm. In her prior government service, she was Senior Advisor to the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Director for Strategic Planning at the White House National Security Council, Director for African Affairs at the NSC, and an Examiner in the International Affairs Division of the White House Office of Management and Budget. She started her career as a staffer in the Massachusetts State Senate. Cristina holds a Master of Arts in international affairs from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in humanities and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the proud mom of Simon and June.