OIRA Leadership
OIRA Administrator – Howard Shelanski
Howard Shelanski is the current Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). President Obama nominated him to the post in April 2013 and Mr. Shelanski took office following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate in June 2013.
Mr. Shelanski was previously the Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and he has also served as Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission and as a Senior Economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers. He has been a member of the faculties of Georgetown University (since 2011) and the University of California at Berkeley (1997-2009), where his teaching and research focused on regulation and antitrust policy. Before beginning his academic and government career Mr. Shelanski practiced law and served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court, to Judge Louis H. Pollak of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, and to Judge Stephen F. Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Mr. Shelanski received a B.A. from Haverford College, and a J.D. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Associate Administrator – Allison Orris
Allison Orris is the Associate Administrator for OIRA. Ms. Orris has extensive regulatory experience. She previously served in a variety of capacities at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Most recently, she was a Senior Policy Advisor to the Director of CMS’ Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services. In that role, she was responsible for leading special projects related to Affordable Care Act implementation, coordinating Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) policy within CMS, and advising the Center Director. Prior to that, Ms. Orris led a team of analysts in the CMS Office of Legislation during Congressional consideration of the Affordable Care Act.
Before joining CMS, Ms. Orris worked as a Senior Legislative Associate at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where she focused on federal budget and tax issues as well as Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and other policy issues impacting low income individuals. She also practiced law at a Washington, D.C. law firm where she specialized in representing states, national associations, public and non-profit hospitals, and other health care providers on regulatory and legislative matters.
Ms. Orris earned a J.D. from Yale University and a B.A. in history from Columbia College, Columbia University, where she was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar.