Ann P. Kalayil, Great Lakes Regional Administrator; United States General Services Administration

 

Ann Kalayil was named Regional Administrator of the General Services Administration's Great Lakes Region in January 2011.

 

As the agency's regional chief executive, Kalayil heads operations that provide federal agencies and the U.S. courts in six states with support in vital areas such as real estate services, procurements, information technology, supplies, equipment, and vehicles. Headquartered in Chicago, the region has a workforce of almost 1,000 employees and an annual operating budget of about $450 million.

 

Before this appointment, Kalayil worked for more than 18 years at the University of Chicago in Information Technology Services, where she worked in Emerging Technologies and Communications but previously was director of Client Services and Support. Kalayil has taught interdisciplinary courses on Asian-Americans at DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 

Kalayil is very active in many community and civic activities dealing with education policy, campaign finance reform, immigration reform, and documenting Asian-American history. As a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow, Kalayil has also served on several government task forces and has participated in many panel discussions on the above issues. She is also co-director of the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute and a member of many community-based organizations. Kalayil's appointment is historic, as she is the first woman to serve as regional administrator of the General Services Administration in this region.

 

Kalayil received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a bachelor's degree in computer science from Northeastern Illinois University, a master's degree in Asian studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.