Timothy Curry

Deputy Associate Director, Accountability and Workforce Relations

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Tim Curry is the Deputy Associate Director for Accountability and Workforce Relations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In this capacity, he serves as an advisor to the OPM Director on government-wide programs for labor-management relations and employee accountability. Mr. Curry first came to OPM in August 2010 as the Deputy Associate Director for Partnership and Labor Relations. He also served as the Acting Director of Communications.

Prior to coming to OPM, Mr. Curry served as the Executive Director, Labor Management and Employee Relations for the Department of Defense (DoD) where he served as the principal policy advisor on labor and employee relations matters. Mr. Curry has over 32 years of experience as a human resources professional in operating and policy level positions in the Office of Secretary of Defense, DoD Education Activity, Department of the Air Force, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His background includes labor relations, employee relations, performance management, and awards programs.

Mr. Curry holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Personnel Management from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Dan Kaspar

Deputy Director, Field Operations & Organizing

National Treasury Employees Union

Dan Kaspar – Dan is Director of Field Operations & Organizing for the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents more than 150,000 federal employees nationwide in 34 federal agencies. He is based out of Washington, D.C. and oversees NTEU’s eight field offices, its Organizing Department and its Learning & Development Department. Prior to his current position, Dan was Deputy Director of Field Operations & Organizing and a former Assistant Counsel in NTEU’s Chicago Field Office, where he practiced before arbitrators, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and others. Dan has also held several leadership positions in the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law, including Union Co-Chair of the Federal Sector Labor and Employment Law Committee.

Dan is a graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. He holds a M.S. in Human Resources and Employment Relations and a M.B.A. in Economics from Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan Graduate School of Business, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Illinois State University.

Susan Grundmann

Member of the FLRA

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Prior to her confirmation, Member Grundmann served as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, where she oversaw the administrative dispute resolution process and provided education to both employing offices and labor unions that represent employees in the legislative branch. Previously, she was nominated by President Obama to serve as a Member and Chairman of the MSPB.

Ms. Grundmann has served as General Counsel to the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), which represents 100,000 Federal workers nationwide and is affiliated with the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers.  At NFFE, she successfully litigated cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  She represented NFFE and the United Department of Defense Workers Coalition, which consists of 36 labor unions, and served on the Coalition’s litigation team in a coordinated response to proposed personnel changes at the Department of Defense (DoD).  In addition to DoD employees, Ms. Grundmann represented employees in the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Passport Service, Veterans Administration, General Services Administration, and some 25 additional Federal agencies.

From 2003 to 2009, she was a regular instructor on Federal sector labor and employment law at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Maryland.  Prior to joining NFFE, Ms. Grundmann served as General Counsel to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.  She began her legal career as a law clerk to the judges of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, and later worked in both private practice and at the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund.

Member Grundmann earned her undergraduate degree at American University and her law degree at Georgetown University Law Center.

Charlotte Burrows

Chair of the EEOC

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Charlotte A. Burrows was designated by President Biden as Chair of the EEOC on Jan. 20, 2021.  She was initially nominated to serve as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2014.  The U.S. Senate later unanimously confirmed her to a second term ending in 2023.

Chair Burrows has advocated for strong civil rights protections and robust cooperation between the Commission, employers, and employees to advance equal opportunity in the workplace.  She seeks to enhance the Commission's enforcement of all laws within its jurisdiction, focusing in particular on initiatives to combat harassment, foster pay equity, and advance diversity and inclusion.  While at the Commission, she has worked to increase the agency's outreach to Native Americans, vulnerable immigrant and migrant communities, and other traditionally underserved populations.  In addition, Chair Burrows is particularly interested in the impact of technology and big data on civil rights and employee privacy.

Prior to her appointment to the EEOC, Chair Burrows served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where she worked on a broad range of civil and criminal matters, including employment litigation, voting rights, combatting racial profiling, and implementing the Violence Against Women Act, among others.

Chair Burrows previously served as General Counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee and later on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.  During her time on Capitol Hill, she worked on a variety of legislative initiatives, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

Chair Burrows also held several roles in the Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section at DOJ, including Deputy Chief of the Section.  There, she represented the United States in all phases of civil litigation, including trial, to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Earlier in her career, she served as a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP.

Chair Burrows received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Julie Lenggenhager

Deputy Director of Field Operations and Organizing

National Treasury Employees Union

Julie A. Lenggenhager is the Deputy Director of Field Operations and Organizing at the National Treasury Employees Union, the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees, representing 150,000 workers in 34 departments and agencies.  She works directly underneath the Director of Field Operations and Organizing who is responsible for managing and overseeing NTEU’s eight field offices, organizing and learning and development departments.  Prior to becoming the Deputy Director, she served as an Assistant Counsel in NTEU’s Chicago Field Office for fifteen years where she represented employees at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Treasury.  Her extensive experience includes arbitrating discipline and contract interpretation matters and representing employees before the EEOC and Merit Systems Protection Board.  Prior to joining NTEU, Julie worked as an Associate Attorney at a private law firm representing private and public sector labor unions and Taft-Hartley health and welfare funds.  She earned her Juris Doctor and a Certificate in Employment Law from Saint Louis University School of Law.  She received her Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University, with a major in Political Science and a minor in Diplomatic Relations.  Julie is licensed to practice law in both Missouri and Illinois.

Kevin Deane

Technical Advisor, Disability Services Division Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Internal Revenue Service

Internal Revenue Service

Kevin A. Deane currently serves as a Technical Advisor in the Disability Services Division of the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.  He has spent his federal career as an EEO practitioner, civil rights advisor and advocate for diversity & inclusion.  In a wide range of positions he has:  directed investigations and drafted analysis as well as final agency decisions concerning federal sector complaints of discrimination; advised executives and managers with regard to disparate treatment, harassment and reasonable accommodation issues; developed communications to IRS employees, members of the public and stakeholders including Members of Congress; developed and delivered training for targeted as well as Servicewide audiences; Liaised with the IRS’s Chief Risk Officer to more fully inform the Service’s risk management efforts; and, has developed multi-year EDI business plans as well as content for IRS strategic plans.  Kevin has received two IRS Commissioner’s Awards and holds a J.D. as well as an LL.M.

Nicole Porter

Professor of Law and Director, Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace

Chicago-Kent Law School

Nicole Buonocore Porter is a Professor of Law and Director of the Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace. Before joining Chicago-Kent in 2022, she was a Distinguished University Professor; Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development; and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Toledo College of Law. She has also taught at Saint Louis University School of Law, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and the University of Iowa College of Law. 

Porter is a nationally-known expert in employment discrimination and disability law. She is the author or co-author of four books and over 40 law review articles and essays. Her scholarship focuses primarily on the employment rights of women and people with disabilities. 

Professor Porter earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. After law school, Professor Porter was in-house counsel for a manufacturing company and practiced employment law in a large law firm in Detroit. She also clerked for the Honorable James L. Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. 

Nikita Pearson

Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Director, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Nikita serves as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI).  As Deputy to the Chairman she manages the FDIC’s broader engagement mission, including oversight of the FDIC’s Office of Communications and Office of the Ombudsman.  As OMWI Director, she is responsible for:  promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility among the FDIC’s 6,000 employees; assessing diversity policies and practices of approximately 3,200 banks supervised by the FDIC; and increasing participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the FDIC’s operations.

Nikita has testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee to discuss the agency’s efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion in the FDIC’s workforce and contracting, and to promote financial inclusion.  She was honored to receive the Association of Government Accountants’ inaugural Eleanor Clark Diversity Leadership Award.  Nikita has been featured in Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine, Diversity Professional Magazine, and Federal News Network.  Nikita serves as co-Chair of the Economic Development Cluster for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black College and Universities.  She also serves as the FDIC’s representative on the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.

Nikita is an experienced executive, serving on several of the FDIC’s executive committees, including being a voting member of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Executive Advisory Council.  She is a commissioned bank examiner who has held progressively more responsible positions in three of the FDIC’s six regions and Washington Office since joining the agency in 1998.

Nikita holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia, where she graduated magna cum laude and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  She also completed the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and holds an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Victoria Gillen

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Victoria Gillen is an Attorney-Advisor to the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP/the Panel) at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).  In 2013, while still attending law school, Ms. Gillen began serving as an intern to the FLRA’s Denver Regional Office of the Office of the General Counsel.  After receiving her law license in 2014, Ms. Gillen served as an Attorney with the Denver Regional Office for seven years.  Following two details with FSIP, Ms. Gillen became a full-time Attorney-Advisor to FSIP in March 2021.  In her current role with FSIP, Ms. Gillen assists with all aspects of negotiability impasse resolution.  Ms. Gillen has also served as the co-chair of the FLRA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility committee.

Ms. Gillen attended Wake Forest University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2005.  She then earned a Master of Science in Exercise Science degree from the University of Northern Colorado, graduating with honors in 2008.  In December 2013, she received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver as a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Society.  Before joining the FLRA, Ms. Gillen worked in the filed of athletic administration in both collegiate athletic departments and for a professional athlete representative.   

Elyssa Santos Abrams

Senior Attorney Advisor Outreach, Training, and Engagement Division Federal Sector Programs

EEOC Office of Federal Operations

Ms. Elyssa Santos-Abrams has been employed at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) since 2001, following her graduation from the Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the New York State Bar. Ms. Santos-Abrams is currently assigned to the position of Attorney Advisor for the Outreach, Training, and Engagement Division, where she develops and delivers training on the EEO process, laws, and application, as well as provides educational outreach to federal agencies and stakeholders. Previously, Ms. Santos-Abrams served as a senior appellate review attorney in EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, where she was responsible for drafting administrative decisions in federal sector discrimination complaints. She drafted decisions in cases covering the entire spectrum of legal bases of alleged discrimination, with particular emphasis on cases involving the Rehabilitation Act and the Equal Pay Act. Ms. Santos-Abrams has provided extensive training and outreach at EEO conferences and to government agencies in topics including EEO case updates, providing reasonable accommodation and understanding the Rehabilitation Act, and understanding and preventing harassment.

Cathy A. Harris

Acting Chair, Merit Systems Protection Board

Merit Systems Protection Board

Cathy A. Harris was confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn into her duties as a member of the Board on June 1, 2022. She was designated Vice Chairman on Jun 6, 2022, and currently is the Acting Chairman. Prior to that Ms. Harris was co-manager of the firm of Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, in Washington, DC. She served as the Chair of the firm's Sexual Harassment and LGBT Practice sections. Ms. Harris has practiced employment law, including before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, for over two decades. She has extensive experience in the litigation and settlement of federal sector employment class actions and represented individual employees and federal agencies. Ms. Harris graduated from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC with honors in 1997, where she was a member and editor on the George Washington Law Review. She received the Michael D. Cooley award for most successfully maintaining her compassion, vitality, and humanity during law school and was elected to give the salutatory address at commencement. Ms. Harris received her undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1994. Prior to joining Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Harris also served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School from 2001 to 2004. She resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her wife and daughter.

Raymond Limon

Member, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

Merit Systems Protection Board

Raymond A. Limon was confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 2022, and sworn into his duties as a member of the Board on March 4, 2022. Prior to that, Ray served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Capital and Diversity and the Chief Human Capital Officer and was a career member of the Senior Executive Service at the Department of the Interior (DOI). His Directorate managed DOI’s strategic human capital policies and procedures, HR evaluations and oversight programs, occupational safety and health programs, and employee development and leadership programs, all of which served DOI’s more than 70,000 employees in more than 350 occupations and 2,400 locations. Before joining DOI, Ray led the State Department's Civil Service HR Management office. He also served as the Chief Human Capital Officer at the Corporation for National and Community Service (e.g., AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps, etc.) and chaired the Small Agency Human Resources Council, representing approximately 100 Federal agencies and organizations. Earlier, Ray was an attorney at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Office of General Counsel, specializing in employment litigation and regulatory reviews; and served as OPM's Director of the Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), managing the government-wide personnel system for ALJs. Ray received his J.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington and is a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Honduras).

Jennifer M. Cassell

Administrative Judge

Merit Systems Protection Board

Jennifer M. Cassell joined the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) as an Administrative Judge in 2020. Prior to coming to the MSPB, Jennifer worked as an Assistant Regional Counsel with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for 11 years. Prior to joining OGC, she clerked for Judge Ann Williams on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Jennifer received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. She previously taught advanced legal writing at her alma mater.

Daniel Fine

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

Dan Fine joined the Merit Systems Protection Board as an Administrative Judge in 2019. His career in government began as staffer on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Most recently, he was a partner at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP, where he worked on a variety of litigation matters. 

Mary Senoo

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

Mary Senoo is an Administrative Judge with the Merit Systems Protection Board. Prior to joining the MSPB in 2019, Mary spent nineteen years with the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Chicago.   During most of her career at SSA, her practice focused on employment and labor law, including negotiated contract arbitrations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission litigation and an occasional Merit Systems Protection Board appeal.  She also spent time as a Special Assistant United States Attorney handling Social Security fraud prosecutions in the Northern District of Illinois.  For her last 9 years at SSA, Mary served as Senior Counsel and oversaw the Chicago Region’s EEOC litigation practice and arbitrations.  Mary received her J.D. from Temple University in 1999 after having spent several years living and working in Japan.

David Lidow

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

David R. Lidow is an Administrative Judge with the Merit Systems Protection Board in the Central Regional Office located in Chicago.  The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that adjudicates federal employment disputes and whistleblower retaliation claims.   He previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the civil division, representing the United States in employment discrimination cases, claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, civil rights cases, and pursuing fraud claims on behalf of various government programs. 

Michael Rhoades

EEO AJ

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Judge Michael Rhoades earned his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Judge Rhoades currently serves as an administrative judge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Milwaukee Area Office. Prior to joining the EEOC, he represented parties before administrative and judicial bodies including the EEOC, MSPB, FLRA, and Courts of Appeals. Judge Rhoades was previously an active duty officer with the United States Army. In this capacity he served as a legal advisor on a variety of matters and prosecuted Military Courts-Martial.

Jeff Friday

General Counsel

Nation Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW, AFL-CIO

Jeff Friday is currently the General Counsel of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), IAM, AFL-CIO. He has held that position since late 2016. Immediately prior to that he served as an Assistant General Counsel, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for a year.

Before that Jeff worked at the National Treasury Employees Union, (NTEU) for nearly 30 years in Chicago and then DC as Assistant Counsel and then National Counsel.

Jeff started his labor career back in 1982 at the PTO, where he was a Trademark Attorney and an officer, steward and then President of NTEU Chapter 245.

Pamela Langston-Cox

Area Counsel

Department of the Treasury, Office of Chief Counsel (IRS)

Pamela D. Langston-Cox, Esq. – Pamela has served with distinction in the Federal Civil Service for over 30 years.  Since 2001, Pamela has been the Area Counsel for the Chicago Field Office of the Office of Chief Counsel, Department of the Treasury (IRS).   As the Area Counsel of one of the six field offices in the country, she supervises a staff that provides litigation and advice services for IRS management in a seven-state area, as well as for nationwide cases.  Previously, in addition to her work in private law practice and non-profit administration, she gained in-depth experience representing management in all administrative law forums, including EEOC, FLRA, MSPB, arbitration, GAO, and the GSBCA.  She has presented numerous lectures and seminars on labor law and litigation advocacy topics across the country, including for the conferences presented by Federal Dispute Resolution, National QUAD, and National HIRE; for the Public Administration Forum, AIM, Government Training Institute, and Navy; and for various federal agencies’ management, personnel and labor relations staffs.  Pamela served as the Chair of the Chicago Federal Executive Board’s Executive Committee in FY2020.  An OPM and FMCS certified mediator, Pamela also served for many years as the Chair of the Chicago FEB’s Diversity Advisory Council and oversaw the FEB’s Shared Neutrals mediation program for two years.  She has served as an active member of and instructor for the Federal Sector Program Advisory Board for the Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute for Law and the Workplace since 2003, and served for many years on the Advisory Board for the Federal Training Foundation.  She is also a member of Federally Employed Women, the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association, the American Society for Public Administration, and the NITA Foundation Advocates Society.  Pamela received her B.A., M.A., and J.D. from the University of Akron, where she served on the University’s speech and theatre faculty and coached the forensics team.

Frank Boenzi, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)

ASAC

Chicago Office

Frank Boenzi started his professional career as a police officer with the Bloomingdale (IL) Police Department where he worked in the patrol unit and other specialty law enforcement units for over 11 years.  In 2000, he made a career move to the U.S. Department of Education – Office of Inspector General  where he worked as an financial analyst and auditor for just over 3 years.  In 2004, Frank made a move back to law enforcement when he was hired by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration as a special agent.  After working many successful criminal, civil, and administrative cases, he was promoted to the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office in 2012 where he supervises a team of special agents who oversee the operations of the Internal Revenue Service for Illinois, part of Wisconsin, and Indiana.  Frank has a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University and a Masters of Public Administration, with an emphasis in Urban Management and Development, from Northern Illinois University.    

Charlotte A. Dye

Deputy General Counsel

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Ms. Dye was appointed as the Deputy General Counsel of the Office of the General Counsel in March 2019. She began her career with the FLRA in 1992 in the Dallas Regional Office, where she served in a number of roles, such as Dispute-Resolution Specialist, Regional Attorney, and the final Regional Director of the Dallas Regional Office. In March 2019, Ms. Dye moved to the headquarters office of the OGC where she serves as the Deputy General Counsel. On March 21, 2021, President Biden designated her as Acting General Counsel for the Office of the General Counsel, Federal Labor Relations Authority.

Jessica Bartlett

Washington Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Jessica Bartlett was appointed Regional Director for the Washington Region in December 2016. Jessica began her career at the Washington Regional Office in 2003 and then she transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration where she was responsible for many facets of labor litigation. In 2009, Ms. Bartlett returned to the FLRA where she served as a Senior Attorney and Acting Regional Attorney. In 2010, Ms. Bartlett became the Regional Attorney for the Washington Regional Office, and served in that position until she was appointed to be Acting Regional Director in July 2015.

Brent Hudspeth

Atlanta Acting Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Brent S. Hudspeth is the Regional Attorney of the Atlanta Regional office and is currently serving as the Acting Regional Director, for the Atlanta Regional Office of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. He joined the Atlanta Region in 1991 and had served as Senior Attorney since 2001. Previously, Mr. Hudspeth practiced labor and employment law in Tennessee.

John Pannozzo

San Francisco Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

John S. Pannozzo was appointed Regional Director for the San Francisco Region in September 2016. Mr. Pannozzo began his career with the FLRA at the Boston Regional Office in 1984, and transferred to the Los Angeles Region in 1985. He moved to a private sector firm in Oakland, California in 1988, and returned to the FLRA as an attorney in the San Francisco Region in 1992. Mr. Pannozzo was appointed the Regional Attorney for the San Francisco Region in 2012.

Tim Sullivan

Denver Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Timothy Sullivan was appointed Regional Director for the Denver Region in June 2015. Mr. Sullivan began his career with the FLRA in 1987, and has since worked in a variety of roles with the Denver Region, including Dispute Resolution Specialist where he was responsible for the oversight of all training activities, and Regional Attorney where he was responsible for the Region’s litigation activities.

Greg A. Weddle

Chicago Acting Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Greg Weddle has served as the Acting Regional Director for the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s Chicago Regional Office since May 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Weddle served as the Regional Attorney in Chicago beginning in August 2014. Mr. Weddle joined the FLRA as an attorney in 1996 and had served as Senior Attorney since 2012. Before joining the FLRA, Mr. Weddle worked for the Social Security Administration in Michigan from 1986 to 1993.

Martin H. Malin

Professor of Law Emeritus

Chicago-Kent College of Law

Martin H. Malin jointed the Chicago-Kent faculty in 1980 and taught  Labor Law, Employment Discrimination, Public Sector Employees, ADR in the Workplace, and Contracts. He assumed emeritus status on June 1, 2021. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University's James Madison College and his J.D. from George Washington University, where he was an editor of the law review and elected to the Order of the Coif. Prior to Chicago-Kent, he served as law clerk to United States District Judge Robert E. DeMascio in Detroit and on the faculty of Ohio State University.

In 1996, Malin founded Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Workplace.  He served as director until his retirement in 2021.  He built the Institute into an intellectual home for the labor and employment law community in Chicago and nationally.  On March 10, 2022, the University renamed the Institute in his honor.  It is now known as the Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace.

Malin is a former national chair of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools, a former Secretary of the ABA Section on Labor and Employment Law, a former member of the Executive Committee of The Labor Law Group, and a former member of the Board of Governors and vice president of the National Academy of Arbitrators and a former member of the Board of Governors of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. During 1984 and 1985, Malin served as consultant to the Illinois State, Local and Educational Labor Relations Boards and drafted the boards' regulations implementing the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. From 2004 to 2008, he served as reporter to the Neutrality Project of the Association of Labor Relations Agencies, which produced a mini-treatise on labor board and mediation agency impartiality. In October 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Malin as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), which resolves impasses in collective bargaining between federal agencies and unions that represent their employees. Obama reappointed Malin in 2014. He served until May 2017 when he and the other Obama appointees were removed by President Trump. In 2021, President Joseph Biden appointed Malin as Chairman of FSIP. In 2016, the ABA presented Malin with the Arvid Anderson Award for lifetime contributions to public sector labor law.

Malin has written extensively on all aspects of labor and employment law. He has published more than 80 articles and seven books, including Public Sector Employment (West 2004, 4th ed. 2022), the leading casebook on the law governing public employees, and Labor Law in the Contemporary Workplace (West 2009, 3rd ed. 2019), a leading casebook on labor law. He has ranked in the top 10 percent of authors in the Social Science Research Network database in terms of downloads of his work

He has a B.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

Wynter Allen

FSIP Member

Wynter Patrice Allen is a former Partner at the Alden Law Group, PLLC in Washington, D.C. where she practiced labor and employment law. Ms. Allen has also served as a Commissioner on the District of Columbia’s Commission on Human Rights since 2017. From 2011 until 2013, Ms. Allen served as the Chair of the District of Columbia’s Public Employee Relations Board. From 2006-2010, Ms. Allen was a Staff Attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ms. Allen has served as an Adjunct Professor for the Elon Law School Externship Program and Howard University School of Law. Ms. Allen has a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Jeanne Charles

Arbitrator & Mediator and FSIP Member

National Academy of Arbitrators

Jeanne Charles is a native of Chicago but resides in Florida with a national ADR practice including arbitration, mediation and fact-finding predominately in the areas of workplace disputes. She earned her Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. She currently serves as a labor arbitrator on various panels in Chicago, Miami and New York in addition to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the US Anti-Doping Agency and Major League Baseball (MLB). Ms. Charles is also a Special Magistrate for the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) and is listed with the American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and National Mediation Board. In September 2021, Ms. Charles was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden to the Federal Labor Relations Authority Federal Service Impasses Panel (Panel). The Panel is an independent entity within the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Panel’s Chairman and Members serve on a part-time basis and aid in resolving negotiation impasses between federal agencies and labor organizations. Ms. Charles is an adjunct professor at Penn State University’s School of Labor and Employment Relations where she teaches a graduate course in Human Resources and Employment Relations. She also serves as an adjunct professor for the University of Arizona Law School teaching advanced negotiations. Ms. Charles speaks regularly in various venues that include the American Bar Association, American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and nation-wide bar association events. She is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and a Fellow with the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. More detailed information can be found at www.JCharles@JCharlesADR.com.

Mark Gaston Pearce, JD

Executive Director of the Workers' Rights Institute, Georgetown Law and FSIP Member

Workers' Rights Institute, Georgetown Law

Mark Gaston Pearce is the executive director of the WRI and visiting faculty (distinguished lecturer) at Georgetown Law Center. Mr. Pearce formerly served for two terms as Board Member and Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to assuming his positions at Georgetown, Mr. Pearce was a visiting senior scholar and Lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Pearce received his BA from Cornell University and his JD from State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. His 40-year career includes District Trial Specialist, Region 3 of the National Labor Relations Board; co-founder of the Buffalo, New York labor and employment law firm Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux and was a governor appointed member of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals. He is currently an arbitrator and is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Howard Friedman

FSIP Member

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Howard Friedman served 25 years in the federal government as an attorney and 23 years as President of the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 245, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A former chief spokesperson and negotiator for the Trademark attorneys at the USPTO, Mr. Friedman is experienced in federal labor law, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, labor-management and employee relations, government operations, and mediating and resolving workplace disputes. He was the labor co-chair of the USPTO and Department of Commerce labor-management forum. A former President of the Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals, Mr. Friedman teaches federal labor relations to human resource professionals, agency managers, mediators and arbitrators, and union officials. As a long-standing member of the USPTO Trademark Public Advisory Committee, he advised its director on improving operations, performance, budget, and fee structure policies. Mr. Friedman played an integral role in creating and growing the USPTO’s well-known telework program, which started in 1997 with 18 Trademark examining attorneys and now has over 11,000 employees able to work from home. Mr. Friedman graduated from Delaware Law School and the University of Maryland.

Pamela Schwartz

FSIP Member

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Pamela Schwartz has over 20 years of experience in federal labor management relations. She held positions with increasing levels of authority within the Patent Office Professional Association, an independent federal labor union representing over 8000 patent examiners and other patent professionals at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This culminated in three years as Union President. During her years as chief negotiator, she represented the Union on interest-based and joint management/labor bargaining teams, and led collective bargaining negotiations, including appearances before the Federal Service Impasses Panel. She served as a Patent Examiner with the USPTO for over 35 years. She received her BSChE degree from Drexel University and her Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School.

Tamiko Watkins

Assistant General Counsel at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and FSIP Member

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Tamiko Walker Watkins, Esq. is an Assistant General Counsel at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). In this role, Mrs. Watkins serves as MCC’s senior legal advisor on employment and administrative law and is responsible for managing the administrative law team. She also oversees the MCC’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) program office, whistleblower protection program, and serves as the Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. Prior to MCC, she served as a Senior Trial Attorney and Assistant Counsel for the Department of the Navy. She provided counsel and training on labor and employment law and represented the Navy in litigation. Mrs. Watkins began her legal career as a Trial Attorney for Allstate Insurance Company and Judicial Law Clerk for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. In addition, Mrs. Watkins is an Adjunct Law Professor at Howard University School of Law. She also has notable alternative dispute resolution experience. She served as a Mediator for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, an Arbitrator for the District of Columbia Bar’s Attorney/Client Arbitration Board, and an Arbitrator for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. She received her Master of Laws degree in Litigation and Dispute Resolution from the George Washington University Law School, Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law, and Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Hampton University.

Edward F. Hartfield

FSIP Member

Hartfield Resolution Group

Edward F. Hartfield has spent his 45-year career as an impartial third party in the roles of mediator, arbitrator, facilitator, election administrator, and neutral convenor. Previously, Hartfield was appointed by Presidents Obama and Clinton to serve as a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel. He has also served as Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and Mediator for the New Jersey Office of Dispute Settlement. Mr. Hartfield was appointed to the arbitration rosters of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Mediation Board, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, and the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board. Mr. Hartfield has been the International President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution and President of the Detroit Chapter of the Labor and Employment Research Association. Hartfield is adjunct faculty at the Michigan State University College of Law and Wayne State University. He received a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Detroit and B.A. from Oberlin College.

Joseph F. Slater

Distinguished University Professor, Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law and FSIP Member

University of Toledo College of Law

Joseph Slater is a Distinguished University Professor and the Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. He holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and a PhD in history from Georgetown University. Before coming to Toledo in 1999, he practiced labor and employment law in Washington, D.C. for over a decade. Since coming to Toledo, he has published numerous books and articles on labor and employment law, especially in the area of public-sector labor law. Such works include Public Sector Employment: Cases and Materials (with Marty Malin, Ann Hodges, Jeffrey Hirsch, Anne Lofaso, and Michael Oswalt) (West Publishing, 4th ed. forthcoming 2021); Modern Labor Law in the Private and Public Sectors (with Seth Harris, Anne Lofaso, Charlotte Garden, and Richard Griffin) (Carolina Academic Press, 3rd ed. 2020) and Public Workers:  Government Employee Unions, the Law, and the State, 1900-62 (Cornell U. Press, 2004). 

In 2021, Prof. Slater was appointed to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. In 2019, Professor Slater testified before the Congressional hearing, “Standing With Public Servants:  Protecting the Right to Organize” on the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. He has presented many papers on public-sector labor law at conferences of academics and of practicing lawyers. He has made numerous media appearances on labor issues, including interviews on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “Marketplace,” has published op-eds in the Chicago Sun Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Cincinnati Enquirer, and has been quoted in the the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, MSNBC.com, Reuters, Fortune, Bloomberg, Le Monde (Paris, France), and the blogs Jurist, Salon, and Think Progress. He is a member of the Labor Law Group, the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Association (all invitation-only organizations).

Marvin Johnson

Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and FSIP Member

Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution

Marvin E. Johnson is the Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, which he founded at Bowie State University in 1986. He was Associate Professor of Labor Relations, Law, and Dispute Resolution at Bowie State University and an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University School of Law. Mr. Johnson has served three terms as a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel and one term as a Member of the Foreign Service Grievance Board. He has worked for the Department of Labor, the National Football League Players’ Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the National Treasury Employees Union, the National Academy of Conciliators and Accormend Associates. Mr. Johnson has served on numerous national dispute resolution boards, including the Association for Conflict Resolution, the ABA-Section of Dispute Resolution, and the International Academy of Mediators and has served on numerous national dispute resolution panels, including the American Arbitration Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, JAMS the Resolution Experts, and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. He received a B.B.A. from Kent State University, an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin, and a J.D. from the Catholic University Law School.