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Director, Government Relations

Tess Mason-Elder is the AmeriCorps Government Relations director. She has supported AmeriCorps efforts in political advocacy, coalition building, partnership development and national service awareness to address a diverse range of domestic policy priorities since 2015.

Prior to joining AmeriCorps, Mason-Elder served as a senior policy analyst at Civic Enterprises, a social enterprise firm, where she worked on national service, civic engagement, and education policy. Mason-Elder has served in several positions in government administrations including assistant deputy Secretary of State for Voter Education and Outreach Services in California. She also served as executive fellow and legislative affairs associate at CaliforniaVolunteers, the governor-appointed state service commission.

Mason-Elder earned a bachelor's in government and religious studies from Claremont McKenna College (Calif.) and a master's in public administration from American University.