Ellen Qualls

In a Congressional landscape dominated by conflicting ideas, competing agendas and constant partisanship, Ellen Qualls (Col '88) is the gatekeeper for the most powerful woman in politics.

As senior adviser for strategic planning for the Office of the Speaker, Qualls, 41, works to ensure that Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking woman in the history of politics, sets and achieves the goals of the party and House. With control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in a dozen years, Democrats must convince voters to invest in their leadership, Qualls says.

"[Pelosi] has a limited opportunity to make a first impression in how she conducts herself and what the party's priorities and visions are," Qualls says.

During her 11-hour days, Qualls races between meetings and produces communications plans and calendars with events coded by what agenda they advance. She also edits talking points and press releases that go out to members. "It's my job to fight for something to get on the schedule two weeks or two months out," she says.

Working on Capitol Hill is a departure for Qualls, who's spent 20 years as a reporter and, more recently, as press secretary and communications director for former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. She helped shape the vision and perception of what was widely regarded as a successful administration.

"For four years, Ellen was the person all reporters and analysts went to for the real scoop," says Larry J. Sabato, director of U.Va.'s Center for Politics. "If she couldn't tell you the whole story on the record, she wouldn't mislead you, instead going on deep background or off the record to make sure you got the true picture. This is what the best press secretaries do."

The transition from Warner's office to the Office of the Speaker has been an adjustment for Qualls because the speaker has to take a lot more egos and agendas into account in her decision-making process and timeline, Qualls explains. "But moving from the Warner 'brand' to the Pelosi 'brand' has not been difficult, because the speaker really is focused on Americans identifying the Democratic Congress with common sense, good government and a willingness to work with anyone to make progress," she adds. "So it's a comfortable fit for me."

"Nancy Pelosi is the best part of my job," she says, "because she is a remarkable person who is funnier than you think she would be, a stronger leader than I thought coming in and just an extraordinary person to watch using power at this level."

Before joining Warner's staff, Qualls worked at WCHV radio and WINA radio in Charlottesville and later was the Richmond bureau chief for WDBJ-7 TV in Roanoke, Va. The former English major doesn't consider herself an ambitious person, attributing her successes to those who made them possible. "People have opened doors for me," she says, "and I've walked through them."