China Terrell

Director of Intergovernmental Affairs

China Terrell is the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). As Director, she provides performance management leadership to agency programs, oversees agency budgets, and provides performance oversight to local government agencies and government-funded entities.  As OSSE’s chief liaison to local elected bodies and key stakeholder organizations, Terrell forges key partnerships and strategically coordinates collaborative initiatives with the Office of Mayor Vincent Gray, the State Board of Education, the DC City Council, and other governmental bodies. 

As a native of Oxon Hill, Maryland, Terrell obtained a BA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School, from which she graduated magna cum laude. As part of her studies, Ms. Terrell studied international comparative law at l’Université de Lyon III, in Lyon, France and worked with a non-governmental organization in Dakar, Senegal, researching the effects of structural adjustment programs on developing countries.

Prior to joining OSSE, Ms. Terrell clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, Honorable Alan C. Page and worked with the national litigation firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP. Ms. Terrell’s business litigation practice eventually led her to an in-house counsel position, where she served as corporate counsel to international conglomerate, Cargill, Incorporated, an agri-business and risk management firm. Later, Ms. Terrell served as corporate counsel to the North American operations of the Danish medical device company, Coloplast Corp.

Compelled, however, by the life-changing experience of having open-heart surgery at age 27, Ms. Terrell returned to her hometown to pursue full-time civic engagement and to help craft public policy that empowered communities.In 2010, China served as General Counsel to the Committee on Human Services under DC Councilmember and Committee Chair Tommy Wells.

Ms. Terrell is a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.  She enjoys traveling, hiking, and working with teens. Ms. Terrell loves to spend Saturdays in her wonderfully diverse Mt. Pleasant neighborhood where she serves as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. Ms. Terrell is proficient in Spanish and French.