Tanya Clay House is the Director of the Public Policy Department at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Mrs. House works closely with all Committee projects focusing on core issues such as education, voting rights, employment discrimination, fair housing, affirmative action, criminal justice, immigration and other racial diversity issues.
As Director, Mrs. House serves as the principal representative for the Lawyers’ Committee on Capitol Hill coordinates the Committee’s policy with state and local legislative bodies. Mrs. House manages the Lawyers’ Committee’s communications with the White House, as well as federal and state agencies and is responsible for preparing testimony for Congressional Committee, state, and local hearings and panels. She also oversees the Judicial Diversity Program of the Lawyers’ Committee.
Mrs. House formerly served as the Public Policy Director at People For the American Way (PFAW). She also served as the policy liaison for the African American Ministers Leadership Council, a program of PFAW Foundation., and was responsible for the development of numerous reports on education, voting rights, and other civil rights issues.
Mrs. House formerly served as the Public Policy Director at People For the American Way (PFAW). She also served as the policy liaison for the African American Ministers Leadership Council, a program of PFAW Foundation., and was responsible for the development of numerous reports on education, voting rights, and other civil rights issues.
In 2000, Mrs. House began her political career as Legislative Counsel for United States Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), where she staffed the Congresswoman for the full Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Crime. She also acted as the Congresswoman’s lead staff counsel for the Congressional Children’s Caucus, Women’s Caucus, and the Democratic National Caucus Children’s Task Force. From there, she moved to the Senate to work for United States Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) focusing on civil rights and social policy issues. In particular, she coordinated the informal Pro-Choice Working Group on reproductive rights and helped Senator Boxer to pass the first ever continual authorizing language for after-school programs in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Education Reauthorization bill. Before working on the Hill and before law school, she worked for the Kentucky Department of Education, focusing on the KY Education Reform Act.
Mrs. House was selected as a 2010 NGen (Next Generation) Fellow with the Independent Sector Foundation. The American Express NGen Fellows Program honors 12 under-40 leaders across the country and helps to build the next generation of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders. She was also selected by the Root.com as one of the top 100 African Americans to watch for 2010 and was awarded the 2003 Congressional Black Caucus Chair’s Award for her dedication, leadership and commitment in advancing the cause of civil and human rights for all Americans.
Mrs. House is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Bar Association and is Chair of the Civil Rights Law Section. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, the Rules and Administration Committee of the U.S. Senate, the Committee on House Administration of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Mrs. House has been a guest speaker for numerous panels and national conferences and has been interviewed and quoted by national television, print and radio media, including the NBC Nightly News, Associated Press, C-Span, Washington Post, LA Times, New York Times, USA Today, BET news, the Detroit News, National Public Radio, Roll Call, Regional Network News and others.
Tanya Clay House, formerly of Louisville, Kentucky, earned her B.A cum laude in political science from the University of Michigan, where she excelled as a varsity track athlete. She earned her J.D. from the University of Texas, School of Law in 1999, where she was executive editor of the Texas Journal of Women and the Law and attorney general for the Rocky Mountain Black Law Students Association. Tanya resides outside of Washington, D.C., in Springfield, VA, with her husband, Damon and their young sons Dillon and Tyler.
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