Sheri Steisel

Sheri Steisel is Senior Federal Affairs Counsel and the Senior Director of the Human Services Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), where she has been on staff since 1988. Ms. Steisel plays a key role in the development of policy and lobbying strategy on state-federal human services issues and she has testified in 48 state and territorial legislatures. Her work concentrates on three major categories: income security & social services, food & nutrition, and immigration.

Ms. Steisel is considered an expert on federal welfare law and she staffed NCSL's Task Force on Welfare Reform Reauthorization. Ms. Steisel represents NCSL in the current discussions on immigration reform and is staff director of NCSL's Executive Committee Task Force on Immigration and the States, which drafted a NCSL policy on immigration reform that was adopted unanimously in August 2009. She is the founder of the State and Local Coalition on Immigration and helped develop NCSL's Immigrant Policy Project, where she serves as a Governing Board member. Additionally, she is the staff director of the 2010-2011 NCSL Foundation Hunger Partnership.

Ms. Steisel previously worked for New York City's Human Resources Administration in the Income Maintenance Division on welfare policy, analyzing policies and creating strategy for the Commissioner of Income Maintenance. Ms. Steisel also was staff to the U.S. House Committee on Post Office & Civil Service, specializing in human resources. Ms. Steisel served as a member of NCSL Advisory Committee on Responsible Fatherhood. Ms. Steisel serves on the Public Policy Advisory Group for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and has served on the Policy Council for the National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families.

She received her Master of Public Policy degree with concentrations in human services policy and press, politics and public opinion from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.