As managing director of government relations at the Roosevelt Institute, Elly Kugler works with members of Congress and the executive branch to identify and pursue opportunities to translate paradigm-shifting ideas into policy, legislation, rules, and other effective actions.
Before coming into Roosevelt, Elly served from day one of the Biden-Harris administration as senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, moving forward key administration priorities around eviction prevention and tenant rights, equity, and overcoming barriers to housing for groups including LGBTQI+ individuals. Elly was senior counsel for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a clinical teaching fellow instructing on legislative and regulatory advocacy at Georgetown University School of Law, federal policy director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and a staff attorney representing veterans experiencing homelessness and low-income tenants facing eviction at Inner City Law Center on Skid Row in Los Angeles.
Elly has an LLM from Georgetown University School of Law, a JD from University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA from University of Maryland, College Park. Elly is proud to directly benefit from paradigm-shifting programs and policies, including rent control, public service loan forgiveness, and reasonable accommodations.