This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 29, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES FIVE MEMBERS TO THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL

The President today announced his intent to appoint Charles Richard Barnes, Colleen M. Kelley, Janice R. Lachance, Edward B. Montgomery, and Kevin L. Thurm to serve as members of the National Partnership Council.

Mr. Charles Richard Barnes, of Atlanta, Georgia, who has served with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for eleven years, is currently its Director. Previously, Mr. Barnes was the Deputy Director of Field Operations for FMCS. As Deputy Director, he played a key role in the strategic redirection of the agency that included realigning its services and personnel with the changing needs of the collective bargaining and conflict resolution communities. In addition, Mr. Barnes was instrumental in resolving the 1997 UPS/Teamsters strike. In 1996, he was Southern Regional Director, overseeing operations in fifteen southern states. Mr. Barnes attended Antioch University and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, where he received a B.A. degree.

Ms. Colleen M. Kelley, of Arlington, Virginia, is currently the National President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the nation's largest independent federal sector union. At the NTEU, Ms. Kelley serves in many capacities on behalf of federal employees, including representing the Union as spokesperson and increasing awareness of issues of importance to NTEU members and federal employees. She also serves on the Internal Revenue Service Modernization Executive Steering Committee, and is a member of Vice President Al Gore's Committee for Excellence in Customer Service, dedicated to improving how government does business. Previously, Ms. Kelley served as an IRS revenue agent for 14 years. Within the NTEU she has served as Chief Steward, Vice President, and Chapter President of the Pittsburgh, PA Chapter of NTEU. Ms. Kelley received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Drexel University and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a certified public accountant (C.P.A).

Ms. Janice R. Lachance, of Biddeford, Maine, is the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government's human resources agency. The OPM is charged with providing the public with up-to-date employment information, ensuring the nation's civil service remains free of political influence, and making certain that federal employees are selected and treated fairly on the basis of merit. In addition to her role as Chair of the National Partnership Council, Ms. Lachance serves as a member of the President's Management Council, the President's Commission on White House Fellows, the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, the President's Interagency Council on

Women, the Planning Committee Forum for Health Care Quality Measurement and Reporting, the Inter-Departmental Council for Hispanic Educational Improvement, and the Advisory Committee on Veteran's Employment and Training. Prior to her position as the Director of OPM, she served as the Director of Communications and Policy, where she was the agency's primary spokesperson. Ms. Lachance received a B.A. degree from Manhattanville College and a J.D. degree from Tulane University School of Law.

Mr. Edward B. Montgomery, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department is charged with preparing the American workforce for new and better jobs, and ensuring the adequacy of America's workplace. As Deputy Secretary, Mr. Montgomery serves as principal advisor to the Secretary of Labor on program policy and budget, and as chief operating officer for the Department. Prior to his current position, he served as the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Labor, and Chief Economist of the Department of Labor. Mr. Montgomery is currently on a leave of absence from his positions as Professor of the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Mr. Montgomery has been a Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC. He was a Member of the National Science Foundation's Advisory Panel in Economics and the Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans at the Department of Labor. Mr. Montgomery is the author of numerous articles, books, chapters and reports on the subjects of wage, employment, the labor market, and other economic issues. He received a B.S. degree from Pennsylvania State University, and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Harvard University.

Mr. Kevin L. Thurm, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, is currently the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he serves as the department's chief operating officer, chairs the HHS Union-Management Partnership Council and the Department's Minority Initiatives Steering Committee and leads several Departmental initiatives. Previously, he was the HHS Chief of Staff and the Department's Regulatory Policy Officer. From 1989-1991, Mr. Thurm was an associate with Cahill Gordon & Reindel, a New York Law firm. Mr. Thurm, who is a former Rhodes Scholar, received a B.A. degree from Tufts University, a B.A./M.A. degree from Oxford University, and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

The National Partnership Council, established by executive order on October 1, 1993, is charged with advising the President on matters involving labor-management relations in the executive branch and in promoting labor-management partnerships to deliver the highest quality services to the American people. It is comprised of thirteen members who serve for terms of two years.

# # #