Eric Popiel

ERIC POPIEL – Eric Popiel currently works at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as the Manager for the Future of Work Group in the Office of Workforce Policy and Innovation (WPI). He manages a team of four subject matter experts, is responsible for the long-term futures program that informs federal workforce policy for OPM and assists 24 CFO Act agencies in Strategic Human Capital Management. In addition, he is a project manager for the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) Strategy Three focused on ensuring the success of the future federal workforce and the WPI liaison to the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (ODEIA). Eric also serves as a co-chair of the Federal Foresight Community of Interest (FFCOI), a group dedicated to collaborating and promoting foresight and futures thinking within the Federal Government.

Prior to working at OPM, Eric was assigned to the Emerging Policy Staff (DCO-X) under the Deputy Commandant for Operations at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he managed the Evergreen Program, the Coast Guard's Strategic Foresight Initiative for 5 years. In this capacity, he utilized various foresight techniques and methods to help the Coast Guard leverage future opportunities, identify emerging threats, and recognize potential blind spots across all 11 statutory missions.

Eric’s previous assignments in the Coast Guard included tours as an instructor pilot and flight examiner in Mobile, AL and as an aircraft commander in Miami, FL and Cape Cod, MA.