U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Senior Staff Biographies

Director, Office of Congressional Relations (OCR)

Tania A. Shand

Tania A. Shand is the Director of the Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In this position Mrs. Shand advocates for the legislative and policy priorities of the Director and the Administration. She is responsible for educating, responding to, interacting with, and advising Congress on Federal human resources management policy.

From March 2007 to April 2009, Mrs. Shand served on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia. The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over federal employee issues, the U.S. Postal Service and municipal affairs of the District of Columbia (DC).

As Staff Director, Mrs. Shand led an in-depth investigation into personnel reforms implemented at a leading legislative branch agency. The investigation, and subsequent hearings, resulted in the enactment of legislation which reversed the personnel policies that had a negative impact on the agency and its employees. Under her direction, the Subcommittee held several significant hearings on federal pay-for-performance systems, diversity, telework, poor mail delivery and contracting activities by the Postal Service. Mrs. Shand was instrumental in ensuring that Federal employees enrolled in Blue Cross/Blue Shield for 2009 preserved their benefits for surgical procedures provided by out-of-network physicians at a reasonable cost. The Subcommittee also held hearing on the DC tuition assistance grant program, as well as moved legislation on DC budget and legislative autonomy.

As a Professional Staff Member for the Civil Service and Agency Organization Subcommittee, from 1998 to 2007, Mrs. Shand worked on legislation that was enacted to increase the amount of leave a federal employee may use for organ donations from seven to 30 days. The legislation ensures that federal employees who donate an organ are granted adequate time to recuperate from the life-saving process that they voluntarily undertake. Mrs. Shand played an integral part in the enactment of the "Long Term Care Security Act." The Act, which became law in September 2000, established a long-term care insurance benefit program for federal employees and provided relief to employees placed in the wrong retirement system by a federal agency.

Prior to her committee positions, Mrs. Shand worked for the General Services Administration (GSA) as a Policy Analyst in the Congressional Affairs Office. She also worked in GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy and with the Federal Supply Service. She has produced an impressive series of hearings and legislation and has been effective in working with both the executive branch and employee unions and associations.

Mrs. Shand holds a bachelor's degree in Policy Studies from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a masters of arts in Public Administration from Howard University.