Government Leadership Positions
Office For Victims of Crime Director
Aileen was appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate in 1993 as the nation's top advocate for crime victims, overseeing a budget of $500 million and a staff of 30.
As OVC Director, she streamlined regulations; established the first federal training center for victim advocates (The National Victim Assistance Academy); increased dramatically the funding for more than 3,000 local victim services agencies; oversaw the comprehensive federal response to victims of the Oklahoma City bombing; and established a crisis response program to assist communities in the aftermath of crimes, including school shootings. She promoted promising practices for all those who interact with crime victims (e.g. police, prosecutors, and judges) and oversaw the writing of the nation's most comprehensive guide to exemplary victims' programs: New Directions from the Field: Rights and Services for the 21st Century. Under her leadership, OVC funded many demonstration sites to showcase interdisciplinary services, and
Aileen incorporated examples of promising victims practices into the countless speeches delivered at conferences around the country. For her accomplishments, she received the John
Heinz Leadership Award from the National Organization for Victim Assistance in 1996 and the Bud Kramer Award for Outstanding Leadership from the National Network of Children's Advocacy Centers in 1997.
Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency
From January 1999 to November 2003, Aileen served as a member of California Governor Gray Davis' Cabinet as the Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency. She oversaw 12 departments, 15,000 employees, and an annual operating budget of $1.1 billion. State Departments under her leadership were those responsible for consumer protection, civil rights enforcement, state procurement and building construction, and franchise taxes, as well as two nationally recognized museums and the two largest pension funds in the country. In addition, the Governor asked her to lead two major initiatives: the building of UC Merced (the first UC campus constructed in 40 years) and the Flex Your Power campaign, the comprehensive state response to its massive energy crisis.
Governor Davis asked her to head the UC Merced Red Team, where she coordinated all state agencies' responses to the university's many building and environmental issues, cutting red tape and streamlining permits, as well as ensuring energy efficiency and protection of endangered species. As a result, the campus was completed early and under budget. It was widely regarded as one of the most sustainable campuses ever built and was recognized at the federal level by First Lady Michelle Obama who delivered the commencement speech to its first graduating class. In 2012, Aileen received the UC Merced Founders Award from UC Merced Trustees for the pivotal role she played in building and opening the campus.
Coordinating the state's response to its 2021 energy crisis, Aileen oversaw the comprehensive Flex Your Power campaign, which enlisted every sector and resident to reduce energy consumption through massive educational programs and television advertising. The campaign, which resulted in a record 7% decline in statewide energy use and a 22% decline in use at major state buildings, won the 2003 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Aileen also presided over the State Building Standards Commission and helped to pass the most energy efficient building standards in the world for California.
In addition, Aileen was appointed by the Governor to form and oversee the State Sustainable Building Task Force, which reinvented the way that state government constructed buildings. The task force, which included representatives from 40 state departments, brought together as a team all-state environmental and building agencies and incorporated environmentally responsible building practices and design excellence into hundreds of state building projects. Accomplishments included building the first LEED Gold state-owned office building in the country, the Education Headquarters, which saved taxpayers over $500,000 a year in energy costs alone.