Name: Erica Kasraie
Hometown: Fredericksburg, Va.
Position: Personal assistant and scheduler for Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.
Age: 40
Alma Mater: Virginia Commonwealth University
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Washington Examiner: You and your family were refugees.
Kasraie: We fled Iran during the Islamic Revolution. My father’s family was Baha’i, and my mom’s family was Muslim. So, my father’s family had to leave the country, and they came to the United States to start a life for us here. But my mom, my sister, and I got stuck in Italy in transit, so we ended up living in Italy in a convent.
Washington Examiner: You made it to the U.S. when you were seven years old. What was your first impression?
Kasraie: We arrived on a cold December evening, and it was overwhelming because I was going to see my dad for the first time. I didn’t have memories of him. It was Christmas, so it was a new experience seeing lights and people decorating their homes.
Washington Examiner: You describe yourself as an Iranian human rights activist and have experience in politics. What was your last job before you starting working on the Hill?
Kasraie: I worked in a hospital in Fredericksburg, [Va.]. I took a short hiatus from politics and went into the private sector. I had worked with the Iranian student movement, and during that time, a lot of our efforts were focused on empowering the Iranian people, and unfortunately during the Obama administration, it was the exact opposite. They empowered the Iranian regime, and the Iranian people felt nobody was listening to their voices. So, I felt like it was time for me to just walk away. A lot of our efforts to prevent the nuclear deal fell on deaf ears.
Washington Examiner: But you also worked at the FBI for a time.
Kasraie: Yes, I did. I was a scientist. It was a very boring job; I worked in forensics extracting mitochondrial DNA from various tissue.
Washington Examiner: It doesn’t sound boring.
Kasraie: It is so boring. It’s not like you see on TV. You basically wear a white coat and work in a refrigerated room under white lights all day long with very quiet, introverted people. I’m all about building relationships and networking. And they thought, “What are you doing here? You don’t belong in this place.”
Washington Examiner: So, how did your work experience lead you to Rep. Franks’ staff?
Kasraie: A gentleman who is in Iraq rescuing women and children out of sex slavery reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to connect him with some members of Congress. I reached out to Congressman Franks, and at that time, he didn’t respond. He actually called me on my cell phone [later] and said, “I’m so sorry, I’m not ignoring you. I’m just overwhelmed and don’t have a scheduler and personal assistant right now.” Out of a joke I said, well, I could be your personal assistant. He said, “Really? That’s a really serious offer to make.” It caught me off guard, and it caught him off guard, and we took some time to pray and really think about it. And I just felt, let’s do this.
Washington Examiner: At the Confederation of Iranian Students, you visited with lawmakers. Is there anything that has surprised you now that you’re a staffer?
Kasraie: There is such great order here. Imagine how many people walk around these halls every day, and everything stops once those [vote] bells ring. It’s kind of like when you were in school. It shocked me because even when I was here I never heard the bells ring.
Washington Examiner: What does your typical day at the office look like?
Kasraie: They told me that the job of the scheduler is the hardest job on the Hill, and I’m finding it to be the most exciting job, because I get to interact with the entire staff and the boss and all the people that want the boss. It really is using that skill set I was blessed with in dealing with people.
Washington Examiner: What qualities make a good personal assistant and scheduler?
Kasraie: You have to be extremely confident because there are so many personality dynamics. One of the things that really irritates me about this place is how people hold their titles. To me, it is not about your title, it is about your character. I think you need to be humble, so when somebody is unkind to you or rude or disrespectful that you don’t repay them with that disrespect. You have to know how to take orders, to be able to follow directions well, to be organized and multitasking, to make sure the day goes by smoothly not only for the staff but for the member.
Washington Examiner: You describe yourself as a human rights activist. Are you keeping up with that type of work in your new job?
Kasraie: It’s a unique situation because of the previous relationship I had with Congressman Franks in the capacity of an activist. Even though I’m his scheduler and personal assistant, he really respects my recommendations when it comes to the policy on the Middle East and specifically on Iran. Obviously, we have a foreign policy adviser who advises him. But not only does the foreign policy adviser respect my recommendations but so does my boss.
Washington Examiner: Most of our conversation about Iran deals with the nuclear deal. What else should we be concerned about?
Kasraie: Let’s just say we kill the Iran deal, then what? We are not thinking about the “then what.” I think one of the most important things we need to think about is empowering the democracy movement inside of Iran.
Washington Examiner: What’s the last, best book that you’ve read?
Kasraie: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. It’s the story of a young girl in Yemen who was the first girl in Sharia court to be granted a divorce because she was able to prove that her husband, who was three times her age, consummated their marriage before she hit puberty.
Washington Examiner: You’ve lived in the D.C. area for a long time. What are some of the best things about living and working here?
Kasraie: Honestly, I feel like I’m at university coming here. I thought I was done studying, but I feel like every single day I learn something new about this great democracy that is America. I have really enjoyed getting to know the interns because they come here with his naiveté and this hunger for what this place is. I love to see them grow and learn. I think that’s what really gives me hope.
Washington Examiner: If you have some free time, what are you usually doing for fun?
Kasraie: Well, I’m a mom, so my free time I spend with my daughter. I have a 20-year-old son who goes to UVA, and my daughter is 14.
Washington Examiner: Any idea where you might be five years from now?
Kasraie: I hate that question. I’m going to answer you the way I answered my boss: All the plans that I’ve made for myself never turned out the way that I thought. There was a point in my life I said, you know what, God, you can have my life and with it as you wish. So, I don’t make plans, I just go for the ride.
