Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Edwin G. Foulke Jr. recently announced key executive personnel appointments at the agency, including the appointment of two deputy assistant secretaries and a new chief of staff.
C. Bryan Little, formerly of the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA), and Donald G. Shalhoub, formerly the Ombudsman for Part E of the Labor Department's Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, were appointed by Foulke as deputy assistant secretaries.
Little served for more than four years as a senior legislative officer in OCIA managing Congressional contacts for activities of OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and immigration-related issues relevant to DOL. Prior to arriving at the Labor Department, Little served for six years as senior director for government relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Shalhoub has held a variety of positions in the DOL's Office of the Solicitor since 1985, most recently as the Deputy Associate Solicitor for the Occupational Safety and Health Division for more than 15 years. Shalhoub was appointed by the Secretary of Labor as the department's first Ombudsman for Part E of the compensation program created by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. He served in that capacity since February 2005.
Also joining OSHA as its new chief of staff is Gabe Sierra. For the past six years, Sierra worked for Emerson Process Management as a senior marketing manager, overseeing new technology development programs for the industrial process automation industry. Sierra also worked as a project manager for large scale construction projects in the petrochemical industry. As OSHA's chief of staff, Sierra will serve as a senior member of OSHA's management team and work with Foulke and others on agency policy, oversight and management.
Finally, Foulke announced the appointments of Steven F. Witt as director of the Directorate of Construction, and Dorothy Dougherty as Director of OSHA's Directorate of Standards and Guidance (DSG). Witt recently served as an acting deputy assistant secretary for OSHA and has been with OSHA since 1983. Dougherty, an OSHA professional since 1991, has been serving as the DSG's acting director for the past two years.
"We are fortunate to have the caliber of professionals like these men and women in our agency," Foulke said. “Their experience and long history in the safety and health community will only strengthen and improve OSHA's operations as we continue to further safety and health throughout this new century."
