Scot L. Beckenbaugh currently serves as the Deputy Director of Mediation Services and Field Operations for the FMCS. He returned to that position following the confirmation of FMCS Director, George Cohen on October 5, 2009. He served as Acting Director of the FMCS from January 21, 2009 until Director Cohen’s confirmation. In March of 2008, he was first appointed Deputy Director. He served as the Acting Deputy from January of 2006 until his permanent appointment.  He has previously served as Acting Director of FMCS from January 1, 2005 until January of 2006.

Born in Libertyville, Illinois, Deputy Director Beckenbaugh has been with the FMCS since 1988.  He was appointed Western Regional Director in January, 2004, having served as Regional Director for the Upper Midwestern Region since 1997.  He was the Director of Mediation Services for the Upper Midwestern Region for two years and, before that, he was a field mediator stationed in Des Moines, Iowa.  In addition to providing the full range of FMCS services to the labor management community in Iowa, he served as the Minneapolis District Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator.

Deputy Director Beckenbaugh has mediated national master agreements in the aerospace, professional sports, cereal, heavy equipment manufacturing, aluminum, grocery, health care, and meatpacking industries. He has extensive experience in public sector dispute mediation, as well as regulatory negotiations, public policy, land use and civil rights disputes.  A long-time member of the Association of Labor Relations Agencies, Beckenbaugh also serves on the ALRA Executive Board.

From 1986 to 1988, Beckenbaugh was a Member of the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  Prior to his appointment to the Board, he was an Administrative Law Judge and Director of Mediation Services for IPERB.  He also had a private arbitration practice and was listed with FMCS.  He has served on the Twin Cities Labor Management Committee and two terms as Chairman of the Industrial Relations Advisory Council at the University of Minnesota.  He has taught at the high school, junior college and university level and was a bill drafter and research analyst for the Iowa Legislature.

Beckenbaugh holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa and an M.A.P.A., with an emphasis in Industrial Relations, from the University of Iowa.