 Outside of government, she has also been active in Republican Party positions, serving as a board member for the Korean American Republican Association and having been an honorary chair of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 Gubernatorial Campaign.Steel was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 when Republican incumbent Claude Parrish ran unsuccessfully for state Treasurer.Throughout her tenure, she served as the country's highest ranking Korean American officeholder and California's highest ranking Republican woman.