Noah Kroloff

After finishing his two-year stint with the organization, Kroloff wanted to move more directly into government. "I had always been interested in public service," he said. "While I was doing Teach for America my interest broadened and I found my way." He took a job in the district office of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D), where he handled constituent issues and researched legislation that would affect the district. "I learned the breadth of what it means on the ground," he told WhoRunsGov.com.

Meeting Napolitano

In 2000, Kroloff moved back to Arizona to attend law school at the Arizona State College of Law. A month after school started, Kroloff met then state Attorney General Janet Napolitano at the home of a friend, who also happened to be a former partner of Napolitano. The two hit it off, and Kroloff began working in the state attorney general's office as a speech writer that year. "She was immediately appealing," Kroloff said. "You know that she is a fantastic leader ... she is one of those people, you realize almost immediately you want to work for her."

In 2002, he served on Napolitano's campaign for the Arizona governorship. After Napolitano won the gubernatorial election, Kroloff accepted a position in the governor's office as chief policy assistant while continuing through law school, where he earned his J.D. in 2004. He left that job in 2006 to manage Napolitano's re-election campaign. After the governor won with more than 60 percent of the vote, Kroloff was named deputy chief of staff.

When Napolitano was named secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in December 2008, Kroloff moved with her, helping with the transition. He was named chief of staff for policy in January 2009.

Kroloff said he doesn't know whether he will stay in Washington once he finishes his job. "There's so much for us to do here, I have not thought beyond what we're doing at the department," he said.

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