On Wednesday, April 14, Wayne Palmer, former principal deputy assistant secretary for Mine Safety and Health (MSHA) in the U.S. Department of Labor joined us for the third discussion in our series. We discuss Palmer’s extensive background and career path in both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.
Wayne Palmer served in the previous administration as principal deputy assistant secretary at MSHA. Prior to that, he served as senior manager of congressional relations at the nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition, educating presidential candidates’ transition teams on the senate confirmation process. He previously spent 13 years in Congress, including as legislative director for Senator George Voinovich and chief of staff to Senate Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum, followed by senior roles at the U.K.’s 2nd largest pharmaceutical manufacturer and a boutique consulting firm where he launched the Rising Stars series of bipartisan delegations of U.S. state & local elected officials to China. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State and master of government administration from the University of Pennsylvania, subsequently launching his career in Washington, D.C., as a presidential management fellow at the U.S. Department of Commerce, with rotations through the House Ways & Means Committee, Senate Steering Committee, and White House Office of Management & Budget.