Panthers in Politics

Mary Christina Riley

Bachelor of Arts ’11

College of Arts & Sciences

House Committee on Education & the Workforce at the U.S. House of Representatives for Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05)

Mary Christina Riley (B.A. ’11) advises U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor on issues in higher education, meets with constituents and higher education stakeholders, drafts legislation and helps prepare committee members for congressional hearings. Riley has more than eight years of experience working for members of Congress or in congressional offices. She previously served as legislative director for Congressman Rick W. Allen (R-GA), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and held roles handling education and workforce issues as professional policy staff member for Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) and former Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).

Riley also served as senior advisor in the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, where she led legislative efforts to streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), provide funding for Minority Serving Institutions, reinstate Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals and worked with Congress on crafting COVID-19 relief provisions in the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Currently the vice president of membership for the Georgia State Society in Washington, Riley is also a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and Pi Sigma Alpha political science honors society.