Director – Vacant (Acting Director is Douglas Pennington)
Deputy Director – Douglas A. Pennington
Douglas A. Pennington serves as Deputy Director for the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP). In this role, he provides operational and financial oversight to the over 1,300 employees at the national office and across the country. Pennington brings more than 30 years of insurance and benefits leadership and management experience to OWCP. Previously, he served as the Deputy Director for the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness, one of the statutory divisions within OWCP. Prior to joining OWCP, he served in senior leadership positions at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Pennington began his insurance management career working for over a decade in the private sector before he became a senior insurance regulator with the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Pennington earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Legal Studies from Pacific Lutheran University, his Master’s in Public Administration from Arkansas State University, a Pre-Doctoral Executive Graduate Certificate in Public Administration from Liberty University, and holds the Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Risk Manager, Certified Compliance Professional, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and 14 other insurance, audit, and technology credentials/certifications. He is also a member of several insurance, auditing, and technology professional associations, including the Insurance Data Management Association (IDMA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (AFCE), the Insurance Regulatory Examiner’s Society (IRES), the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals (AICP), the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators (SITE), and the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM).
Chief of Staff – Vacant
Senior Policy Advisor – Kyle Beckwith
Kyle Beckwith serves as a Policy Advisor for the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), where he provides policy analysis and regulatory support to ensure program alignment with statutory and administrative requirements. His work involves assessing regulatory frameworks, contributing to policy development initiatives, and evaluating program effectiveness to support OWCP’s mission. Since 2015, his involvement in political and judicial campaigns has included volunteering and working in grassroots organizing, policy research, and strategic outreach efforts. After law school, he practiced as an attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, focusing on compliance and regulatory matters in both the public and private sectors. Licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C., Texas, and Iowa, he graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and earned a business law certificate, completing his studies a semester early in December 2021. His academic background includes a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he majored in political science and minored in legal studies. In his final semester of law school, he authored a 27-page paper analyzing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had the authority to enforce them. His experience spans regulatory compliance, policy development, and government operations, with a focus on improving administrative processes and program efficiency.
Ombudsperson – Vacant
Information Technology Project Management Officer – Benjamin Taddeo
Benjamin Taddeo is OWCP Information Technology (IT) Project Management Office (PMO) Officer, overseeing all business aspect of IT for OWCP and its programs. Thes duties include assuring that existing legacy systems continue to meet business operations, adjudication, reporting, and payment needs until they are replaced through modernization. Mr. Taddeo also manages the effective development of all business systems requirements, business systems process reengineering, data cleanup and migration in support of the multi-year IT modernization occurring across all OWCP systems and programs. Mr. Taddeo began his federal career in 2008 within OWCP and has held several positions of increasing authority throughout his career, working for multiple divisions. Most recently, prior to joining the IT PMO, Mr. Taddeo held the position of DCMWC Branch Chief of Fiscal Operations and Technical Support, where Ben oversaw the concept development, design, testing, and implementation of artificial intelligence for standardized form entry recognition, as well as implementing visual data analytics and cloud data management. In addition, he was responsible for risk management as well as directing strategic planning for the purpose of identifying methods to improve IT and fiscal business operations, programs, and customer services. Mr. Taddeo received his undergraduate degrees from Malone University (BA in Pre-Law), Walsh University (BA in Finance) and a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Southern Illinois University School of Law.