Mike Culpepper was appointed as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Human Resources (OHR)/Chief Human Capital Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July 2021. Mr. Culpepper concurrently serves as the the Executive Director of OHR’s Human Resources Operations (HRO) Directorate. Before becoming Director of HRO, he was appointed Director of OHR’s Staffing, Recruitment & Operations Center. Mr. Culpepper’s focus is to make all OHR related services and projects more efficient, effective, and transparent.

Mr. Culpepper has worked in human resources operations since joining the Federal government in 2000. He started his Federal career as a Personnel Research Psychologist with the Office of Personnel Management. Before coming to HHS, he served for 10 years in the Senior Executive Service, including as the Executive Director for the Office of Accountability Review (OAR) at the Department of Veterans Affairs. While at OAR, he addressed senior leader accountability for patient scheduling and access improprieties, reviewed and investigated allegations of misconduct and lack of oversight by senior leaders throughout the Department, and ensured leadership accountability actions were consistently applied.

In addition, Mr. Culpepper served as the Chief Human Capital Officer for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and as a Human Resources Director at the Internal Revenue Service, overseeing diverse offices that provided leadership and superior service in developing and administering workforce practices.

Mr. Culpepper holds master’s degrees in organizational management and counselling psychology. He was a Behavioural Science Specialist and Combat Engineer for the U.S. Army National Guard and is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).