AACRAO would like to welcome William Gil as Director of Government Relations.
"We were very pleased to have a well-qualified pool of applicants for our Director of Government Relations position,” said AACRAO Executive Director Mike Reilly. “William brings a strong background in higher education policy, including experience with higher education associations and on Capitol Hill. He will be a great addition to AACRAO."
Gil will be AACRAO’s “eyes and ears” with the presidential administration and Congress.
“I believe that it’s important for AACRAO to be at the table when issues that impact our constituency are being discussed,” Gil said. “My main goal is to ensure that the AACRAO voice is part of higher education debate and that decision makers have a clear sense of how proposed policy and/or regulatory changes could impact our our membership, which is a critical voice within the higher education community.”
Some of the issues pending before Congress include the reauthorization of the the Higher Education Act, a major piece of legislation which has not been reauthorized in several Congresses. Senators have floated a couple of concept papers asking for feedback from the higher education community, including AACRAO members, who are major stakeholders on issues such as records, privacy, accountability, accreditation and program integrity. Federal student financial aid, including pell grants, college affordability, and data reporting, is also an AACRAO issue.
Gil has worked with Congressional members and staff for nearly twenty years. He served as a Legislative Assistant and Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and was a registered lobbyist with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), where he worked to increase capacity building funds for HSIs. Most recently he served as the point person regarding education policy as Vice President of Programs for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).
The AACRAO office will be a great fit for Gil professionally and personally. “Everyone here has been friendly, and I’m really impressed by their commitment to AACRAO’s mission,” Gil said. “Many of the people here have worked here for a long time and are really passionate about what they’re doing.”
And Gil has also learned how to deal with the stress that working on Capitol Hill can bring. He and his family (his wife is an attorney for HUD) enjoy an active, outdoorsy lifestyle--including hiking, biking, and trips to the mountains. Gil also coaches his boys’ (who are 10 and 12) soccer and baseball teams.