Robert B. Shepard began his career at the U.S. Department of Labor in 1991 and served as the Director of the Office of International Relations and Economic Research from 2003 until his retirement in December 2021. In that capacity, he coordinated the U.S. delegation to meetings of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Governing Body and its annual International Labor Conference. He served as the lead U.S. Government delegate to the negotiations for a Convention for decent work for domestic workers, the ILO’s Centenary Declaration, and numerous other ILO negotiations. He chaired over 50 tripartite meetings at which ILO delegates representing the U.S. Government, workers, and employers exchanged information and perspectives ahead of meetings of various ILO bodies. In addition to his ILO duties, he represented the United States at the labor components of the G20, G8, Inter-American Conference of Labor Ministers, and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and oversaw U.S. participation in the OECD’s Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs Committee. He also took part in numerous bilateral negotiations; oversaw technical assistance programs; and regularly wrote statements, prepared background information, and briefed senior Labor Department officials, including nearly every Secretary of Labor during his tenure. From 1992-2003 he served as the Department’s advisor on African Affairs, and then as the Senior Advisor on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Following his retirement, he has worked as a consultant to the International Labor Organization on projects designed to make labor issues, and the work of the ILO, more accessible to college students.
Prior to working at the Department of Labor Shepard was an assistant professor of political science at Colgate University, where he taught courses on international relations and American foreign policy and served as the Director of the University’s Washington Study Program. He is the author of Nigeria, Africa, and the United States: From Kennedy to Reagan (Indiana University Press, 1991) and articles in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and other publications. He received his B.A. from Queens College, C.U.N.Y., and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science/International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University.
