The USPS Board of Governors is the governing body of the Postal Service, but what does it do and how is it different from other senior leadership of the organization?
The board was created by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the legislation that transformed the Post Office Department into the modern Postal Service.
The Board of Governors is similar to a board of directors of a private corporation — which means it is primarily responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the organization.
It does not manage day-to-day operations, which is the responsibility of the postmaster general and the executive leadership team. Instead, the board directs and controls major expenditures, conducts long-range planning, approves officer compensation and sets policies, among other duties.
A full board consists of nine governors, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for seven-year terms. They select the postmaster general, who becomes a member of the board, and those 10 select the deputy postmaster general, who also serves on the board. There are currently five open board seats.
By law, governors are nominated based on their expertise in public service, law or accounting. At least four are to be selected based on their experience in managing organizations or corporations with at least 50,000 employees. Not more than five of the nine may belong to the same political party.
The board has a full-time corporate secretary who manages the board staff and coordinates Postal Service resources so that the governors can fulfill their duties. Lucy Trout is the current secretary of the board.
“I am responsible for coordinating and running quarterly board and committee meetings, overseeing communications with management and outside stakeholders, providing the board with advice on governance matters, and a variety of other tasks. I am joined by an outstanding deputy secretary and indispensable executive administrative professionals, who collectively ensure that the governors carry out their duties,” Trout said.
The board meets on a regular basis, which includes quarterly meetings that are open to the public and streamed live.
Archived recordings of board meetings, biographies of board members and additional details of the board’s activities can be found on usps.com.
Add your first comment to this post