Board Members
HENRY J. KERNER, VICE CHAIRMAN and ACTING CHAIRMAN
Henry J. Kerner was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 14, 2024, and sworn into his duties as a member of the Board on June 3, 2024. Previously, Mr. Kerner was the Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) from October 2017 until October 2023. As Special Counsel, he implemented new processes and procedures aimed at improving OSC response time to whistleblower complaints and streamlining the handling of prohibited personnel practice (PPP) investigations. Under his leadership, OSC set new agency records for the number of favorable actions achieved on behalf of whistleblowers. Mr. Kerner graduated from Harvard Law School and spent 18 years working as a career prosecutor, primarily in Compton, California. In 2011, he joined the staff of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform where, under Chairman Darrell Issa and later Chairman Jason Chaffetz, he led investigations of the Federal bureaucracy and advocated on behalf of whistleblowers to protect American taxpayers. Mr. Kerner also served as staff director under Ranking Member Sen. John McCain of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
JAMES J. WOODRUFF II, MEMBER
James J. Woodruff II was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as a Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) on March 24, 2025. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 7, 2025, and sworn into his duties as a member of the Board on October 28, 2025, thereby restoring MSPB’s quorum. His term expires on March 1, 2032. Mr. Woodruff brings to MSPB his commitment to advancing the MSPB’s mission of ensuring fair, merit-based federal service for all employees.
During the first Trump Administration, Mr. Woodruff served as Chief Counsel to the Chairman at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. In addition to this executive experience, he brings over two decades of legal expertise to the Board, having advised and represented clients in civil and national security matters across government and private sectors. This experience included successfully litigating complex torts, military justice, and contract cases through trials and appeals and advising on federal acquisitions.
Mr. Woodruff’s 14 years of military service includes a three-year active duty tour at Headquarters Air Force (2016-2019), where he advised military commanders worldwide on employment disputes, including whistleblower matters, while litigating cases before MSPB and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of the Department of the Air Force. Since then, his federal employment law expertise has grown through active-duty leadership roles at various commands, including advising the Pentagon.
Building on his foundation of practical leadership and legal experience, Mr. Woodruff has dedicated over a decade to mentoring America’s future lawyers as a law professor, teaching advocacy, torts, remedies, and estate planning at Florida Coastal School of Law and St. Francis School of Law. He was educated at Texas A&M University, South Texas College of Law, Air Command and Staff College, and Harvard Extension School. Mr. Woodruff is a Major in the United States Air Force Reserve.