Political Quotes

“I want to take a few minutes to acknowledge Ann Kalayil. Earlier this year, after 6 years, Ann stepped down as Regional Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration's--GSA--Great Lakes Region. Ann Kalayil is a trailblazer. She is the first woman--and first Asian American--to serve as GSA Administrator of the six-State Great Lakes Region. I am honored to congratulate her on a job well done. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, the GSA is the Federal Government's real estate and procurement manager. As Regional Administrator, Ann Kalayil was responsible for 128 Federal buildings, 986 leased locations, 11 U.S. land ports, nearly 1,000 employees, and about $150 million in contracts to small and economically disadvantaged businesses. To say Ann Kalayil had a big job is an understatement, but it will come as no surprise to the people who know her that she met the challenge head-on and thrived in the role. Her story is the story of the American dream. Born in Chicago, Ann was the daughter of Indian immigrants. When she was 5 years old, her parents moved back to Kerala, India. It was the first time Ann met her siblings, Tom, Sales, and Lisa. They were ecstatic to meet their baby sister but spoke very little English and struggled to communicate with each other. So what did Ann do? She took it upon herself to learn Malayalam, a South Indian language native to Kerala, India.…”