BRB BOARD MEMBERS

Betty Jean Hall, Chair and Chief Administrative Appeals Judge
Judge Betty Jean Hall was initially appointed to the Board in December 1994. She served as the Chief Administrative Appeals Judge and Chairman until December 2001, when she was reappointed as a Member. She again became Chief Administrative Appeals Judge and Chairman in April 2015. Prior to her initial appointment to the Board, Judge Hall acquired extensive experience in public interest law, serving for ten years as Executive Director and General Counsel of the Coal Employment Project, a public interest group that advocated on behalf of women who wanted to gain and keep jobs as coalminers. She served the next six years as Associate and Acting Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Law Center, which advocated for health and safety conditions of coalminers, poultry processors and poultry farmers. She is a graduate of Berea College in Kentucky and the Antioch School of Law, Washington DC.

Ryan C. Gilligan, Vice Chair and Administrative Appeals Judge
Judge Ryan C. Gilligan was appointed as an administrative appeals judge and vice chair of the Benefits Review Board in May, 2015. Prior to his appointment, Judge Gilligan operated his own law firm in Abingdon, Virginia, which focused on litigation consulting. He spent the early part of his career litigating federal black lung claims in a nationwide practice, and gained significant experience in appellate litigation in cases before numerous Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. Judge Gilligan was also a consultant and lecturer on appellate litigation and the utilization of technology in the practice of law. He earned a BA from Virginia Tech in Economics and History and a JD from the Appalachian School of Law.

Judith S. Boggs, Member of the Board and Administrative Appeals Judge
Judge Boggs was appointed to the Benefits Review Board in August 2004. From 2002-2004, she served as Member of the Board and Administrative Appeals Judge for the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board. Before joining the Department, Judge Boggs was engaged in the private practice of law, focusing primarily on administrative, health, and employment law matters. Judge Boggs has extensive previous state and federal government experience including service as Human Rights Representative for the Kentucky Human Rights Commision, Counsel to the Kentucky Mental Health Department, Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Senior Policy Analyst in the Executive Office of the President, The White House. She holds a B.A. degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and a J.D.. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

Greg J. Buzzard, Member of the Board and Administrative Appeals Judge
Judge Buzzard was appointed to the Benefits Review Board in December 2014. Prior to his appointment, Judge Buzzard spent eight years as an advisor in various capacities to U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. As General Counsel, Judge Buzzard was the chief legal advisor to Senator Rockefeller on numerous legislative and regulatory issues, including mine and workplace safety, black lung disease and workers’ compensation programs, federal and state justice systems, and immigration reform. He also oversaw ethics and compliance issues for a staff of forty. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, a J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law, and an LL.M. in International Business and Economic Law from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Jonathan Rolfe, Member of the Board and Administrative Appeals Judge
Judge Jonathan Rolfe was appointed to the Benefits Review Board in July 2015. Prior to his appointment, Judge Rolfe served in the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, for six years, where he represented the Director of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs in litigation in front of the Board and various United States Courts of Appeals on issues arising under the Black Lung Benefits Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and its extensions. Before beginning his government service, Judge Rolfe worked in private practice for ten years in the District of Columbia, where he focused on labor and employment law litigation in federal courts, primarily representing national and international labor unions. Judge Rolfe is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and the University of Minnesota, Duluth.