Suzanne O'Malley is the Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs and has served in that capacity since FMCSA's Office of Chief Counsel was initially staffed in 2000. Prior to assuming this position, she served as an attorney-advisor in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Chief Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division, from 1996-2000. Suzanne began her DOT career in April 1996 with the FHWA's Office of Motor Carriers, supporting regulatory development initiatives as part of the effort to transition motor carrier commercial regulatory functions from the former Interstate Commerce Commission, where she had served since 1979 in various legal and public affairs capacities, including Principal Attorney in the Office of Proceedings, Legal Division Chief, and Legal Advisor to the Office of Public Assistance and ICC Ombudsman. Suzanne has a B.A. in American Studies from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, and completed course work toward that degree at St. Anne's College, Oxford University, England. She also holds a J.D. and M.A. in Public Administration from The Ohio State University.

Charles Medalen joined the Department of Transportation in November, 1987, and has practiced motor carrier law since that time, first with FHWA and then with FMCSA. Apart from a brief stint in enforcement, and occasional temporary service in adjudications, he has worked primarily on regulations and legislation. He has been the lead lawyer on hours-of-service (HOS) rulemaking (and a participant in the ensuing litigation) since the mid-1990's. Charles began drafting legislation for FHWA in 1990; he drafted all of FMCSA's SAFETEA bill, some of which was enacted by SAFETEA-LU. He continues to provide a variety of technical assistance to House and Senate committees, and to States seeking review of proposed legislation that could affect compatibility with MCSAP and CDL requirements. He served as Acting Deputy Chief Counsel from June 2007, until January 2008; Acting Director, Office of Enforcement and Compliance (MC-EC) from January until June 2008; and Acting Deputy Chief Counsel again from January 2009, to January 2010.

Charles was born and raised in Minnesota, graduating from St. Olaf College in 1964 with a major in history, which led to a Ph.D. in modern European history (Harvard, 1973). He taught history at the University of Arizona for most of the 1970's, then moved to the Washington area and got a job with the legal department of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), the prototype conglomerate. At the suggestion of the Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs (AGCRA), he went to Georgetown law school in the evening while working full time, graduating in 1985. The AGCRA handled all regulatory contacts with the Federal government on behalf of the company's 250 highly varied subsidiaries. At ITT he gained experience with almost every regulatory agency in Washington except DOT. He has now corrected that deficiency.

Genevieve D. Sapir works on rulemaking and legislative initiatives and also provides legal counsel on matters involving household goods and consumer protection. Before joining FMCSA, Genevieve worked in private practice as regulatory counsel to telecommunications companies. Prior to that, she worked as an assistant general counsel for the National Archives. Genevieve is a graduate of the American University (BA School of International Service '94), the George Washington University Law School (JD '97) and the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (MSc Competition and Market Regulation '08). She speaks Spanish and French and has basic language skills in Russian, Italian and Catalan.

Alan W. Strasser, an attorney with the FMCSA Chief Counsel's Office, Regulatory Affairs Division, since 2005, has served as an attorney, mediator, and policy analyst over the past 16 years on technical environmental, health, and safety regulatory matters. He has advised FMCSA on a broad range of administrative legal issues regarding "significant" rules under the Administrative Procedure Act and related regulatory evaluation statutory obligations (e.g., Federal Advisory Committee Act, Information Quality Act) and executive orders. In his environmental practice, he has addressed issues under NEPA, CERCLA, and CAA. On climate change matters he was a contributing author in a report to Congress (2009), a reviewer on the SREEN report for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2010), and co-chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality's Climate Change Adaptation Task Force Insurance Workgroup (2010). In 2009 he served as a panelist on Greenhouse Gas Implementation Challenges, for the ABA's Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Conference. Alan was formerly in private practice specializing in administrative and environmental matters. He also consulted on policy issues for agencies and the private sector; was a mediator for federal agencies; and facilitated public meetings. Alan received his J.D. and M.A., magna cum laude, from Vermont Law School. He received his B.S. at the State University of New York College at Oneonta. Alan enjoys skiing and wilderness camping with his family.

William (Bill) Varga is an attorney in the Regulatory Affairs Division in the Office of Chief Counsel. Before joining the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in December 2010, Bill spent more than 10 years as an Assistant Attorney General with the State of Maryland's Attorney General's Office, Opinions and Advice Division. Before that, Bill worked for more than 12 years as a staff attorney with the Maryland General Assembly. Prior to joining the State of Maryland, Bill worked as a Legal Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress. A native of Buffalo, Bill earned his law degree, undergraduate degree, and masters of library science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. After moving to the Washington area, Bill earned a masters of general administration from the University of Maryland, University College.

Elaine Walls is an attorney-advisor in FMCSA's Chief Counsel's Office, Regulatory Affairs Division. She joined the Department of Transportation in December 1996, and has practiced motor carrier law since that time - first at the Federal Highway Administration, then at FMCSA. Elaine currently focuses her practice on regulatory affairs and development, and related environmental matters. She also has extensive experience in reviewing legislation and preparing testimony for congressional hearings, hazardous material enforcement, Paperwork Reduction Act, Intelligent Transportation Systems technology, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act review and the Agency's preparation of environmental assessments and analyses. Elaine is a native of Dallas, Texas, and currently resides in Maryland. She graduated from Fisk University, in Nashville, Tennessee, and later from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas. She is a member of the Texas and District of Columbia Bars.

Frederic L. Wood is an attorney in the Regulatory Affairs Division of the FMCSA Office of Chief Counsel. His responsibilities include assisting in the development and implementation of agency regulatory initiatives, and providing legal interpretations and advice about the application of various regulatory programs administered by the agency. Prior to joining the agency in 2005, he was in the private practice of law, concentrating on transportation and administrative law matters. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. in History, 1967), and received his law degree in 1970 from the National Law Center of the George Washington University in Washington.