COMMISSIONERS
Robert Pitofsky
(4/95 - )
Robert Pitofsky was sworn in as 54th Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on April 12, 1995. At the time he was nominated by President Clinton to chair the Commission, Chairman Pitofsky was a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center and Of Counsel to the Washington, D.C., law firm of Arnold & Porter. He also has held positions at the Federal Trade Commission as a Commissioner (1978-1981) and as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (1970-1973).
Chairman Pitofsky chaired the Defense Science Board Task Force on Antitrust Aspects of Defense Industry Downsizing in 1994. He has been a member of the Council of the Administrative Conference, the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar Association, and the Council of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association. In addition, he has been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center, a professor at New York University School of Law, and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
Chairman Pitofsky's publications include legal casebooks on both trade regulation and antitrust law. He received a B.A. degree from New York University and an L.L.B. from the Columbia School of Law.
Mary L. Azcuenaga
(11/84 - )
Mary L. Azcuenaga was sworn in as a member of the Federal Trade Commission on November 27, 1984. She was appointed by President Reagan for a term expiring September 26, 1991, and she was reappointed by President Bush for a second term, expiring September 26, 1998.
Before her appointment, Commissioner Azcuenaga spent more than 11 years on the legal staff of the Commission, during which she held several positions and gained experience in all aspects of the Commission's work. She has a varied litigation background, including both federal court and administrative litigation. She has substantial expertise in the field of antitrust, including extensive experience in merger litigation. In addition, she has a background in the field of consumer protection and administrative law and has experience in administration and management.
Immediately before assuming her present position, Commissioner Azcuenaga served as Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission. Earlier, she served as Assistant to the General Counsel, as Assistant Director of the San Francisco Regional Office, as Assistant to the Executive Director, and as a litigation attorney in the Office of the General Counsel.
Commissioner Azcuenaga is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Chicago School of Law. She has been a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Food and Drug Law Institute and a member of the Board of Directors of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital. She is the author of numerous articles, speeches, and Commission opinions.
Commissioner Azcuenaga is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the State of California. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Janet D. Steiger
(8/89 -)
Janet D. Steiger was sworn in as a member of the Federal Trade Commission on August 11, 1989. She was nominated by President Bush. Commissioner Steiger served as Chairman of the Commission from August 1989 until April 1995.
Commissioner Steiger was Chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, by appointment of President Reagan, from March 1982 to August 1989. She also chaired the Congressionally mandated three-year Commission to Assess Veterans' Education Policy (1987-1989), which reported to the 100th Congress. A Republican, she was nominated by President Carter, and confirmed by the Senate, as a Postal Rate Commissioner in 1980. In 1985, the Federally Employed Women of Washington awarded her the Outstanding Woman in Government Award for 1984.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Commissioner Steiger received her B.A. from Lawrence University in 1961 and did postgraduate study at the University of Reading in England and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a Fulbright Scholar, a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, and a member of the Lawrence Board of Trustees (1986-1989). Lawrence awarded her an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1992.
Before government service, Commissioner Steiger was cofounder of the WorkPlace, Inc., a Washington office-and-research facility. Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Commissioner Steiger is the widow of Congressman William A. Steiger and the mother of their son, Bill.
Roscoe B. Starek, III
(11/90 - )
Roscoe B. Starek, III was sworn in as a member of the Federal Trade Commission on November 19, 1990. Prior to that time, Commissioner Starek held a number of positions in both the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal Government. From January 1989 until he was sworn in by President Bush, Commissioner Starek was Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House. Immediately prior to joining the White House staff, Commissioner Starek worked on the Bush transition team as Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel. He served for seven years in several positions at the Department of State, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Counterterrorism.
From 1972 to 1982, Commissioner Starek worked on Capitol Hill and on the Ford White House staff. From 1976 to 1982, he worked for three Committees of the U.S. House of Representatives as Chief Minority Counsel to the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, Associate Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, and a Counsel to the Minority of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. In 1975, Commissioner Starek was appointed to the White House staff as Assistant General Counsel to the Presidential Clemency Board. In 1974, Commissioner Starek was chosen by the Minority Members of the House Judiciary Committee to be a Counsel to the Impeachment Inquiry. During 1972 and 1973, he served on the staff of U.S. Senator Charles Percy of Illinois, first as a legislative assistant and thereafter as a Professional Staff Member to the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Government Operations Committee.
Commissioner Starek graduated with an A.B. in political science from Syracuse University. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. He is a member of the bar in Illinois and in the District of Columbia. Commissioner Starek is married to the former Mildred Jeannette Harllee. They have one daughter and reside in Alexandria, Virginia.
Christine A. Varney
(10/94 - )
Christine Varney was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission on October 14, 1994. She was nominated by President Clinton for a term that expired in September 1996.
Commissioner Varney formerly served as President Clinton's Cabinet Secretary and, as such, was the primary point of contact between the President and the 20 members of his Cabinet. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Commissioner Varney practiced law with the Washington, D.C., firm of Hogan & Hartson. Her representations included serving as Chief Counsel for the Clinton Campaign, General Counsel to the 1992 Presidential Inaugural Committee, and General Counsel to the Democratic National Committee.
Commissioner Varney is a 1977 graduate of the State University of New York in Albany and earned a Master's in Public Administration in 1978 from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. In 1985, she earned a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Law Fellow. She also attended Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
Commissioner Varney is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the New York State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the National Lawyers' Council. She is also a committeewoman on the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law.
Commissioner Varney was born in Washington, D.C., and was raised in Syracuse, New York. She is married to Thomas J. Graham and has two children.