Andrea J. Wilkes Appointed as Regional Director of Region 14 (St. Louis)

Today, General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo announced the appointment of Andrea J. Wilkes to serve as the Regional Director for the Agency’s Region 14 office. With a Regional Office in Saint Louis, Missouri, a SubRegional Office in Overland Park, Kanas, and Resident Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Region 14 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 Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

“Andrea has demonstrated superior knowledge, significant skill and great commitment in fully effectuating the Agency’s mission over her long career,” said General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “I am certain that she will excel as a senior leader at our Agency.” 

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Ms. Wilkes graduated in 1987 from Yale University with a degree in English. After a stint with the U.S. Department of Labor in New York, New York, she received a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt Law School in 1992.

Ms. Wilkes began her career with the Agency as a Field Attorney in Region 15 (New Orleans) in 1992. She was promoted to Deputy Regional Attorney in Region 15 first in 2000 and again in 2010 after a hiatus for the birth of her three children.

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 14 serves areas in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma from its Regional Office in St. Louis, its Subregional Office in Overland Park, and its Resident Office in Tulsa.