Mariah Ray

Mariah is a leader in public policy and public affairs with deep experience in building teams and functions within technology and innovative companies. Having worked for over 15 years in public and private sector leadership roles, she thrives in dynamic and mission-driven organizations. Mariah most recently led Global Public Affairs at Cruise. In that role, she developed and led a high performing team to achieve Cruise’s mission to provide a safer, more accessible form of transportation. Cruise Public Affairs built leading national partnerships, executed multiple successful advocacy and issue campaigns, and told the story of Cruise’s commitment to accessibility, safety and community in new and impactful ways. Prior to Cruise, Mariah was a founding member of the Public Policy team at DoorDash and served in various roles spanning Government Relations, Public Affairs and Partnerships. She created and led the Strategic Partnerships and Innovation Policy team, where she developed industry-leading partnerships and programs to positively impact DoorDash’s stakeholders across global markets, in addition to advising the company on regulatory affairs on novel business units including autonomy.

Mariah formerly led government sales at FUSE Corps, growing the scale and impact of FUSE’s executive fellowship program with city and county government partners across the country. From 2011-2015, Mariah served in the administration of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson as his Deputy Chief of Staff. In this capacity, she led government affairs, external affairs, education initiatives and strategic partnerships. Among her major accomplishments as one of the Mayor’s most trusted senior advisors, she oversaw the Mayor’s Presidency of the US Conference of Mayors (USCM), his Presidency of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA), and served as his liaison to the Obama Administration.

Mariah began her career as a Corps Member with Teach for America, teaching Financial Literacy and Investments to youth at Ariel Community Academy, a Chicago Public School founded by Ariel Investments. Mariah holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a master’s in teaching from Dominican University, and a BA in Economics and International Studies from DePaul University.