United States President Joseph Biden has nominated Filipino-American Gina Ortiz Jones for undersecretary of the Air Force at the Department of Defense, the White House announced on Wednesday (Tuesday in Washington, D.C.) on the eve of the Biden administration’s first 100 days in office.
Jones is a veteran US Air Force intelligence officer who served in the Iraq War during the Bush administration. She is the daughter of Victorina Ortiz, an Ilocano single mother immigrant from Pangasinan.
In high school, Jones graduated in the top ten of her class that earned her a four-year Air Force ROTC scholarship en route to Boston University where she earned her BA and MA in Economics, and a BA in East Asian Studies.
A member of the LGBTQ community, Jones served under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
After three years in active service, Jones went back to San Antonio, Texas where she grew up to attend to her mother who has since recovered from colon cancer.
She later joined the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as an inaugural member of U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and served in the Libya Crisis Intelligence Cell.
Following an assignment as the Special Advisor to the DIA Deputy Director, Jones was detailed to the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center to serve as the Intelligence Community’s Senior Advisor for trade enforcement.
She joined the Office of the US Trade Representative as a Director for Investment leading the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) portfolio.
When President Donald Trump won in November 2016, Jones stayed on in her post as director at the trade office only to leave five months later following Trump’s plan to cut education and housing aid, key issues that she considers closest to her.
She remembered growing up raised by a single mom and relied on reduced-cost school lunches and subsidized housing.
In 2018 and 2020, Jones served as the Democratic nominee for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District.
On her official website, Jones recalled her mother’s example, the sacrifices instilled in her, the importance of humility, hard work, and the willingness to step up and take risks to create and seize opportunities for herself and others when needed.
Jones’ nomination to the Air Force department comes at a time when the agency seeks to address barriers such as issues impacting diversity and inclusion, specifically on issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and even Native American service members.