Debra Chew

Debra Chew has over 20 years of EEO, Diversity, and civil rights experience in the public and private sectors.  Debra joined the National Institutes of Health as the Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in July of 2012.  Prior to her appointment, Debra worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) starting in 2009 as the Executive Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), serving as the Chief Diversity Officer and Chief Civil Rights Officer.  Due to her ground breaking accomplishments, she was selected the IRS Human Capital Officer in 2011 where she led 1,600 Human Capital professionals in the support of the IRS workforce and stakeholders through progressive human capital services and solutions for an agency of over 100,000 geographically disbursed employees.

Prior to her appointment with the IRS, Debra served as the Acting Chief Diversity Officer for the Food & Drug Administration and prior to that the Director of the EEO complaint and reasonable accommodation programs.  Due to her accomplishments, she was recognized by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Levitt for her significant achievement in improving the quality and efficiency of EEO complaint processing throughout HHS and was awarded the HHS Award for Excellence in Management in January of 2009, the highest award for leadership at the Department.

Debra is a licensed attorney who practiced in the areas of employment discrimination and medical malpractice defense both for governmental and private entities. She was a senior attorney in the HHS Office of the General Counsel where she litigated employment related disputes for all HHS Operating Divisions.  A graduate of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she subsequently attended the American University, Washington College of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate Degree.  She is licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia.

Debra is a native of Washington, D.C., and currently resides in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband and two sons.