John Berry

Graduate:
MPA; Syracuse University

In 1981, Berry earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, a year after graduating from the University of Maryland. From 1985 to 1994, he was legislative director for U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer and an associate staff member for the House Appropriations Committee.  Berry then was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for law enforcement in the US Treasury Department.

Berry then moved to the Smithsonian Institution, where he spent two years as director of government relations and a senior policy advisor.  In 1997, he was appointed Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget in the Interior Department.

Berry was appointed executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in 2000,  In 2005, he was tapped to serve as director of the National Zoo.

Berry was nominated by President Barack Obama to become director of the Office of Personnel Management in March 2009, and was confirmed by the Senate a month later.