NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Family comes first to Labor Relations Officer Ed Bohl, including both his personal family and his Goddard family.

Name: Ed Bohl
Title: Labor Relations Officer
Formal Job Classification: Labor Relations Specialist
Organization He Works For: Code 110, Office of Human Capital Management, Office of the Director

What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission? I am management’s representative and advise management on the Center’s Labor Relations Program. I also serve as the chief negotiator for negotiating new labor/management agreements. I also assist management in responding to formal grievances. Most of the time, we are able to settle any differences by mutual agreement. When we cannot reach agreement, we use a third party process to make a final decision. Teamwork is most important when we are in negotiations. To be successful, you have to listen, understand, and be creative. The idea is to develop language which both sides will accept. What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done as part of your job at Goddard?

› Larger image Ed Bohl near his office. Credit: NASA

I recently attended and completed the Leadership Development and Excellence in Management (LDEM B) program.

What is the most important thing you learned from LDEM?

There is always room to learn how to work more effectively with people. LDEM B gave me additional and creative ways of understanding and working with people.

What makes Goddard a great place to work?

It is the diversity of the workforce and that collectively the work we do here affects the entire world. To be part of that is cool.

As someone who has only been here about a year and a half, what was the first thing that really made a big impression on you?

I was really overwhelmed by the initial orientation process and how everyone was so helpful and welcoming. This made my transition here much smoother. I felt accepted as part of the Goddard family before I even stepped onto the campus.

If somebody asked you, ‘What is Goddard,’ what would you tell them?

“People of the world,” because GSFC employees are from all parts of the world.

Do you have a favorite way or place to kick back, relax or have fun?

I’m a big family man. My way of relaxing is to have the whole family come over. Family comes first.

› Larger image Patch memorializing the "around the world" trip for the first NASA science aircraft to do so. Credit: NASA

If you could meet and talk to anybody, living or dead, who would it be and what’s the first thing you’d ask them? As a sports fanatic and big baseball fan, I’d like to talk to Babe Ruth. I’d ask him for a personal batting lesson and an autographed bat. Is there someplace in the world that you want to visit or someplace you have been and want to go back? I was in the Navy four years and then worked at Wallops Flight Facility as an aircraft flight mechanic for 12 years. Between these two jobs, I traveled to over 20 different countries. In July 1995, I was on the first NASA science aircraft to fly around the world. My favorite country was Ireland because my wife joined me and the people are extremely friendly.

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› More Conversations With Goddard Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.