John Berry, the current director of the National Zoo, has accepted an offer to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management, The Post’s Al Kamen scoops today. There has been no official announcement and the news was denied by a National Zoo official earlier today.
While he’s directed 240 employees and more than 2,000 animals since 2005, Berry is no stranger to Washington or the Federal bureaucracy. He previously served as executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the Interior Department, as the Smithsonian’s director of government relations and senior policy advisor, as legislative director for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and as an associate staffer on the House Appropriations Committee.
He’s currently leading the National Zoo through a master planning process to renovate its buildings and overall infrastructure, experience that could prove useful since the OPM director normally deals with human resources issues including recruitment, compensation and facilities. The OPM director also has the unenviable (or cool?) task of deciding when Federal workers should stay home due to inclement weather.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.