Arielle Maffei VP, State Government Relations, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC

Arielle began her political career as a White House scheduling and advance intern under President Obama. From there, she went on to work at the Clinton Foundation where she worked directly with President Clinton, senior staff, and the board of directors to advance the mission of the Foundation. After five years at the Foundation, Arielle transitioned to events manager in the President’s Office at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore prior to moving to Chicago in 2017.

For three years she was the in-house government affairs associate for Simmons Hanly Conroy, a nationally-recognized law firm that represents families affected by mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancers. Most recently, Arielle served as vice president of Alexander, Borovicka, & O’Shea Government Solutions where she supported multiple client accounts. In this role she worked within several industries, including cannabis, where she supported clients beginning with the Illinois medical program and then recreational use, which became legal in the state January 2020. More generally, she used her experience and knowledge of the political landscape to provide clients with recommendations and guidance on legislative issues.

Arielle is the current president of the Young Democrats of Illinois and serves on the board of Planned Parenthood of Illinois and the Chicago Scholars’ associate board. She represented Illinois as an at-large delegate at the 2020 National Democratic Convention and is a member of the Illinois Women’s Institute of Leadership (IWIL) Class of 2020.

She is the proud daughter of her Cuban immigrant mother and Italian father, a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and has a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern University.