Rodger Dillon

Rodger L. Dillon, B.A. Sociology, M.A. Applied Economics. From 2011 to April 2013 worked as the Executive Director of the Tian Shan Policy Center, American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Dillon’s projects focus on democratic governance, economic development, infrastructure, tax policy, labor and industrial relations, and societal conflict. He has over 30 years’ experience working in the public policy arena, much of it with top governmental officials. Mr. Dillon was formerly Principal Staff Consultant to the successive leaders of the Senate in the State of California, U.S.A. (Until the recent recession, California was the sixth largest economy in the world.) For the Senate leaders, he held portfolios on economic development, revenue and taxation, infrastructure, labor and industrial relations, public employment and retirement, gubernatorial appointment review, government organization, and veterans’ issues. He also served as Principal Staff Consultant to the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, specializing in a number of areas including labor standards, wage and hour laws, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Prior to going to work for Senate Leadership, Mr. Dillon worked for 10 years at the Senate Office of Research, during which time – in addition to holding many of the portfolios listed above – he also held special assignments to the Legislative Committee responding to the civil disturbance/riots in Los Angeles, California and to the Special Legislative Committee established to respond to the bankruptcy of Orange County, California. (Dillon’s report on this latter event, The Orange County Bankruptcy: Broad Repercussions, New Public Policy was widely disseminated and quoted in the Wall Street Journal.)

Before his work for the Senate Office of Research, Mr. Dillon was consultant to the Senate Select Committee on Citizens’ Participation in Government. Prior to this, Dillon was Chief of Staff to the President of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, the governing body for San Francisco, California. He also served for several years as an elected officer of a local union with the Service Employees International Union, the largest organized labor body in the United States. During this period Dillon was on the steering committee of the citizens' activist group Action for Accountable Government and was Vice President of a business/labor coalition. Dillon has taken part in international investigations, including one to the Philippine Islands to examine conditions in the country under the former dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and another to Nicaragua to review circumstances following a revolution in that country. Dillon was a top advisor and organizer on the national campaign staff for a candidate for President of the United States. Mr. Dillon has been an expert witness on labor market policy for the United States Congress and has received numerous awards for merit, including NUCEA Award for Excellence for his authorship of “Politics in California;” Meritorious Service to the California Senate; and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Award for “Commitment to Transparency in Government.” Dillon is a former member of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). He has traveled extensively in Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and Central America. He is a private pilot and flies his own airplane.