Senior Advisors

Tim Curry is a Senior Advisor to the Sligo Law Group. After 36 years as a human resources professional in the federal government, he retired after serving as the Deputy Associate Director for Accountability and Workforce Relations within the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In this capacity, he served as an advisor to the OPM Director on government-wide programs for labor-management relations and employee accountability. He also served as the Acting Director of Communications for OPM.

Prior to coming to OPM, he was the Executive Director, Labor Management and Employee Relations for the Department of Defense (DoD) where he served as the principal policy advisor on labor and employee relations matters. He has experience as a human resources professional in operating and policy level positions in the Office of Secretary of Defense, DoD Education Activity, Department of the Air Force, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His background includes labor relations, employee relations, performance management, awards programs, suitability, and other human resources programs. He has received the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive and the OPM Director’s Award for Meritorious Service.

Tim received a BS with a concentration in Personnel Management from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Jane Hess brings more than 40 years of experience in federal education law, having served as a program attorney in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of General Counsel from September 1985 until her retirement in April 2025. In this role she provided legal counsel on a wide range of complex formula and discretionary grant programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as to clients in the National Center for Education Statistics. Her portfolio included Impact Aid, COVID-19 and disaster relief programs, Congressional funded community projects, facilities financing for charter schools, and school infrastructure grants. Jane played a significant role in designing and implementing innovative Department initiatives for states and school districts, including the School Renovation program, hurricane relief efforts, and high stakes formula and discretionary grant programs such as the Early Learning Challenge and Stabilization fund under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Preschool Development Grants, and COVID-19 relief programs.

Known for delivering quality and pragmatic legal advice, Jane drafted regulations, complex technical legislation, and guidance; advised federal, state, and local agencies as well as congressional staff; and represented clients in administrative and judicial appeals. Her expertise spans preschool and early education, grant obligations and liquidations, school construction and renovation requirements, and property transfers.

Before beginning her legal career, Jane taught English and journalism at a public high school for five years. She earned her J.D. from Temple University School of Law and her B.S. from Clarion State College, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

Hilary Malawer served as Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, where she led five divisions: Regulations, Legislation, Business and Administrative Law, Ethics, and Postsecondary Education. A member of the Senior Executive Service, she brought more than 25 years of experience in education law.

As one of the two highest-ranking career attorneys in the Department’s Office of General Counsel, Hilary oversaw complex federal regulatory initiatives across K–12, higher education, special education, and civil rights. Her work included ensuring compliance with laws and executive orders such as the Administrative Procedure Act and the General Education Provisions Act, as well as coordinating rigorous economic analyses with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department’s Budget Service.

During her tenure at ED, Hilary advised the Secretary of Education and other senior officials on federal education law and policy. She also served as the Department’s liaison to the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Federal Register, and OMB. She shaped the legal strategy for billions of dollars in discretionary grants supporting education and health initiatives, including Promise Neighborhoods grants focused on improving children’s well-being and academic success. In addition, Hilary developed and managed the legal framework for economically significant discretionary grant programs, aligning statutory and regulatory requirements with internal policy objectives and drafting as well as coordinating support for key state legislation. She was recognized by the Department for advancing nationally significant policy through innovation, steady leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and regulatory excellence.

Hilary holds an M.S. in Education from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Tulane Law School. Before entering federal service, she worked in the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy, litigating to secure the health and educational rights of individuals with disabilities. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

Ron Petracca has 45 years of experience in Federal Education law, working at the U.S. Department of Education Office of the General Counsel from October 1980 until his retirement in February 2025. During that period, he worked on a wide variety of matters, including administrative and Federal Court litigation on audit, civil rights, and federal program issues, State-administered and discretionary grants, indirect costs, suspension and debarment, accessibility (Section 504 and 508), education technology, privacy, the use of evidence in grant and agency decision making. He played an important role in the Education Department adoption of the Uniform Guidance, two significant revisions to the Department of Education's General Administrative Regulations, and a substantial revision of the agency's Discretionary Grant Handbook. His agency clients included Institute for Education Sciences and the National Center for Education Statistics, the Office of English Language Acquisition, the Office of the Chief Data Officer, and numerous programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. His primary focus in working with clients within the agency was to facilitate the development of creative approaches to resolving problems and structuring transactions in a way that met client needs in a manner that was both legally defensible and in the public interest.  

Ron received a JD from Catholic University, Columbus School of Law in 1981 and a BA from SUNY Cortland in 1978. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

Paul Riddle served the U.S. Department of Education for 47 years, including 20 years as the Assistant General Counsel for Legislation, before retiring from the Department in January 2025. In his early career, he advised on school desegregation, civil rights, Indian education, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Beginning in 1986, Paul worked in OGC’s Division of Legislative Counsel, drafting legislation in the areas of elementary and secondary education, impact aid, and the education of children with disabilities. From 2004 until his retirement, Paul supervised the drafting and analysis of legislation for the full range of ED’s programs and interests. This work involved close cooperation with both political and career staff in all ED offices, the White House (including the Office of Management and Budget), and congressional staff. Paul earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College.

Rebecca (Becca) Walawender

Rebecca “Becca” Walawender is a Senior Advisor at Sligo Law Group, where she specializes in the implementation of disability policy and law. She brings more than three decades of experience in education and public service, including a distinguished tenure at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

Across five presidential administrations, Ms. Walawender served in multiple leadership roles at OSERS. For three administrations, she was Director of Policy and Planning, leading a team of senior analysts in advising the Presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Education on all issues related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Rehabilitation Act, and other disability laws. Under her leadership, OSERS advanced significant revisions to IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act regulations and issued seminal policy guidance that continues to influence the field.

Ms. Walawender is also well-connected across federal agencies, having served as a trusted collaborator with the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Management and Budget, among others. She also has experience implementing federal and state disability and education law at the state level.

Her commitment to self-determination and equity for individuals with disabilities is deeply rooted in her early career as a middle school special education teacher in an urban public school day treatment classroom. She holds degrees from George Washington University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.