FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 1998

CONTACT: Ivonne Cuñarro (202) 606-1800 iccunarr@opm.gov

John Sepulveda, Deputy Director of OPM, Takes Oath of Office During Ceremony

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Janice R. Lachance today administered the oath of office to John U. Sepulveda as Deputy Director of OPM.

Sepulveda is the first Hispanic in history to serve as Deputy Director of the agency. He was accompanied by his wife Awilda Rodriguez. The ceremony was held in the Campbell Auditorium at OPM.

Sepulveda was nominated by President Clinton for the Deputy Director position in July 1998 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October. Members of Congress, including representatives of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and other Hispanic appointed officials attended this event.

We are thrilled to welcome John Sepulveda to the OPM family, Lachance said. His experience in public service and extraordinary skills as an administrator will serve the agency well in our continued efforts to streamline procedures, increase efficiency and provide excellence in human resources services to better serve the American people, Lachance said.

I am delighted that he has joined us as Deputy Director. John is simply a great guy, and is a friend and champion of federal employees, Lachance added.

At OPM, Sepulveda will provide expertise for the implementation of OPMs Hispanic employment initiatives and the agencys 10point plan to improve representation of Hispanics in the agency, as well as other diversity outreach efforts. Among other tasks, he also will oversee the agencys compliance with the Year 2000 computer challenge, manage the Combined Federal Campaign, and support labormanagement relations and government reinvention efforts.

It is, for me, an honor to join Director Lachance in her leadership efforts to ensure that the nations civil service is well qualified, selected and promoted on the basis of merit, and fully representative of all the American people, Sepulveda said.

I feel privileged and deeply honored of having the opportunity to serve the nation as Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Sepulveda said. Beginning when I was a young student, I made a commitment to public service, and I intend to fulfill that commitment to the best of my ability, he added.

Sepulveda was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Director, he served as the Director of the Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Office of Insured Health Care Facilities of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was the highest ranking Hispanic at FHA. As Director, he successfully managed a portfolio of $5 billion in federally insured hospital mortgages during his four year tenure.

Sepulveda joined the Clinton Administration in 1993 as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for FHA/HUD. Sepulvedas efforts in streamlining and reorganizing FHAs 80 field offices to improve efficiency and customer service won him a Hammer Award from Vice President Al Gore. He was also a member of the Clinton/Gore second term transition team. He brings with him 15 years of experience in the public sector at the local, state and federal level.

Sepulveda has been actively involved in the community since he was a student at Hunter College where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1977. He also received a master in arts and a master in philosophy from Yale University. In addition, he has taught political science at Hunter College and Yale University.

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