Mary Ann Lara
Social Worker, Public Policy
Las Vegas,NV
Summary
Professional with comprehensive experience in legislative processes, policy analysis, social work and constituent services. Adept at conducting research, and coordinating with various stakeholders to support legislative initiatives. Strong focus on teamwork and delivering impactful results, adapting seamlessly to evolving priorities. Valued for analytical skills, communication abilities, and unwavering reliability in fast-paced environment.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
Work History
Legislative Assistant to Senator Vandana Slatter
Washington State Legislature
Olympia, WA
01.2025 - 09.2026
- Facilitated efficient briefing of senator for hearings, enhancing legislative effectiveness. Produced insightful background reports that influenced key discussions. Provided timely updates on current issues and staffing, ensuring senator's preparedness for sessions.
- Coordinated constituent and stakeholder inquiries as legislative district first point of contact and maintained office records to meet Washington State Public Records Act requirements.
- Achieved timely stakeholder updates through effective monitoring of bill statuses. Streamlined budget and committee legislation tracking for environment energy and technology, higher education and workforce development, and health and long-term care committees.
- Facilitated constituent meetings and managed town hall meeting logistics to strengthen community engagement.
- Partnered with offices of Governor, Attorney General, and Insurance Commissioner to support interagency coordination.
- Oversaw monthly accounting entries for travel expenses and coordinated expense reimbursement documentation.
- Assisted in evaluating policy research and fostering collaboration. Supported a high-volume office by addressing constituent concerns and managing casework. Facilitated policy evaluation research and collaboration efforts. Managed a busy office environment by responding to constituent issues and handling casework. Contributed to policy research evaluation and collaborative initiatives. Balanced a high-traffic office by addressing constituent inquiries and overseeing casework.
- Built and maintained partnerships with community organizations and district partners to support collaborative initiatives.
Legislative Assistant to Representative Vandana Slatter
Washington State House of Representatives
Olympia, WA
12.2023 - 12.2024
- Legislative Assistant to Representative Steve Bergquist
September 2024 – December 2024
Legislative Assistant to Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos
September 2023 – September 2024 - Coordinated office operations, managing calendar, appointments, meetings, travel, and constituent engagements to ensure efficient workflow.
- Policy evaluation, research, and daily bill tracking.
- Meet with constituents on behalf of my representative, organize and plan town hall meetings.
- Correspond with elected officials, committees, external organizations, constituents, and leadership.
- Build strong alliances with district community partners, and organizations.
- Managed high-volume office environment, facilitating constituent communication and casework resolution to address community needs.
- Cultivated partnerships with district community organizations to enhance collaboration and support for constituents.
Financial Coach
Sound Outreach
Tacoma, WA
03.2021 - 09.2023
- Developed personalized financial plans to improve client budgeting and savings strategies.
- Conducted workshops on financial literacy, enhancing community knowledge of money management.
- Partnered with Fusion Homeless Shelter to guide clients toward improved financial stability and independence.
- Conducted outreach, coaching, and counseling on budgeting, credit, and fiscal well-being, fostering informed financial decisions.
- Provided one-on-one coaching sessions, fostering client accountability and goal achievement.
- Improved existing policies to enhance operational efficiency.
- Policy evaluation and improvement.
Clinical Social Work Intern
Sound Health
Tukwila, WA
09.2021 - 08.2022
- Conducted client bio-psychosocial assessments to identify mental health needs and develop treatment plans.
- Conducted direct therapy sessions with clients and families to assess and address mental health and emotional challenges.
- Directed case file management for clients, maintaining accurate, current documentation to enable efficient policy analysis and informed decisions focused on student needs and best interests.
- Assisted in facilitating individual and group therapy sessions under supervision of licensed professionals.
Family Service Specialist, CPS Permanency
State of Nevada Department of Family Services
Las Vegas, NV
01.2020 - 09.2020
- Commitment to prioritize the safety and well-being of all children, including Native children protected by the Indian Child Welfare Act, ICWA.
- Conducted interviews and investigations into suspected abuse, neglect, abandonment, and maltreatment to assess protective capacities and ensure child safety.
- Developed comprehensive case and safety plans addressing current and potential dangers to promote family stability and child well-being.
- Provide referrals, assessments, safety visitation, guidance to families, foster parents, care providers.
- Managed a diverse caseload of clients, ensuring timely follow-up and support, writing court petitions, termination orders, court reports, and DFS policy analysis.
Director of Tribal Donor Relations
American Indian Business Leaders
CA, OR, MT
01.2019 - 07.2019
- Served as communication liaison to raise funds for education and leadership development for American Indians and Alaska Natives in business and entrepreneurial ventures.
- Managed relationships with non-profit partners and tribal councils to facilitate collaboration.
- Fostered partnerships with local businesses and organizations to support entrepreneurial development.
- Led strategic initiatives to enhance economic opportunities for Native American communities.
Assistant Vice President, Senior Business Control Specialist
Bank of America Global Risk
CA, NC
10.2010 - 07.2017
- Executed assessments for Making Home Affordable and Default Servicing Retention programs, ensuring program effectiveness and compliance.
- Team manager for Advocacy, Home Retention, and offshore testing team. Mentor and develop team members collaborating with non-profit partners to successfully modify mortgages to avoid foreclosure including NACA.
- Led communication partnerships between test execution, senior risk and compliance officers, line of business partners and executives.
- Facilitated communication between test execution, senior risk and compliance officers, and business partners to align objectives and enhance collaboration.
- Coordinated evaluation, testing, reporting, and remediation validation of MHA results to uphold compliance with regulations and procedures.
- Led interstate hiring team in Charlotte, NC. Implemented successful teamwork strategies.
Senior Business Control Specialist
Bank of America Legacy Asset Servicing
NV, CA, VA, DE
10.1998 - 10.2010
- Led team of 10 Resolution Specialist associates in resolving complaints for Deposit, Card, and Mortgage accounts, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Performing up to thirty account audits daily to ensure compliance.
- Daily reporting to senior leadership on the progression of complaints and overall inventory movement.
- Expertise in audit, high-risk relationships, and retention services.
- Facilitated relationship building with internal teams to enhance collaboration, ongoing communications with operating groups, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and Advocacy.
- Directed resource utilization strategies to optimize quality of results and customer experience.
- Director of resource utilization to receive the highest quality results and experience.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to enhance operational efficiency and streamline reporting processes.
Education
Master of Social Work - Public Policy Analysis
Simmons University
Boston, MA01-2023
Bachelor of Science - Business Adminstration
University of Phoenix
Los Angeles, CA01-2015
Skills
- Community advocacy and engagement
- Written and oral communication
- Public policy engagement
- Government relations strategy
- Skilled in Microsoft Office tools
- Policy analysis
- Proficient in resolving conflicts
- Eight years of team leadership
- Government housing program management
- In-depth knowledge of Indian Country relations
- 18 years of experience working in a community with underserved and marginalized populations
Community Leadership
- City of Tacoma, Human Rights Commissioner.
- Native American Professional Network (NAPN), Co-Chair - Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
- NAPN – Leader of Bank of America Native American employee group in California, focusing on Indian Country development. Founded relationships with Indigenous non-profit groups, Los Angeles Indian Commission, and the Los Angeles City Mayor's Office.
Awards Received
Member of Inspiration Award, Millennium Momentum Foundation, Los Angeles, CA., Global Recognition Award as Co-Chair, Native American Professional Network., Brand Ambassador of Bank of America at the Virginia Housing Development Authority HUD Counselor Training in VA., Brand Ambassador of Bank of America at the National Training Institute, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, CA.
Timeline
Legislative Assistant to Senator Vandana Slatter
Washington State Legislature
01.2025 - 09.2026
Legislative Assistant to Representative Vandana Slatter
Washington State House of Representatives
12.2023 - 12.2024
Clinical Social Work Intern
Sound Health
09.2021 - 08.2022
Financial Coach
Sound Outreach
03.2021 - 09.2023
Family Service Specialist, CPS Permanency
State of Nevada Department of Family Services
01.2020 - 09.2020
Director of Tribal Donor Relations
American Indian Business Leaders
01.2019 - 07.2019
Assistant Vice President, Senior Business Control Specialist
Bank of America Global Risk
10.2010 - 07.2017
Senior Business Control Specialist
Bank of America Legacy Asset Servicing
10.1998 - 10.2010
Master of Social Work - Public Policy Analysis
Simmons University
Bachelor of Science - Business Adminstration
University of Phoenix