An alumna was nominated by the White House Monday lead the State Department’s women’s equality office.

Catherine Russell, who graduated from GW Law School, would leave her White House post as Jill Biden’s chief of staff to become the State Department’s ambassador-at-large in the Office on Global Women’s Issues if she is confirmed by the Senate.

Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created the office in 2009 to push gender equality to the forefront of foreign policy issues.

Russell, a Pennsylvania native, is married to Tom Donilon, who is Barack Obama’s national security adviser. She has also served as a longtime adviser for the Bidens.

“We are so grateful for all of Cathy’s hard work and can’t imagine a better choice to be our next Ambassador to work on the most pressing issues faced by women and girls around the globe,” Joe and Jill Biden said in a release. “Through the more than 25 years we have known Cathy, she has made a tremendous difference in the fight to promote gender equality and advance the status of women and girls.”