Workforce Development

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Hear special remarks from Deputy Secretary Patrick Pizzella from the U.S. Department of Labor and Acting Director Michael J. Rigas from the Office of Personnel Management. Remarks will be followed by a panel discussion on Advancing AAPIs in the Federal Government. The panel will discuss on the progress we have seen in AAPIs moving up leadership ranks in the federal government, recruitment and building the pipeline, as well as career development. Hear from DOL, OPM, AAGEN, and FAPAC as they discuss resources and opportunities through each of their programs.

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Featured Speakers:

Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor

President Donald J. Trump nominated him to serve as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Senate confirmed Pizzella’s nomination on April 12, 2018. He was sworn in as Deputy Secretary by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 17, 2018. Pizzella served as Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor from July 20, 2019, until September 27, 2019.

Pizzella previously served as a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2013. On January 23, 2017, President Trump designated Pizzella as Acting FLRA Chairman, a position he held until December 8, 2017.

Prior to joining the FLRA, Pizzella was Principal at Patrick Pizzella LLC. He served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2001 to 2009. Pizzella was designated by President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from January 18, 2004, to April 26, 2005.

Previously, he worked at Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP as a Government Affairs Counselor from 1998 to 2001 and Director of Coalitions from 1996 to 1997. From 1990 to 1995, Pizzella was Director of the Office of Administration at the Federal Housing Finance Board, and from 1988 to 1989, Deputy Under Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Education. He has previously held positions at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. General Services Administration.

Pizzella received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of South Carolina and he is a graduate of Iona Preparatory School. He is a native of New Rochelle, New York.

Michael J. Rigas, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management

Michael Rigas is the Acting Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management.  Rigas has over 20 years of professional experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors, with a record of improving organizational performance and streamlining operations.

Prior to his current role, he served twice as an appointee at the General Services Administration (GSA), most recently as Senior Advisor and previously as Associate Administrator where he worked to increase Federal Government contracting with woman-owned, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and improved his department's scorecard from "red" to "green."

Rigas also served as Chief of Staff at The Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services where he worked to reduce the amount of time it took to process veterans benefits, and at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. where he advanced free-market and limited government public policy solutions.

Mr. Rigas spent more than a decade in the private sector, including Mellon Financial Corporation and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.  He holds an M.A. in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and B.A. and M.A. in economics from Boston University.