Muriel R. Watkins was named Director, Human Resources for The New York Times in July 2001. She is responsible for all organizational development and employee relations functions of the Times newspaper. Prior to that, she was the Vice President, Human Resources and Employee Communications of New York Times Digital since August 1999. In this role, she established the HR infrastructure and developed the employee communications strategy for this start-up internet division of the Company. She also served as Director of Human Resources for The New York Times Company�s corporate departments since November 1997. Prior to joining the Times Company, Ms. Watkins served as Associate Director, Human Resources for The Reader�s Digest Association�s magazine division from May 1992 to November 1997. As part of the senior management team, Ms. Watkins led the HR due diligence on all special interest magazine divestitures and acquisitions. From July 1987 to May 1992, she was a human resources supervisor and employee relations specialist at Avon Products.

Ms. Watkins earned a B.B.A., Human Resources Management from Baruch College in 1987 and an M.S., Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1993.

Born in New York City on May 10, 1964, Ms. Watkins is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and an Advisory Board member of the American Institute for Managing Diversity.

John is currently Group Vice President of Field Human Resources for the Pepsi Bottling Group�s world wide operation. In this capacity, he leads a team of over 300 Human Resources professionals in seven countries with responsibility for PBG�s 65,000 employees. In his current role, he sets Human Resources strategy and policy in the areas of Employee and Labor Relations, Staffing, Organization Capability and Compensation and Benefits. He began his career with Pepsi-Cola in 1988 as a campus hire in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and held several Field Human Resource assignments before moving to Pepsi-Cola Headquarters in 1991. While in Headquarters, he served as Human Resource Manager; Manager, Organization Capability; and Senior Labor Manager. In 1995, John assumed the role of Director, Human Resources for Pepsi-Cola at the Business Unit level; and, in 1998 served as Vice President, Organization Capability for the Pepsi Bottling Group. Prior to his current assignment, he led the Human Resources function for the North America Bottling Business.

John received an MA in Labor and Industrial Relations from West Virginia University and a BA in Political Science from West Liberty College. He and his wife Lori have two daughters, Lane and Liza.

Phyllis A. Hughes is the Director of Recruitment and Employment Services at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She is responsible for leading GAO�s talent acquisition and on � boarding programs.

Prior to joining GAO, Phyllis was a Senior Associate with GRA, a human resource management consulting firm. She worked on a wide range of human resource consulting assignments in both the public and private sectors, and worked on partnering assignments with global firms such as Accenture and Hay Group. Phyllis was recognized as Consultant of the Year by FPMI Communications in 1998. Before leaving the Federal government in 1997 to work for the private sector, Phyllis was the Associate Director for Workforce management at the U.S. Department of Transportation where in addition to leading human resource programs, she directed management analysis functions. During her tenure at the Department of Transportation, she received a Hammer Award for leading the design and implementation of a model for performance management system.

Phyllis began her government career in 1978 as an undergraduate intern followed by a graduate internship at NIH. She was also a HUD Fellow. In addition to her service at GAO, Department of Transportation, and NIH, Phyllis worked for the Department of the Army in both headquarters and in field locations as a management analyst and human resource specialist. Her experience also includes teaching courses in public administration and human resource management. She is currently an Adjunct Professor for the University of Virginia.

Phyllis has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.