Stephanie Sykes is a senior public policy leader with deep expertise in navigating the intersection of emerging technology, infrastructure, and financial regulation. As Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy at Navy Federal Credit Union, she leads strategic engagement across federal, state, and local levels to advance policy priorities for the nation’s largest credit union. 

 

Prior to her current role, Stephanie served in several high-level positions within the Biden-Harris Administration, where she was central to the execution of the nation’s most significant technological and industrial policy initiatives. In the White House, she served as Special Assistant to the President in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for Infrastructure Implementation. In these capacities, she coordinated the nationwide rollout of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, acting as a primary liaison for state and local leaders to deploy historic investments in broadband expansion, electric vehicle charging networks, and grid modernization. Stephanie also served as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Senior Adviser in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce as a part of the leadership team responsible for implementing many of the Administration's signature priorities including the CHIPS and Science Act that facilitated the rebuilding of America’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity and the establishment of regional Tech Hubs.

 

Earlier in her career, Stephanie was the founding Executive Director and General Counsel of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA), where she launched critical research on the future of work and automation to prepare Black and Latino workers for the shifts brought by artificial intelligence. 

 

A graduate of Princeton University and Duke University School of Law, she began her career as a policy analyst for the New Jersey Legislature and practiced law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.