Leadership
Assistant Secretary for
Policy
William E. Spriggs
William Spriggs was nominated by President Barack Obama as Assistant Secretary for Policy. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 21, 2009.
Dr. Spriggs is a recognized expert in labor policy and research. For over 25 years, he has worked as an educator, researcher and advocate for working families and low-income communities.
Born in Washington, DC, Dr. Spriggs attended the public elementary schools of the District in the midst of the Civil Rights era, spurring his commitment to public service. After graduating cum laude from Williams College in 1977, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison — where he earned a Ph.D. in Economics and served as co-president of American Federation of Teachers Local #3220.
At the time of his nomination, Dr. Spriggs was Chair of the Department and a professor, of Economics at Howard University in Washington, DC, a post he held since December 2005. While there he also served as Chair of the Independent Health Care Trust for UAW Retirees of Ford Motor Company, the board of the Retiree Health Administration Corporation which administers the health care trusts for UAW retirees of Ford and General Motors, and he was Chair of the UAW Retirees of the Dana Corporation Health and Welfare Trust. Dr. Spriggs was also a Senior Fellow with the Community Service Society of New York. He served as Vice Chair of the Board of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute. From 1988 to 2004, he was Executive Director of the National Urban League's Institute for Opportunity and Equality
Dr. Spriggs held various positions in government service during the Clinton Administration: in 1993 and 1994 he led the staff of the National Commission for Employment Policy, and in 1997 and 1998 he worked at the Department of Commerce and at the Small Business Administration. He served as a senior economist for the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress from 1994 to 1997.
He is a past-board member and President of the National Economic Association — the professional organization of Black economists, and served as a Board member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. In 2006 he was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Most recently, he served on the boards of the Eastern Economic Association, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Employment Law Project, the National Committee for the Preservation of Social Security and Medicare, and the National Advisory Council of Corporate Voices for Working Families. Dr. Spriggs was a member of the Black Enterprise Magazine Board of Economists, and served on the 2002 Time Magazine Board of Economists.
He taught six years at Norfolk State University (in Virginia) where he also headed the Honors Program for non-science students, and two years at North Carolina A & T State University (in Greensboro), and has published in both academic and popular journals
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Policy
Megan J. Uzzell
Megan J. Uzzell was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), on June 21, 2009 and served as Acting Assistant Secretary until October 21, 2009. In this role, Ms. Uzzell advises the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Assistant Secretary on policy development, regulations, program implementation, compliance assistance strategies, program evaluations, research, budget and performance analysis, and legislation. Ms. Uzzell also provides analytical support with respect to policy issues, trends and economic analyses affecting programs of the Department. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Uzzell served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
From 2004 – 2009, Ms. Uzzell worked on legislative matters as a staff member to then Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (now Secretary of Labor). During this time, she rose from Legislative Assistant to Legislative Director, responsible for legislative activities involving energy, environment, appropriations and transportation. Her previous experience includes employment at the National Environmental Trust and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
A graduate of the Drake University, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Political Science and International Relations. Ms. Uzzell also has a Master of Arts degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Associate Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs
e. christi cunningham
e. christi cunningham was appointed Associate Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs on September 28, 2009. Ms. cunningham advises the Assistant Secretary for Policy on policy issues concerning the Department’s regulations and regulatory agenda. Ms. cunningham manages the regulation production process of the Department’s agencies and chairs the Regulatory Council. She also coordinates the Department’s interagency relationships relevant to regulatory development, including OMB and SBA Advocacy.
After graduating magna cum laude from Southern Methodist University, where she was a President’s scholar and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and a minor in Economics, she attended Yale Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. Ms. cunningham is a Truman scholar.
Ms. cunningham came to the Department of Labor from Howard University School of Law, where she taught a variety of subjects including Labor Law, Equal Employment Opportunity, Administrative Law, and Torts. She also taught International Human Rights for several sessions of the Law School’s summer program in Cape Town, South Africa. At Howard Law School, Ms. cunningham was the recipient of several awards for teaching and service.
In addition to her academic pursuits, Ms. cunningham founded the Community Anti-violence Project (CAP), a non-profit organization dedicated to building coalitions to reduce various forms of violence and empower individuals in low-income communities.
Ms. cunningham previously was an associate in the New York offices of Debevoise and Plimpton and clerk to the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in the Southern District of New York. She is admitted to the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.
Director, Workforce Development and Security Division
Office of Regulatory and Programmatic Policy
Kathleen E. Franks
Kathleen E. Franks is the Director of the Workforce Development and Security Division in the Office of Regulatory and Programmatic Policy. Dr. Franks’ division is responsible for routinely providing DOL agency leadership analyses of and recommendations regarding DOL agencies’ major regulatory, legislative and policy initiatives related to workforce development and security. Dr. Franks and her team are responsible for evaluation and tracking of DOL regulatory programs and strategies and ensuring that DOL’s regulatory initiatives are in compliance with all of the relevant statutes and executive orders that govern the promulgation of regulations by Federal agencies. Dr. Franks is also the co-Chair of the Department’s Open Government Initiative Work Group, and represents the Department on interdepartmental regulatory policy committees.
Dr. Franks holds a Ph.D. in Monetary Economics, a Master of Arts degree in Urban Economics from Howard University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park, MD.
Chief Evaluation Officer
Demetra Smith Nightingale
Demetra Smith Nightingale is Chief Evaluation Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor. As the Chief Evaluation Officer, she is responsible for coordinating the Department's evaluation agenda and working with all agencies to design and implement evaluations. She is an expert in employment policy, workforce development, labor markets, and social policies and programs, and has conducted many evaluations of federal, state, and local programs aimed at increasing employment, skills, and income for workers and families.
Dr. Nightingale is the author or co-author of five books and dozens of articles. Her most recent books are Repairing the U.S. Social Safety Net (with Martha Burt) and Reshaping the American Workforce in a Changing Economy (with Harry Holzer). She is on leave from the Urban Institute where she is a Senior Fellow, directing many evaluations and research projects on employment, job training, social policy, and skills development.
She is also Adjunct Professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University, teaching graduate courses in Program Evaluation. From 2002 to 2010, she was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University teaching courses in Applied Program Evaluation and in Social Policy, before returning to the Urban Institute where she had previously been for 29 years, and has also taught at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and Marymount University. In addition to her research in the U.S., she has conducted studies in Argentina, Chile, Russia, and China. She is also Senior Research Affiliate with the Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, a senior research consultant with the World Bank, serves on many boards and task forces, and was an expert advisor to the White House Welfare Reform Working Group in 1992-93. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Ph.D. in Public Policy, both from the George Washington University, and is a native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
