RRB names General Counsel

(Source: Railroad Retirement Board press release, June 7, 2017)

CHICAGO — The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has appointed Ana M. Kocur as its General Counsel. She succeeds Karl T. Blank, who retired in December 2016 after 43 years of service at the agency.

As General Counsel, Ms. Kocur is responsible for directing, coordinating, planning and administering the RRB’s legal services, including overseeing the Office of General Counsel and the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, both located at the agency’s Chicago headquarters, as well as the Office of Legislative Affairs in Washington, D.C. She also serves as a member of the RRB Executive Committee, which is responsible for day-to-day operations and development of policy recommendations to the agency’s three-member Board.

Ms. Kocur has more than 20 years of service at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in the U.S. Department of Justice. At the time of her appointment, she was Deputy Director of EOIR, having been appointed to that position in December 2012. From September 2011 until December 2012, Ms. Kocur was EOIR Chief of Staff, preceded by six months as Acting Chief Administrative Hearing Officer and Counsel to the EOIR Director.

Previously, she worked for about 15 years in the Board of Immigration Appeals, an EOIR component. This included 10 years as an attorney-advisor and 5 subsequent years as a senior panel attorney and team leader.

Originally from Hammond, Indiana, Ms. Kocur grew up in Canton, Ohio. She earned a bachelor of arts degree (1993) from The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, and a juris doctorate (1996) from the American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

Ms. Kocur currently resides in Chantilly, Virginia, with her husband, Irwin Kaplan. They are the parents of two daughters, ages 18 and 15, and one son, age 12.

Monday, June 12, 2017