The Democratic National Committee announced Friday that it has named longtime Democratic operative Jess OConnell as its new CEO.

The appointment is part of DNC chairman Tom Perez s efforts to rebuild the organization after winning a contentious chairmanship race at the end of February.

OConnell, who was previously executive director of EMILYs List, will help lead day-to-day operations for the party and oversee political strategy.

Jess has an impressive progressive track record and I am honored that she will lend her talents to rebuilding our party and electing Democrats , Perez said in a statement. Jess experience as a grassroots organizer and as a leader who has helped hundreds of Democratic candidates win up and down the ballot will be particularly valuable as we gear up for critical elections in 2017, 2018, and beyond.

At EMILYs List, OConnell helped elect pro-choice Democratic women at all levels of government. As executive director, she presided over the groups $90 million in fundraising in the 2016 election. Prior to that, OConnell was senior vice president and chief of staff at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic-aligned think tank.

Every single day we are witnessing unprecedented activism and excitement across our nation, OConnell said in a statement. I am thrilled to join the fight at the national party to make sure we translate this moment into a movement, and a movement into votes.

In an email to voting DNC members announcing OConnells selection, Perez revealed several other organizational changes as well. The DNC will be hiring full-time grassroots organizers for the first time and creating a voter protection and empowerment division to counter Republican efforts to restrict voting through voter identification laws and other tactics.