Board Members
HENRY J. KERNER, VICE CHAIRMAN and ACTING CHAIRMAN
Henry J. Kerner was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 14, 2024, and sworn into his duties as a member of the Board on June 3, 2024. Previously, Mr. Kerner was the Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) from October 2017 until October 2023. As Special Counsel, he implemented new processes and procedures aimed at improving OSC response time to whistleblower complaints and streamlining the handling of prohibited personnel practice (PPP) investigations. Under his leadership, OSC set new agency records for the number of favorable actions achieved on behalf of whistleblowers. Mr. Kerner graduated from Harvard Law School and spent 18 years working as a career prosecutor, primarily in Compton, California. In 2011, he joined the staff of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform where, under Chairman Darrell Issa and later Chairman Jason Chaffetz, he led investigations of the Federal bureaucracy and advocated on behalf of whistleblowers to protect American taxpayers. Mr. Kerner also served as staff director under Ranking Member Sen. John McCain of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
CATHY A. HARRIS, MEMBER
Cathy A. Harris was confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn into her duties as a member of the Board on June 1, 2022. She was designated Vice Chairman on June 6, 2022, and served as the Acting Chairman. On March 6, 2024, the Senate confirmed Ms. Harris as Chairman, and she was sworn in on March 14, 2024. Prior to that Ms. Harris was co-manager of the firm of Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, in Washington, DC. She served as the Chair of the firm's Sexual Harassment and LGBT Practice sections. Ms. Harris has practiced employment law, including before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, for over two decades. She has extensive experience in the litigation and settlement of federal sector employment class actions and represented individual employees and federal agencies. Ms. Harris graduated from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC with honors in 1997, where she was a member and editor on the George Washington Law Review. She received the Michael D. Cooley award for most successfully maintaining her compassion, vitality, and humanity during law school and was elected to give the salutatory address at commencement. Ms. Harris received her undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1994. Prior to joining Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Harris also served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School from 2001 to 2004. She resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her wife and daughter.