Keynote Address: Angela Rye '05

Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies

High-profile political strategist Angela Rye is a social justice advocate and lawyer who graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2005. As a champion for diverse communities everywhere, Rye provides thoughtful yet incisive commentary about justice, politics, culture, and history. In her many media appearances, she aims to spark much-needed conversation about the state of America.

Born and raised in Seattle, Rye attended Holy Names Academy and University of Washington prior to law school. Her early career was spent as a legislative advocate, including as a staff member for California Rep. Maxine Waters. She served as the executive director and general counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus for the 112th Congress and as the senior policy advisor and counsel for the House Committee on Homeland Security for four years.

Rye is Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy, social impact, and racial equity firm based in Washington, DC.  With more than 15 years of political strategy and social responsibility experience, she has worked with every branch of government and has developed award-winning strategic partnerships between the nation’s most well-known civil and human rights organizations and corporate and government partners.

Rye’s notable media appearances include HBO, TV One, CNN, ABC, NBC, NPR, and ESPN, and she has been featured in several publications, including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Essence, Washington Post, Glamour, Ebony, and the Undefeated.