Anna S. Hui - Director
Anna Hui was appointed Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in March of 2017 and the Senate confirmed the appointment in January 2018, making her the first Asian American to serve in the governor’s cabinet in Missouri history. For over two decades, Anna has worked in numerous senior positions in both state and federal government.
Anna started her public service career working for Illinois Governor Jim Edgar as the Special Assistant to the Governor for Asian-American affairs and then for Governor George Ryan, as a senior-member of the Washington, D.C. policy management team. She then served as the Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor at the U.S. Department of Labor during President George W. Bush’s Administration. In that role, Anna spearheaded efforts to encourage diversity and the inclusion of historically underserved communities in the Department’s programs and Federal government management.
After leaving federal service in 2009 and until she returned to Illinois in 2015, she was Chief of Staff to former U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. From 2015 to 2017, Anna served as Assistant Director and later as Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, where she implemented major reforms in process and program efficiency and effectiveness.
Anna received a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, a M.S.M. and a M.B.A. from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In April 2018, she was named the recipient of UIUC’s Outstanding Asian American Alumni Award from the Asian American Cultural Center for her dedication to public service. In November 2021, the St. Louis Asian American Chamber of Commerce named Anna the 2021 Connector of the Year for her outstanding accomplishments as a trailblazer to help connect the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) business/professional community, St. Louis and Asia.
Anna is very involved at the state and national levels and holds a number of leadership positions related to her work at the department. She serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of the National Association of Government Labor Officials (NAGLO) and previously served as President. She is Chair of the Equal Opportunity Committee and past Board Chair of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and sits on the NASWA Information Technology Support Center (ITSC) Steering Committee. In addition, Anna is Board Vice President of the International Association of Industrial Accidents Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) and Board member on the Family and Community Trust (FACT). She serves as Advisory Board member for the Missouri Science and Technology (MOST) Policy Fellows, Interim Executive Council Member of the Midwest Collaborative and is a Member of the Science and Technology Advisory Board for the Coleridge Initiative. She is a Member of the federal Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (ACDEB) and a graduate of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce 2018 Leadership Missouri Program.
