Office of the General Counsel Biographies
Headquarters
General Counsel, Julia Akins Clark
Ms. Clark was nominated by President Obama on June 4, 2009 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009. Ms. Clark served on the Presidential Transition Project FLRA Agency Review Team with former FLRA General Counsel Joseph Swerdzewski and FLRA Chair Phyllis Segal. Before coming to the FLRA, Ms. Clark was the General Counsel of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO. General Counsel Clark started her legal career as an Honors Program trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. For the past 20 years she has practiced labor and employment law before federal courts and agencies, including the FLRA, the NLRB, the NMB and the Personnel Appeals Board of the GAO. She received her J.D. from the American University, Washington College of Law, and her B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University.
Deputy General Counsel, Dennis P. Walsh
Dennis P. Walsh was appointed Deputy General Counsel in December 2009. Previously, he served as a Member of the NLRB on three occasions from 2000 to 2007. He also served in many other positions at the NLRB. Most recently he was a Special Assistant in the Division of Enforcement at the NLRB and a Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the NLRB General Counsel’s Division of Operations. On two occasions in the 1990s Mr. Walsh was a Chief Counsel to two Members of the NLRB. He began his legal career at the NLRB in 1984 as an attorney in the Office of Representation Appeals and continued to work for various NLRB offices. Mr. Walsh also practiced law in the private sector from 1989 to 1994. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Labor Law at Howard University School of Law for several years. He graduated cum laude from Cornell Law School, and received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Hamilton College.
Assistant General Counsel for Appeals, Richard Zorn
Richard Zorn has held this position since March 2001 and has worked in the Office of the General Counsel since 1998. He is also OGC's Freedom of Information Act Officer and the manager of OGC's portion of the FLRA's web site. Mr. Zorn has worked for the FLRA since 1990, first as a staff attorney in the Solicitor’s Office and then on a Member’s staff. Previously, he worked for the Department of Labor as an attorney in the Solicitor's Office. He has a B.A. degree from Hobart College, in Geneva, N.Y., a M.S. in Health Services Administration from Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, and a J.D. degree from University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, where he was a member of the University of Dayton Law Review.
Assistant to the General Counsel for Representation Cases, Jean Perata
In addition to serving as the Deputy Regional Director of the San Francisco Regional Office since 1996, the OGC also relies upon Jean's acknowledged expertise concerning representation matters. She has been with the FLRA since its inception in 1979, working as an Authority Agent and then as a Supervisory Authority Agent. Prior to joining the FLRA Jean was a Compliance Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration, administering the provisions of Executive Order 11491, as amended. Jean obtained her B.A. degree from the
Assistant to the Deputy General Counsel for Operations, Valerie Boozer-Hayden
Valerie Boozer-Hayden has held this position since January 2010. She assists the Deputy General Counsel with the day-to-day management of the OGC’s operations and resources by providing budgetary, human resources and administrative expertise. Previously, Valerie worked at the National Labor Relations Board as a Senior Labor Relations Specialist where she handled agency-wide labor issues on behalf of the NLRB. From 1986-2004, Valerie worked at the FLRA in several different positions, including as a case writer on Chairman/Member staffs and in a position comparable to her current position. Valerie attended the University of Maryland.
Atlanta Regional Office
Acting Regional Director, Richard Jones
Richard S. Jones was appointed Acting Regional Director of the Atlanta Region in January 2009. He has held the position of Regional Attorney in Atlanta since October 2002. He began his career in the federal service in 1984 as a Field Attorney with the Atlanta Regional Office. He then served as the Atlanta Region’s Litigation Specialist from 1989 until becoming the Regional Attorney in 2002. Mr. Jones received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio.
Boston Regional Office
Regional Director, Philip Roberts
Philip T. Roberts was appointed Regional Director for the Boston Region in August 2011 after being designated Acting Regional Director in January 2008. Before that, Mr. Roberts served as the Regional Attorney for the Boston Region beginning in March 2003. He began his career in the Federal service in 1986 as Field Attorney with the FLRA's Atlanta Regional Office. Mr. Roberts transferred to the FLRA's Chicago Regional Office in 1991, where he served as a Field Attorney and later as the Region's Dispute Resolution Specialist. In 1997, Mr. Roberts served as the FLRA's Acting Director of the FLRA's Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) program in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illiniois and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Chicago Regional Office
Regional Director
Peter Sutton was appointed Regional Director for the Chicago Region in April 2005. In 2010, the ABA Labor and Employment Section honored Mr. Sutton by naming him as the Federal Labor and Employment Lawyer of the year. While serving as the Chicago Regional Director, Mr. Sutton also served as the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region for a period of five months in early 2010. Before his appointment as the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region, Peter served as the Acting Deputy General Counsel for the last five months of 2009. Before his appointment as the Chicago Regional Director, he served as the Acting Regional Director for the Chicago Region, and from 1991-2004 he was the Regional Attorney for the Chicago Region. From 1979-1991, he was an attorney in the Washington Regional Office, serving first as a Staff Attorney and then a Supervisory Attorney. Mr. Sutton graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., and then obtained a J.D. degree from the New England School of Law in Boston, Mass.
Dallas Regional Office
Regional Director
James (Jim) E. Petrucci was appointed Regional Director for the Dallas Region in January 1991. He had previously served as the Regional Director of the New York Region of the FLRA from September 1983 to January 1991, and as Regional Attorney of that Region beginning in June 1979. Mr. Petrucci worked as an attorney with the Newark Region of the National Labor Relations Board from 1973 until leaving to join the FLRA in 1979. He received a B.A. degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey.
Regional Attorney, Charlotte Dye
Charlotte A. Dye has held the position of Regional Attorney with the Dallas Regional Office since 1998. Prior to becoming the Regional Attorney, Ms. Dye served as the Dispute Resolution Specialist and Staff Attorney for the Dallas Region. Ms. Dye received a Doctor of Jurisprudence from
Denver Regional Office
Regional Director, Matt Jarvinen
Matt Jarvinen was appointed Regional Director for the Denver Region in April 2005 after being designated Acting Regional Director in August 2004. Before that, Mr. Jarvinen served as the Regional Attorney for the Denver Region beginning in May 2003. He worked in the Denver Region as a Staff Attorney and served as the Region's Litigation Specialist starting in 1989. Mr. Jarvinen began working for the Office of General Counsel in
Acting Regional Attorney, Paige Swenson
Paige Swenson has worked for the FLRA for almost 14 years. She began her career in the Atlanta Regional Office in October 1997 as a General Attorney. In June 2002, Ms. Swenson was promoted to the Regional Litigation Specialist position. In July 2010, Paige transferred to the Denver Regional Office as a Senior Attorney. She earned her B.A. from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1994, and her J.D. from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia in 1997.
San Francisco Regional Office
Acting Regional Director, Jean Perata
Jean M. Perata became Acting Regional Director in January 2012. Previously she held the position of Deputy Regional Director of the San Francisco Regional Office since 1996. She has been with the FLRA since its inception in 1979, working as an Authority Agent and then as a Supervisory Authority Agent. Prior to joining the FLRA Jean was a Compliance Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration, administering the provisions of Executive Order 11491, as amended. Jean obtained her B.A. degree from the
Acting Regional Attorney, Yolanda C. Shepherd
Yolanda C. Shepherd joined the San Francisco Region in 1989 as a General Attorney. She was promoted to Senior Attorney in 2001. She earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from De Paul University College of Law.
Washington Regional Office
Regional Director, Barbara Kraft
Barbara Kraft has practiced labor, employment and employee benefits law as a principal in a private law firm representing Federal employees and unions, as in-house union counsel and as a government attorney. After graduating from law school, she worked first for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, then relocated to Washington to begin work at the National Labor Relations Board as an attorney in the Division of Enforcement Litigation, Appellate Court Branch. She left the NLRB to work for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, and thereafter entered private practice. Ms. Kraft holds bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.
Regional Attorney, Jessica Bartlett
Jessica Bartlett was appointed the Regional Attorney for the Washington Regional Office in December 2010. Prior to this appointment, she served as Acting Regional Attorney and was a Senior Attorney in this Office. Jessica began her career at the Washington Regional Office for four years and then transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration where she was responsible for many facets of labor litigation before returning to the FLRA in the fall of 2009. She graduated from Mary Washington College, and then obtained a J.D. degree from George Mason University.
