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Gabriella Gomez was confirmed on May 1, 2009, by the U.S. Senate as assistant secretary for legislation and Congressional affairs. In that role, she will advise the secretary of education on education and other legislative matters pending before Congress and serve as the Department's liaison in responding to Congressional requests.

Previously, from 2006 to 2009, Gomez served as the lead policy adviser on higher education policy and issues related to innovation on the Committee on Education and Labor for Committee Chairman Rep. George Miller (D-CA). She also served as lead negotiator for House Democrats on higher education legislation, including helping to successfully pass the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, and the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act.

From 2001 to 2006, Gomez served as assistant director of the Department of Federal Legislation, where she advocated on behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of Teachers in the areas of higher education, early childhood education, welfare, career and technical education, workforce development and immigration. From 1997 to 2000, Gomez served as a legislative assistant for Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), covering education, health, housing and labor, among other issues, on the local and federal levels, and serving as the Congressman's liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. From 2006 to 2008, Gomez served as an officer of the alumni association of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a program aimed at bringing talented Hispanic leaders to work in Washington, D.C., and from which she had received a fellowship in 1996.

Gomez earned a Master's of Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University (Calif.). She also studied British politics and public policy at the London School of Economics.