Agency Leadership
OGE is led by a director who is appointed by the President to a 5 year term. OGE’s Director is assisted by a team of three career government executives.
Eric Ueland
Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics
Eric Ueland currently serves as the Deputy Director for Management at OMB, following tenure as acting chief of staff. In the first Trump term he was Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs as well Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council. At the Department of State Ueland served as Senior Official for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance, and acting principal deputy assistant secretary and senior advisor of the Bureau of International Affairs. He also served as a senior strategy officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Among multiple Capitol Hill assignments, Ueland served as chief of staff for the Senate Majority Leader and Assistant Senate Majority Leader, and staff director of the Senate Committees on the Budget and Rules, along with various roles at the Senate Republican Policy Committee. He also served as a member and then Vice Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Shelley K. Finlayson
Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel, U.S. Office of Government Ethics
OGE’s mission is to provide overall leadership and oversight of the executive branch ethics program designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest. As Chief of Staff Ms. Finlayson directs OGE’s overall operations. As Program Counsel her responsibilities include: strategic planning, monitoring ethics program performance, supporting agency ethics offices through OGE’s Desk Officer program, overseeing the training of thousands of ethics officials, ensuring OGE’s legal compliance, developing and implementing OGE’s external communication strategy, managing OGE’s congressional affairs, and spearheading strategic initiatives, including the development of an executive branch-wide electronic filing system for public financial disclosures. She also serves as the First Assistant.
Before coming to OGE in 2006, Ms. Finlayson developed expertise through positions with local, state, and federal governments, and in private legal practice. Her experience includes serving at the Congressional Budget Office, the Maryland General Assembly, the government of the District of Columbia, and the DLA Piper law firm.
Ms. Finlayson earned a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center, a Masters degree in Public Policy from Rutgers University, and a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside.