Jaime has operated at the highest levels of government, serving as Chief of Staff to the Governor of Minnesota and later as Deputy Mayor of Saint Paul. In these roles, she oversaw enterprise operations, shaped and managed complex budgets, led high-stakes negotiations, and steered large public institutions through periods of sustained pressure and crisis. Her career reflects a rare combination of strategic insight and the ability to execute at scale within complex systems.

As Chief of Staff, Jaime was responsible for performance across all state agencies and a $40+ billion biennial budget. She directed executive decision flow, aligned commissioners, negotiated with legislative leadership, and ensured that major policy priorities translated into operational results. During her tenure, Minnesota moved from a multi-billion-dollar deficit to sustained budget surpluses, restored AAA bond ratings, rebuilt reserves, repaid long-standing school funding obligations, and delivered major investments in education, infrastructure, and workforce growth. Jaime played a central role in aligning fiscal strategy, policy design, and execution to make those outcomes possible.

One of Jaime’s defining contributions at the state level was making equity a governing strategy rather than a stated value. She led concrete structural reforms—creating the state’s first Executive Recruiter, hiring the first Chief Equity Officer, auditing hiring and advancement practices, and embedding equity expectations into leadership, contracting, and performance systems. Her work reshaped long-term governance, expanding representation across judicial appointments and boards and commissions, while pushing beyond representation to focus on retention, culture, and accountability.

As Deputy Mayor of Saint Paul, Jaime oversaw delivery across the full enterprise of city government while maintaining strong fiscal management and advancing major capital investments. Under her leadership, the city implemented a Community-First Public Safety framework, expanded affordable housing and renter protections, launched CollegeBound Saint Paul, restored the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, expanded free youth programming, strengthened immigrant and refugee supports, advanced downtown revitalization, and launched a citywide lead service line replacement program at no cost to residents.

Her most consequential city-level work rebuilt Saint Paul’s approach to homelessness. Rather than managing a fragmented, reactive system, Jaime led the creation of coordinated, person-centered responses focused on dignity and long-term stability. She institutionalized the Homeless Assistance Response Team (HART), redirected emergency funding toward lasting housing solutions, and integrated paid work into service delivery through the Work Now pilot, reshaping how the city addressed housing instability.

Throughout her career, Jaime has repeatedly led institutions through high-consequence crises, including Ebola preparedness, officer-involved shootings, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, and a major municipal cyberattack. In each case, she provided steadiness, structure, and disciplined executive leadership when trust, safety, and continuity were at risk.

That experience is not abstract. Jaime built her career in always-on, visible leadership roles while navigating motherhood, divorce, and caring for an aging parent. She knows firsthand how leadership and life collide, and how critical it is to have someone in your corner who understands the ring you’re in and is fully focused on helping you win.