Ann Flagg serves as the director of the Office of Family Assistance (OFA). Prior to her appointment in the Biden Administration in July 2022, she served as the senior director of policy and practice at the American Public Human Services Association. In this role, Flagg led the organization’s policy and practice supports to state and local public human services agencies across child welfare, child care, economic assistance, workforce and family supporting systems and agency administration. She led work in designing national peer learning networks, advancing human services policy solutions across state and federal partners and delivering technical assistance and leadership development support to state and local health and human services administrators.
Flagg previously served in several leadership positions in the Maryland Department of Human Services, providing program leadership to the state’s economic and emergency assistance, and child support, child welfare and child support programs. During her tenure in state service, she focused on cross-program and interagency initiatives including workforce development system alignment across human services agencies, and oversight of the state’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and Commission on Intergenerational Poverty. Flagg also brings more than ten years of program management and external affairs in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, including design and administration of workforce development, child welfare and behavioral health and housing direct service programs in greater Baltimore. She holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from Towson University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Baltimore.
La Sherra Ayala serves as Deputy Director of the OFA. As Deputy Director, she is the principal advisor to the Director on all aspects of managing the OFA. Ayala provides overall guidance and direction for the work of OFA including developing short-and long-term national strategies to improve implementation of State, Tribal and Territorial TANF programs, Native Employment Works (NEW) programs, OFA’s discretionary grant programs including Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grants, and the Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled (AABD) programs in the territories. Strategies include policy development and implementation, pro-active technical assistance, dissemination of program findings and data, and the development of annual federal budget requests and legislative proposals.
Prior to joining the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in August 2023, Ayala served as Executive Director of the Family Investment Administration, at the Maryland Department of Human Services, overseeing the State’s economic supports programs. She led teams responsible for policy development and implementation, and technical assistance across Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. Ayala provided executive leadership for the state’s food security, cash assistance, energy assistance, medical assistance, workforce development, and refugee and asylee resettlement programs, among other initiatives. During her tenure serving as Executive Director, she focused on cross-program and operational initiatives including modernizing the state’s eligibility system and collaborating with innovative partners to transform the client experience.
An experienced leader in state human services program administration, Ayala began her public service career as a public assistance eligibility worker. She brings extensive policy knowledge, implementation and systems change expertise, proven skills in community engagement, and a passion for staff and team development. During her 12 years in state human services, Ayala served in several leadership roles providing leadership to program areas including audit compliance, reporting, systems development and management, policy compliance, customer service performance, local department operations, and program integrity.