Postmaster General: Who Is Megan Brennan?

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Monday, December 08, 2014

Postmaster General: Who Is Megan Brennan?

The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors on November 14, 2014, voted to appoint Megan J. Brennan, a career Postal Service employee, as the next postmaster general. Brennan, who will be the first woman in the post, will assume her duties after the February 2015 retirement of Patrick Donahoe.

Brennan is a native of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. She attended Nativity BVM High School, where she played basketball on the 1978 state championship team and played softball. She graduated in 1980 and went to Immaculata College outside Philadelphia. She graduated from there in 1984 with a B.A. in history.

No one can accuse Brennan of taking the easy road to the top. She began with the Postal Service in 1986 as a letter carrier in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She subsequently worked her way up the ladder as a delivery and collection supervisor, processing plant manager in Reading and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and a district manager in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Brennan stepped away from the Postal Service for a year to study as a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her MBA in 2003.

She served as manager of field support and integration, manager of operations support for the Northeast Area and in May 2005 was named vice president for the Northeast Area, where she coordinated and integrated processing and distribution, transportation and delivery operations in that region.

Brennan was then named vice president of Eastern Area Operations, putting her in charge of postal operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, Central and South Jersey, Western New York and parts of Virginia and Indiana.

In December 2010, Brennan was named chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Postal Service. Beginning in 2012, she had to begin shutting mail-handling facilities because of budget cuts brought on by less mail and Congressional-mandated pension funding rules. Initially many rural post offices were on the chopping block as well, but outcries from affected residents, as well as their representatives in Congress, forced another plan. Instead, hours in many rural facilities were cut, but the offices were saved.

Brennan wasn’t the only postal worker in her family; her late brother worked in the hometown Pottsville post office until he died in 2013.

-Steve Straehley

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Pottsville Native To Become First Woman Postmaster General CEO (by Gabriella O’Grady, Pottsville Republican-Herald)

Comments

David Shepardson 5 years ago

Thanks to the USPS I have had mail payments to companies lost twice this year (2019), the most recent was a payment to a credit card company and resulted in a $28 dollar late/unpaid fee, the person at the P.O. said sometimes the sorting machine shreds mail..... When do I get a refund for my $28 dollar loss?

Tina Silvernail 5 years ago

The Postal service has not delivered the same piece of mail twice to the recipient. Both times it was certified mail return receipt. No one seems to know what has happened to my mail & they could careless. Terrible service terrible, customer service no wonder people don't like using the mail service anymore.

Susan Pilgrim 6 years ago

Hi my name is Susan Pilgrim and I sent a letter to you all about a month ago on a porcelain Graceland Christmas music house that I shipped to my friend in Illinois that was totally damaged. I was wondering if anyone was going to respond back to me on it. The house was way beyond repair, I sent pictures of the damage item, and what happened at her post office. Please if you could just reply back, I would greatly appreciate i

Jacqueline Lozada 7 years ago

To: Megan J Brennan, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Because of circumstances in Puert Rico , the General Postoffice of the Island has admitted not being able to secure delivery of mail . Well they claim the routs and roads are not clear for mail delivery , and there for packages and letters are being misteriously lost . As a person of interest in this matter I will like to ask someone to investigate this on going problem as unfortunately our regular post offices tru out the United States still processing packages and letters to be send to Island of Puerto Rico . Knowing the system it is proven not trust worthy in delivering any type of mail in this Island. Charging money for a service that you can only provide half way is not fair and it is not honest , people believed they can trust The Postal Services of the United States oviesly all of that has change as I believe there is fraud involved not only in Puerto Rico but also here in the " Good USA " . Maybe this will be a better time for UPS and FedEx really taking over as honest and reliable companies that people can trust . At lease people will not loose their money , and they will not give the Lame excuse of Puert Rico still processing September mail while we are at the end of October as the post office do , after they take your money and run . It is desshonest , deceitful , and fraudulent. If miss Megan J. Brennan it is not too busy maybe just maybe she will have time to look in to this matter as local post offices tru out the nation feel in full power over the little being nasty to customers , not informing people about sircumstances , and most of all taking money from people knowing they are not able to provide a full delivery service . Jacqueline Lozada 10/24/2017

billy Davis 7 years ago

I am writing about the USPS and Third class mail (junk mail, spam). All mail prices include the amount that it costs to return a certain percentage. We all receive an abundance of this mail. USPS policy was you could refuse it and they took it back and put it in recycled paper. This seemed normal since they were making money on this in the first place. You can not specify that first class mail only is to be delivered. Even first class mail has to be disposed of and there is a cost involved. Now they will not take it back which transfers the cost of disposal to the recipient which did not want it in the first place. I find it had to believe that every person in USA must pay a price so USPS can make money. This is an undue expense for the elderly, disabled and the people below the poverty line. Waist is already an issue in USA and I am curious how much third class mail adds to landfills just so USPS can make money.

Frances Gandy Walsh 10 years ago

Congrats to you on this Woman's Day. I am so glad I lived to see the day that a woman holds the position of PMG, after millions have worked in post offices at all times in the history of this country. Best of luck to you!

Roger Choate 10 years ago

I'm pleased to see Steve lay the blame for the USPS difficulties exactly where it belongs--Congressional-mandated (obviously not their 'friends' in Congress, as Michael Coughlin claimed) pension funding. It required the USPS to pre-fund retirement for future employees, for the next 75 years (in 2006, and do it in only 10 years. Considering the USPS was never meant to turn a profit, this was an insurmountable burden & gave their 'enemies' in Congress to claim the USPS was a faulty institution. Left alone--it worked just fine. It is entirely self-funded.

Paul Miller 10 years ago

Congatulations on your appointment. Lead the Postal Service up and work with the workers. I know you will be fair. I worked for you in York,PA.

Debby Childers 10 years ago

As a rural carrier, I would like to welcome Megan as Post Master General. So excited to see what the future holds for us.

Michael Coughlin 10 years ago

An excellent appointment! Megan knows and understands the system, and has the ability to inspire innovation. She also has the courage to do what will need to be done over the next few years to right this ship, regardless of the "head-in-the-sand unions" and their "friends" in the Congress. Go get 'em, Megan!

Postmaster General: Who Is Megan Brennan?

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