Friday, July 17, 2026
Primers
These people provide strategic oversight of the Postal Service
The USPS Board of Governors controls expenditures and does long-range planning, among other duties
The USPS Board of Governors is the governing body of the Postal Service, but what does it do and how is it different from other senior leadership of the organization?
The board was created by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the legislation that transformed the Post Office Department into the modern Postal Service.
The Board of Governors is similar to a board of directors of a private corporation — which means it is primarily responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the organization.
It does not manage day-to-day operations, which is the responsibility of the postmaster general and the executive leadership team. Instead, the board directs and controls major expenditures, conducts long-range planning, approves officer compensation and sets policies, among other duties.
A full board consists of nine governors, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for seven-year terms. They select the postmaster general, who becomes a member of the board, and those 10 select the deputy postmaster general, who also serves on the board. There are currently five open board seats.
By law, governors are nominated based on their expertise in public service, law or accounting. At least four are to be selected based on their experience in managing organizations or corporations with at least 50,000 employees. Not more than five of the nine may belong to the same political party.
The board has a full-time corporate secretary who manages the board staff and coordinates Postal Service resources so that the governors can fulfill their duties. Lucy Trout is the current secretary of the board.
“I am responsible for coordinating and running quarterly board and committee meetings, overseeing communications with management and outside stakeholders, providing the board with advice on governance matters, and a variety of other tasks. I am joined by an outstanding deputy secretary and indispensable executive administrative professionals, who collectively ensure that the governors carry out their duties,” Trout said.
The board meets on a regular basis, which includes quarterly meetings that are open to the public and streamed live.
Archived recordings of board meetings, biographies of board members and additional details of the board’s activities can be found on usps.com.
“Primers,” a Postal Service explanatory column, appears occasionally in Link.
Watch a video about Barbie
The new stamps celebrate 10 career designs
The Postal Service has released a video about its new Barbie stamps.
Barbie debuted in 1959 and has since represented more than 250 careers, reflecting changing times and expanding opportunities for women and girls.
The Forever stamps are a colorful tribute to the bestselling doll of all time and a career legacy that has encouraged generations to imagine what’s possible.
The 1 1/2-minute video features the stamp pane and close-ups of 10 Barbie career designs, showing era-appropriate dolls dressed to represent roles spanning more than six decades.
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People
They were tickled pink
Employees served customers at a Barbie convention in Texas and a library conference in Chicago
Postal Service employees were at the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention in Austin, TX, on July 11 to promote the new Barbie stamps.
“We had 1,000 first-day envelopes and they were all gone within two to three hours. Attendees loved the stamps. We sold all 1,000 panes,” said Becky Hernandez, Southern Area strategic communications specialist, who was one of the USPS employees at the event.
This was the first time Austin customer service managers Jennifer Wheeler and Anthony Laney attended this annual gathering of Barbie fans.
“It was pretty amazing. The attendees were excited that USPS arranged to be at the convention and that we were selling stamps. The event was very well put together. It was fun to take part,” Wheeler said.
Laney, for his part, found the event and fan reaction to the stamp to be “mind blowing.”
“Even though Barbie is a doll, she has had an impact on culture. She’s an inspiration to many doll lovers — men and women — that you can be anything you want to be. The fans represented Barbie very well. They took pink to a whole different level,” he said.
Going by the book
Chicago Postmaster Holly Burrell was on hand to help the American Library Association at its recent event in the Windy City at the end of June.
The conference and exhibition brought together thousands of library professionals, educators, authors and publishers.
Burrell and her team set up a retail area staffed by postal employees from different Chicago stations to serve attendees and exhibitors. A special cancellation was also offered for the event, which marked the organization’s 150th anniversary.
“We’re here to make sure everybody can get their purchases back home timely, with convenience,” Burrell said.
The customer service was appreciated.
“I’m excited that I get to ship all my books back through the Post Office. This is a life saver. Thank you so much for everything you do,” said Diamond Thomas, a conference attendee from South Carolina.
“People” appears regularly in Link. Got news to share? Email us.
News Quiz
Declaration dedication
What do you know about this patriotic stamp ceremony in Philadelphia?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. Greg Breeding, an art director for the Postal Service, designed the Declaration of Independence stamp using the work of which of the following typographers?
a) Sabeena Karnik
b) Juan Carlos Pagan
c) Lex Wilson
d) Nicola Yeoman
2. Which of the following states does not contain a Post Office in a town named Freedom?
a) California
b) Oklahoma
c) Rhode Island
d) Wyoming
3. A former mail handler in Florida who pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud was ordered to pay back how much money as part of his sentence?
a) $28,000
b) $33,000
c) $45,000
d) $62,000
4. Cynthia Henson, an acting customer service supervisor in Lebanon, OH, recently experienced which of the following at a USPS career conference?
a) Feeling welcome
b) Learning about other units within the Postal Service
c) Networking to learn about job opportunities
d) All of the above
5. What should employees do if their USPS mobile devices are stolen?
a) Contact the FBI’s Recovery Center.
b) Fill out Form USPS-27.
c) Report it to the Cybersecurity Operations Center.
d) Write it off on their tax return.
Answers: 1) b. 2) c. 3) c. 4) d. 5) c.
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What's included
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Primers
These people provide strategic oversight of the Postal Service
-
Watch a video about Barbie
The new stamps celebrate 10 career designs
-
People
They were tickled pink
Employees served customers at a Barbie convention in Texas and a library conference in Chicago
-
News Quiz
Declaration dedication
What do you know about this patriotic stamp ceremony in Philadelphia?