Tom Gauza has been the District Director in Chicago since 2004.  The Chicago District consistently leads the Midwest region in performance metrics and is among the most productive offices nationally.  In fact, Tom and the Chicago District Office managers have just been recognized for their work with the Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement Award in the Supervisory category. 

Tom was born in Chicago and graduated summa a cum laude from the University of Loyola in Chicago.  He then went on to receive a JD from Duke Law University and a MA in History from Duke University.  In addition, he holds a MS degree from the United States Army War College in national security studies.  He worked as a trial attorney in the private sector before joining Wage and Hour.  For 30 years he also served in the United Sates Army deploying to Panama, Bosnia, and Iraq.  He retired as a Colonel. 

Tom and his wife Joanna have two daughters, Victoria (20) and Isabella (19), and a dog (Lilly). In his free time, Tom enjoys spending time with his family and friends and playing basketball.