Barbara Sanford
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
2022 fellow
A valued civil servant with a proven leadership record in government employing innovative workforce development tactics to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout her professional tenure in the public sector, Ms. Sanford has managed a wide range of programs ranging from cybersecurity for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to practicing labor relations law for the mayor of New York City.
Most recently, Ms. Sanford served as the Deputy Director of the Governance and Enterprise Management Services Division at the NRC. In this role, she led a team virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic that developed and implemented real-time changes to how NRC managed data, information technology systems, and cybersecurity for a workforce suddenly forced to adapt to a remote environment.
Ms. Sanford previously led the NRC’s executive resources program, human resources policy, and labor and employee relations programs while fostering positive relationships with the union and the federal labor and employee relations community. Ms. Sanford successfully re-negotiated the NRC’s collective bargaining agreement and implemented a revised agreement that included the agency’s first telework article.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Sanford focused on legal work in labor and employee relations and workplace rights at several federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Ms. Sanford has a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park and a J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law.
As a White House Leadership Development Program Fellow, she will work with the Office of Management and Budget’s Performance and Personnel Management Team.
