Bruce P. Gipe serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affair’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP). In this position he leads the implementation of the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, with the goal of improving the Department by creating a culture of accountability and protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), where he led the Budget and Finance Office, the Information Technology Office, the Human Capital Office, the Administrative Service Office, and the Clerk’s Office (which handles FOIA, Privacy Act, and Records Management). During his time at OSC, he led the transition to a completely paperless environment. He also served on the litigation panel, deciding which cases merited litigation before the Merit Systems Protection Board. From 2011 to 2016, he served as the Director of Management, Planning and Analysis and then the Principal Deputy Vice Chairman at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). As PDVC he served as a Veterans Law Judge and was responsible for leading the Board’s Appellate Group, overseeing the development and approval of policy changes in response to legislative, judicial, and organizational needs and changes. He also served as the Executive Sponsor of the Department’s LGBT Employee Work Group. Prior to joining BVA, Mr. Gipe served in senior leadership positions at the Department of Justice and as an Administrative Appeals Judge on the Medicare Appeals Council. Mr. Gipe holds a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law, and he is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
