Deirdre Hamilton
Chair
Deirdre Hamilton was confirmed by the United States Senate as a Member of the National Mediation Board on December 7, 2021.Prior to becoming a Member, Ms. Hamilton worked as a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), working exclusively with the IBT’s Airline Division. At the IBT she represented most of the crafts or classes within the airline industry- including pilots, flight attendants, technicians, and aircraft cleaners- at both commercial and cargo air carriers. Before that, Ms. Hamilton was a staff attorney at the Association of Flight Attendants. In her career, she has handled a wide range of legal matters including National Mediation Board elections and mediation, collective bargaining support, contract enforcement, and litigation of Railway Labor Act issues. Ms. Hamilton began her career as a legal fellow in the General Counsel’s office at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Ms. Hamilton has been an active member of the Railway Labor Act legal community. She has served as a panelist at meetings of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee and the Railway and Airline Labor Law Committee. She has also served as a Senior Editor for the ABA Railway Labor Act Treatise.
Ms. Hamilton is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan Law School.
Linda A. Puchala
Member
Linda Puchala was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2024 as a Member of the National Mediation Board. Ms. Puchala has served consecutively since her first appointment and confirmation to the Board in May 2009.
A former Mediator, Sr. Mediator and NMB Associate Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Ms. Puchala joined the Board following a career in elected and appointed positions with the Association of Flight Attendants and the Michigan State Employees Association.
Linda Puchala is a native of Norway, Michigan and a graduate of Cleary University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
Loren E. Sweatt
Member
Loren Sweatt was confirmed as a Member of the National Mediation Board by the United States Senate on March 7, 2024. Ms. Sweatt transitions to the Board from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions where she most recently was a Senior Professional Staff Member. Prior to the Senate position, Ms. Sweatt also served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor for almost four years. For 15 years, Ms. Sweatt was a Senior Policy Advisor at the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the House of Representatives.
Her experience includes all facets of labor policy. Ms. Sweatt holds a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Christian University and a Master of Business Administration from Marymount University.