Meet Our Regional Commissioner

Carl L. Rabun
Regional Commissioner
Seattle Region

Carl L. Rabun is the Regional Commissioner for the Social Security Administration Seattle Region. As such, he directs agency operations in the four-state region of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Prior to coming to his current assignment in February 2003, Carl served as the agency’s Deputy Regional Commissioner.

Carl began his career with Social Security in 1971 as a Claims Representative in the Tacoma, Washington District Office. He has held a number of progressively more responsible positions with the agency. Those positions include Operations Supervisor in Seattle, Branch Manager in Portland and Social Insurance Specialist in the Seattle Regional Office. Carl also worked as both Assistant District Manager and District Manager in Seattle and as Director of the Auburn Teleservice Center in Auburn, Washington. After returning to the Seattle Regional Office in 1993 - as the Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner for Field Operations - Carl was selected for the SSA Mid-Level Management Program (MMP). As a participant, he served temporarily as both an Area Director and Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Budget.

In 1995, following completion of that developmental program, Carl was assigned to the post of Deputy Regional Commissioner. He completed a two-year Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and in January 2000 became a member of the government’s Senior Executive Service (SES).

Seattle’s first African-American Regional Commissioner, Carl serves as the National Operations Lead Executive for Diversity Initiatives. As such, he is responsible for executive level monitoring of workforce demographic profiles and developing solutions to better position SSA for balance at all grade levels.

Carl is active in the community and dedicates considerable time to public service. For the past four years, he has been a board member of The Breakfast Group, a non-profit organization that supports economic growth in Seattle’s minority community. The Breakfast Group focuses specifically on youth development and growth opportunities. Carl also holds a certification as a youth mentor from the Seattle Public School system’s John Stanford Public Service Academy. He served as a mentor to a college senior who matriculated to graduate school at the University of Washington’s Dan Evans School of Public Administration.

Carl also served ten years as the Regional Chair for Federal Employees Education and Assistance (FEEA), a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to federal employees and their dependents in the wake of natural disasters or other catastrophic events. FEEA awards scholarships to federal employees and their dependents pursuing higher educational goals.

During the late1980’s Carl was actively involved in the Blacks in Government organization, serving as both the Seattle chapter’s President and Vice President.

In 1986, as an agency special assignment, Carl served as a Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Loaned Executive. Responsible for 19 agency accounts, he received the HHS Regional Director’s Citation for outstanding service in that assignment. Carl continues his high-profile involvement with the CFC, serving as Vice Chairman of the 2003 CFC of Seattle/King County. He will serve as the campaign chair in 2004.

Carl is a graduate of California State University at San Francisco with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration. He has two children who are currently enrolled in college.

May 2003