Erika was appointed by President Joe Biden in April 2021 to serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison. At the White House, Erika supports the Administration on a wide array of the President’s priorities and engages with AA and NHPI communities and leaders on important issues such as advancing safety, justice, inclusion, and opportunity for Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities through a whole-of-government approach to racial justice.  

Her past government service includes serving as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Julián Castro in the Obama Administration and was the first-ever Senate Deputy Legislative Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

On Capitol Hill, she was a senior representative of Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Senator Daniel K. Akaka from her home state of Hawai‘i, and at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. 

In the non-profit sector, Erika managed two teams the National Partnership for Women & Families for economic justice and congressional relations advancing workforce and health policies focused through a gender equity and race equity lens. Erika has also led the Government Relations, Advocacy and Community Engagement team at the Anti-Defamation League, which included leading their interreligious and interfaith work.

Moritsugu is a proud graduate of the University Laboratory School in Honolulu Hawaiʻi and attended Brandeis University, the College of William and Mary, and George Washington University Law School. Born in California and raised in Hawaiʻi, Moritsugu lives on Capitol Hill with her husband, Brian, their two children Vianne Leilani and Chester Likeke, their two cats, and one dog.