Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced senior staff transitions and additional key Biden-Harris political appointees. These diverse and accomplished individuals bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the agency and will work to quickly advance key priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration.  

Khalilah M. Harris, EdD, JD, Chief of Staff, Office of the Director 

Khalilah M. Harris, EdD, JD will now serve as Chief of Staff to the Director. Previously Khalilah served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). For the past two decades she has had an extensive career working to expand access to opportunity through a racial equity lens by prioritizing community voice in education, education policy and justice, youth advocacy, women's rights, worker's rights and building an inclusive workforce. Dr. Harris previously served as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM during the Obama-Biden Administration following her tenure as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. 

Alethea Predeoux, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Director  

Alethea has been promoted to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff. She was previously the Director for the Office of Congressional, Legislative, and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to coming to OPM, Alethea was the Director of Legislative, Political and Grassroots Mobilization for the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (AFGE), a federal employee union comprised of more than 300,000 members. At AFGE, Alethea worked to advance the union’s legislative agenda, maintain strong bipartisan Congressional relationships, and protect the rights of the federal workforce. 

Eric Bursch, Director, Office of Congressional, Legislative, and Intergovernmental Affairs  

Eric has been promoted to serve as Director of the Office of Congressional, Legislative, and Intergovernmental Affairs (CLIA). He was previously the Deputy Director of CLIA at OPM. Before joining OPM, Eric spent over a decade on Capitol Hill, serving in a number of positions in several different offices. He spent the past seven years as Staff Director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee that has oversight of the federal workforce, first under Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and then Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ). Eric also worked for Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), both as a congressional caseworker in her state office and a Legislative Assistant in D.C. 

Erikka S. Knuti, Director, Office of Communications 

Erikka Knutti was recently appointed to lead OPM’s Office of Communications. Before joining OPM, Erikka was Director of Strategic Communications for the largest private sector union in the United States, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). She provided strategic counsel for high-profile contract negotiations and organizing campaigns. As a spokesperson for the UFCW, she promoted the value essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, and retail sectors provide our economy and communities in the media. 

Jack A. Miller, Deputy Director, Office of Communications 

Jack Miller was recently appointed to serve as Deputy Director in OPM’s Office of Communications. Before joining OPM, Jack led communications for the public investment advocacy group Invest in America and worked as a private media consultant. Prior to that, Jack worked in more than a dozen states for activist groups, congressional candidates, and presidential campaigns. He spent three years in Congress working for Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and more recently served as a contract speechwriter at USAID.   

Viet H. Tran, Press Secretary, Office of Communications 

Viet Tran was recently appointed to serve as Press Secretary in OPM’s Office of Communications. He recently served as a communications consultant to organizations, nonprofits, and state agencies. Previously, he was a press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. Viet served on the Board of Directors for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership and as a regional ambassador with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) under the Obama-Biden Administration. He also served as speechwriter and media advisor to the AAPIs for Biden coalition within the Biden-Harris Campaign. 

Courtney Rizzo, Senior Advisor for Operations, Office of the Director 

Courtney was previously the Special Assistant to the Chief Information Officer and has been promoted to serve as Senior Advisor for Operations. Courtney joined OPM after managing the budgets of key battleground states for the Biden-Harris coordinated campaign and serving on the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to her political experience, she held senior-level finance and administrative roles in the nonprofit and small business sectors. 

Teika Carlson, Special Assistant to the Director, Office of the Director 

Teika previously served as the Executive Assistant to the Director and was recently promoted to serve as a Special Assistant. Before OPM, Teika was a Regional Organizing Director on the Biden-Harris Campaign and led campus outreach with the coalitions team in Ohio in the 2020 general election. Teika began campaigning as a Field Organizer with Biden for President. 

Sharon Kwon, Executive Assistant to the Director, Office of the Director 

Sharon was recently appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as Executive Assistant to the Director at OPM. Before OPM, Sharon was an APAICS Racial Equity fellow serving on the House Committee on Education and Labor. She began her career as a field organizer on the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.  

Tiffany Avila, Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Office of the Director 

Tiffany was previously the Confidential Assistant in the Office of the Director and has been promoted to serve as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff. Prior to this position, Tiffany served on the Leadership and Training team at the Presidential Personnel Office. Prior to serving in the Administration, Tiffany worked as an organizer and Regional Organizing Director on the Biden for President Campaign, the Biden-Harris Campaign, and the Georgia Senate Race.