John Sepulveda, MA, MPhil

As a director focused on human capital strategy at Atlas Research, John Sepulveda provides expertise and leadership in developing and implementing initiatives focused on improving strategic human capital performance and management at federal agencies. Mr. Sepulveda brings to Atlas a 30-year record of successful public and private sector leadership and management, including over twenty years of experience in federal human capital policy and program management.

Before coming to Atlas, Mr. Sepulveda worked for five years as an independent consultant and senior advisor to various corporate clients in the Washington, DC region on strategic human capital issues, products, and technologies. He also served for nearly five years as a member of a senior-level advisory panel to the Director of National Intelligence and the Intelligence Community regarding diversity and related human capital issues, for which he received the Director of National Intelligence Medallion as recognition for his service.

During his career, Mr. Sepulveda served as Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration and Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In that role, Mr. Sepulveda was the principal advisor to the VA Secretary, his executive staff, and the Department’s Human Resources (HR) managers and staff on programs and policies pertaining to HR management, labor-management relations, diversity and inclusion, workforce planning, equal employment opportunity, employee training, occupational health and safety, HR information systems, and VA Central Office facilities. While at VA, he led the Department’s unprecedented $1.2 billion investment in the creation and implementation of over 50 award winning human capital initiatives to improve employee engagement, recruitment, hiring, retention, and training. These initiatives included the establishment of a state-of-the art corporate university and online talent management system, innovative executive developmental programs, and a nationally recognized Veteran employment program called “VA for VETS.” In 2010, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council recognized Mr. Sepulveda with their first “CHCO of the Year” award for his visionary leadership on government-wide hiring reform and Veterans’ employment initiatives.

Mr. Sepulveda also previously served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s primary HR agency, and at the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. He has also held various leadership positions in the housing finance sector, including at Freddie Mac, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, as well as at other state and federal agencies, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Connecticut Department of Health. Early in his career, he taught political science at Hunter College in the City University of New York and at Yale University.

A native of New York City, he received a Bachelor's degree from Hunter College and holds two Master's degrees in Political Science from Yale University.