Angie Cowan Hamada Appointed Regional Director of Region 13-Chicago

Today, General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo announced the appointment of Angie Cowan Hamada to serve as the Regional Director for the Agency’s Region 13 office. With a Regional Office in Chicago, Illinois, Region 13 is responsible for conducting elections, investigating unfair labor practice charges, and protecting the right of workers to act collectively to improve their wages and working conditions in parts of Illinois and Indiana.

“Angie is a brilliant labor lawyer who has dedicated her career to protecting workers’ rights. The Agency is excited to welcome her to Region 13, where I know she will thrive in her new role leading the Region in fully effectuating the vital mission of the National Labor Relations Act,” said General Counsel Abruzzo.

Ms. Cowan Hamada was born in Connecticut and graduated with honors from Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law with a certificate in labor and employment law.

Ms. Cowan Hamada worked as a partner at Allison, Slutsky & Kennedy, P.C., a Chicago labor and employment law firm, representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, and Illinois Labor Relations Board, as well as other federal, state, and local agencies and in state and federal court. She has also represented clients in collective bargaining negotiations. In 2018, she was appointed to serve as a Commissioner of the Cook County Human Rights Commission and as the Chair of that Commission since December 2021.

Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees, employers, and unions from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year. Region 13 serves areas in Illinois and Indiana from its Regional Office in Chicago.