President Obama appointed Beth F. Cobert as Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management on July 10, 2015. She comes to OPM from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where she served as the Deputy Director for Management and the U.S. Chief Performance Officer since October 2013.

At OMB, she led the efforts to drive the President’s Management Agenda to make government more effective and efficient so it can deliver better, faster, and smarter services to citizens and businesses.

She oversaw the government’s performance, procurement, and financial management offices, as well as the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Under Cobert’s leadership, the Administration made progress on efforts to improve the management of Federal information technology (IT) spending, to modernize and improve citizen-facing services through teams like the U.S. Digital Service, and to reduce the Federal Real Property footprint.

She also led OMB’s work on the People and Culture Pillar of the President’s Management Agenda—including initiatives to improve employee engagement within agencies, enhance the Senior Executive Service (SES), and recruit and retain a talented and diverse Federal workforce. 

Before joining the Federal government, Cobert worked for nearly 30 years at McKinsey & Company as a Director and Senior Partner. During her tenure, she worked on key strategic, operational, and organizational issues across a range of sectors, including financial services, health care, legal services, real estate, telecommunications, and philanthropy. She led major projects to improve performance through process streamlining, enhanced customer service, improved use of technology, more effective marketing programs, and strengthened organizational effectiveness.  Over the course of her career, she led McKinsey’s initiatives on recruitment, training, development, performance evaluation, and retirement services and championed efforts to support the advancement of women into leadership positions.

Cobert also previously served as a board member and chair of the United Way of the Bay Area and as a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. Cobert received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University. She and her husband, Adam Cioth, have two children.

As Executive in Charge of VA’s Office of Human Resources & Administration, Meghan Flanz directs and oversees an HR&A team of over 750 employees who support more than 300,000 VA employees and 4,000 human resources professionals across the country. To meet the needs of the VA workforce, the HR&A team provides professional assistance in the areas of Administration, Human Resources Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Resolution Management, Labor-Management Relations, Human Capital Investment Plan Strategic Management, Veterans Employment Service, and Corporate Senior Executive Management. In addition, HR&A Provides training for all VA employees through the VA Learning University.

Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Flanz served as Deputy General Counsel for Legal Operations, providing executive leadership for the VA Office of General Counsel’s ten District Chief Counsel offices, Personnel Law Group, Torts Law Group, Loan Guaranty National Practice Group, Collections National Practice Group, and Office of Accountability Review. She provided expert legal advice, counsel, and representation to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and other senior VA officials in connection with litigation, legislation, Congressional oversight, and policy matters related to VA’s large and diverse workforce.

Ms. Flanz began her VA career in 2001 as a Federal employment law specialist. In addition to various leadership roles within the VA Office of General Counsel, she served as founding Director of VA’s newly-established Office of Accountability Review in 2014-2015 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Relations in 2006-2009. She is admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. A member of the California Bar, Ms. Flanz was a business litigation specialist in private practice for 15 years before joining VA.

Adam Neufeld is the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Adam arrived at GSA as the agency's Chief of Staff in May of 2013. In that position he was influential in charting the agency’s course forward, playing a vital role in its consolidation efforts as well as helping agencies transform their space into more efficient, mobile, open offices. He has also been at the forefront of the agency’s efforts to bring innovative new approaches to the federal government through the Presidential Innovation Fellows and 18F.

Prior to joining GSA, Adam served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Management and Budget. In this position, he primarily worked on efforts to improve government management. His efforts included issues ranging from improper payments to personnel policy to performance management to customer service. In addition, he has worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., with a focus on serving the federal government.

Previously, he was an honors attorney at the Department of Labor working on appellate matters as well as a special assistant to the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. He is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School.

Angela Bailey has dedicated nearly 35 years to public service, with close to 30 of those years in human resources. Ms. Bailey was appointed as the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) in January 2016. She is responsible for the Department’s human capital program, which includes human resources policy, systems, and programs for strategic workforce planning, recruitment and hiring, pay and leave, performance management, employee development, executive resources, labor relations, work/life and safety and health.

She also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from November 2013 to January 2016. In this role, she provided overall organization management to improve OPM’s performance, mission and goals through strategic and performance planning, measurement, analysis, and regular progress assessment. She was also responsible for managing OPM’s human, financial, acquisition and information technology to achieve OPM’s program results efficiently, economically, and effectively.

Other roles at OPM included serving as Deputy Associate Director for Recruitment and Hiring and Associate Director for Employee Services, including as the agency’s CHCO. In that role, she was responsible for the design, development and implementation of government-wide human resources policy, systems, and programs for strategic workforce planning, recruitment and hiring, pay and leave, performance management, employee development, executive resources, labor relations, and work/life. In addition, she led OPM’s implementation of the President’s Veterans Employment Initiative, which resulted in 20-year highs in terms of the percentage of new federal employees who are veterans. As the CHCO for OPM, she also oversaw the agency’s internal human resources office. Ms. Bailey also spearheaded OPM’s flagship initiative on hiring reform, and the Pathways Programs for students and recent graduates, including the Presidential Management Fellows Program.

Ms. Bailey began her career with the Social Security Administration. She later worked for the Department of Defense in several different components and Defense agencies. She has served in many roles, including Budget Analyst, Labor Relations Officer, and as the Director of Human Resources for the Defense Contract Management Agency.

Ms. Bailey has a master’s degree in Leadership from Bellevue University and participated in Harvard University’s Kennedy School National Preparedness Leadership Initiative for Executives in 2012.

On December 16, 2013, Luke J. McCormack became the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Information Officer. He oversees DHS’ continuing efforts to implement information technology (IT) enhancements and strengthen IT security.

Mr. McCormack has extensive IT and leadership experience, both inside and outside of DHS, as well as in the public and private sectors.

He previously served at the Department of Justice as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Information Resources Management/Chief Information Officer, where he provided strategic direction, management services, oversight to cross-component information technology efforts and IT infrastructure services.

Prior to the Department of Justice, he served in a variety of positions at DHS. From 2005 to 2012, he served as CIO for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and from 1999 to 2005, he served at Customs and Border Protection, moving from Director of Systems Engineering, to Director of Architecture and Engineering, to Acting Director of Infrastructure Services Division.

Before joining the federal government, he served at various private sector companies including MCI and Ford Aerospace.

Mr. McCormack holds an MBA from the Smith School, University of Maryland, and holds key certifications from Columbia University and the National Defense University.

Kevin E. Mahoney has over 35 years of human resource experience. Mr. Mahoney joined the Federal Government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in May, 2003. In March, 2013 Mr. Mahoney was appointed the Director of Human Resource Management and Chief Human Capital Officer for the US Department of Commerce (DOC). Previously, Mr. Mahoney has served as the Chief Human Capital Officer for the US Small Business Administration and as the Associate Director for the OPM’s Human Capital Leadership and Merit System Accountability Division. In his current role, Mr. Mahoney is responsible for advancing the strategic management of human capital at DOC and manages the Office of Human Resource Management.

In 1991, Mr. Mahoney was appointed the Vice President of Human Resources for Borders Group, Inc. Previously Mr. Mahoney served in senior human resource positions with Fidelity Investment’s, Wang Laboratories, Bloomingdales and Macys.

In 1997, Mr. Mahoney joined Sullivan & Associates, an executive search firm in Birmingham, Michigan and became a Partner in 1998. He successfully completed CEO, CFO, CIO and General Counsel assignments. His clients have included Detroit Public Schools, Detroit Institute for Children and the Henry Ford Health System.

Mr. Mahoney graduated from Villanova University.

Previously Mr. Mahoney has served on the Board of Directors for Catholic Social Services of Oakland County and has been a Trustee of the Michigan Opera Theater.

John W. Gill leads the human resources function at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a 90,000 employee federal agency, which includes the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, among others.   John took the position of Chief Human Capital Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Human Resources on December 9, 2013.  In this role, he is responsible for the development, delivery, and governance of agency-wide human resources strategy, policies and programs.

John joined HHS with an extensive background in human resources and administrative management. John’s most recent position was with Rolls-Royce plc.  He began in 2001 as Executive Vice President, Human Resources for the Americas, responsible for regional HR strategy and policy setting and delivery of programs and services to the businesses and sites across the Americas. John later was appointed Executive Vice President for Rolls-Royce’s global Energy Sector and finally, Executive Vice President for developing countries and emerging markets.
 
Prior to Rolls- Royce, John spent 20 years with Lockheed Martin Corporation. In his last three years he served as Vice President, Resources and Services for the 21,000-person Aeronautics Sector. There, he had responsibility for human resources, facilities and administrative services. Previously, he held senior human resource positions in each of the corporation’s Electronics, Space and Information Sectors.

John is a member of the White House Senior Executive Service Reform Advisory Group.
He is an adjunct professor with the Georgetown University Master’s program in Human Resources, and is on the U.S. Advisory Board of the University of Maryland’s Smith Business School Office of Executive Programs.

John earned his B.A. at Columbia University and his M.B.A. at Florida Technical University.

Sydney T. Rose has over thirty-six years of Federal service, all of which have been spent in human-resources related occupations.  She has served as the Chief Human Capital Officer and Director of the Human Resources Center of the U.S. Department of Labor since February 2012.  Ms. Rose is responsible for all the Department’s human capital policies and programs including recruiting and staffing, work-life and benefits, executive resources, training and development, employee and labor-management relations, human resources information systems, and diversity and inclusion.  Since the summer of 2013, she has been a key advisor to Departmental leadership on employee engagement efforts involving a diverse workforce of over 17,000 employees.

Ms. Rose works closely with Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez to improve workforce engagement through conducting employee listening sessions and town hall discussions; expanding workplace flexibilities and developmental opportunities for all DOL employees; and collaborating on various workplace issues with managers and union officials. These efforts did not go unnoticed by the U.S. Department of Labor workforce, who responded to the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) at much higher rates.  The results indicated significantly higher levels of workforce engagement and global satisfaction.  The Partnership for Public Service recognized the Department of Labor as the most improved Department and Large Agency for both 2014 and 2015. 

Ms. Rose joined the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in January 2011 as the Deputy Human Resources Director and Chief Labor Negotiator.  She previously served eight years as the Human Resources Director for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  From 1996 to 2003, she was the HR Director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  With over twenty years experience as a senior HR official and the highest ranking HR official at two cabinet-level agencies -- the Departments of Labor and Commerce -- Ms. Rose managed all human resources policy, programs and operations.

She began her Federal career in 1980 as an Investigator with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and was recognized in 1987 as the agency’s Investigator of the Year.  While at OPM, Ms. Rose conducted and managed security clearance and EEO investigations, and investigations of Trust Fund fraud and Merit Systems violations.  She also served as liaison to the White House, U.S. Congress, U.S. Supreme Court and the Central Intelligence Agency.  Ms. Rose’s employee relations work included the successful prosecution of the first Internet stalking case in the Commonwealth of Virginia.    

Ms. Rose has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mary Washington College.  She lives in Virginia and has a grown daughter who lives and works in Boston for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.   Sydney is known for her love of horses and is a horse racing aficionado.  She experienced the thrill of a lifetime attending the Belmont Stakes in June 2015 to see American Pharoah win the first Triple Crown in 37 years.

Bob Gibbs serves as the Chief Human Capital Officer at the Department of Energy (DOE), and has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since December 2007.  At DOE, he leads the human capital management function for the Department.  In this capacity, he is responsible for strategically aligning the agency's workforce to its missions through effective management of human capital policies and programs. Mr. Gibbs advises and assists the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Energy, and other agency officials, in recruiting, developing, training, and managing a highly skilled, productive, and diverse workforce in accordance with merit system principles and all applicable statutory requirements.

Prior to joining DOE, Mr. Gibbs was selected by Admiral K. H. Donald, to serve as Director, Management and Administration at Naval Reactors Headquarters in Washington, DC.  In that role, he was responsible for management, personnel, and support programs and policies; he has led several enterprise-wide initiatives (total force management, succession planning, pay for performance, industrial relations, outreach and enterprise consolidation) to structure the workforce to meet current and future requirements in a challenging and diverse environment across two federal agencies and multiple field offices.  Other assignments at Naval Reactors, a joint Department of Energy and Department of Navy program, included; positions in the Office of Resource Management, ultimately serving as Director, Navy Budgets; and selection by Admiral F. L. Bowman to serve as Director, Civilian Programs.

Mr. Gibbs is a retired naval officer. While on active duty, he completed the nuclear training pipeline and served at sea onboard the USS DANIEL WEBSTER (BLUE) (SSBN 626), USS HENRY L. STIMSON (GOLD) (SSBN 655), and USS SIMON BOLIVAR (GOLD) (SSBN 641) completing numerous strategic deterrent patrols; and ashore at Nuclear Repair Facilities including the Trident Refit Facility, Bangor, Washington and Naval Reactors Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Bob Gibbs was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.  Mr. Gibbs is the recipient of numerous military awards and citations.  He holds both a B.A. in business management from the University of Washington, and a J.D. from George Mason University.  He is a member of the Maryland and the American Bar Associations.  Mr. Gibbs currently resides in Southern Maryland with his wife and children.

Reginald F. Wells was named Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of Human Resources effective July 15, 2002 after serving short tenures as Deputy Associate Commissioner for Disability Program Policy and Senior Advisor in the Office of Disability and Income Security Programs. Dr. Wells also serves as the Chief Human Capital Officer and Chief Diversity Office for SSA, and was a former Chair of the Baltimore Federal Executive Board. In his capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources, Dr. Wells oversees a staff complement of 400 employees with an operating budget of $130 million.

Dr. Wells served as Deputy Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities from October 1994 to April 2002. He shared with the Commissioner full responsibility for planning and directing 25 federal staff and programmatic activities, including the University Centers, Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection and Advocacy Systems and Projects of National Significance with a program budget of over $122 million.

From October 1997 to May 1998, Dr. Wells served as the Acting Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

Prior to his appointment in the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Dr. Wells had 10 years of extensive public sector experience with the District of Columbia’s (D.C.) Department of Human Services. During his tenure, he served as both Deputy Commissioner and Acting Commissioner for the D.C. Commission on Social Services. The Commission on Social Services had a staff complement of 2,600 employees and an operating budget of $450 million to offer a broad array of social services, including services for people with developmental disabilities; child welfare services; juvenile justice services; emergency shelter; vocational rehabilitation; Aid to Families with Dependent Children and JOBS.

Previously, Dr. Wells managed Essex County’s New Jersey long term care/geriatrics facility; was instrumental in operating the 1,100 bed psychiatric hospital; monitored and evaluated citizen services; and worked as a research associate for the National Center on Black Aged.

Throughout his career, Dr. Wells has received many awards and recognitions. These include the 2013 Causey Award, the 2011 Chief Human Capital Officer of the Year, 2010 Warner W. Stockberger Achievement Award, 2009 David O. Cooke Award, 2006 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Executives; the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Government of the District of Columbia; and Special Recognition Awards from the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration.

His current and past professional and volunteer affiliations include Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc.; Covenant House Washington; National Academy of Public Administration Fellow; member of the Bureaucrat, Inc. (TBI) Board of Directors, and a Governing Body Chair, CHRO Leadership Summit.

In 1980, Dr. Wells received a Ph.D. in Social and Organizational Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia. He also earned his M.A. in psychology from Temple University and B.A. in psychology and sociology from American International College.

Ms. Cohen has served as the Chief Human Capital Officer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) since 2010.  As Director, Ms. Cohen provides leadership and management of agency human capital programs.
Ms. Cohen served as the Deputy Director for Human Resources at the NRC from 2008-2010.   From 2004-2007, Ms. Cohen served as the Director, Program Management, Policy Development and Analysis Staff in the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.  In this position, Ms. Cohen provided leadership and management of the office’s long-range program planning, budget and financial management, human resources and information technology activities. In 2009,
Ms. Cohen received the Presidential Rank award honoring high-performing senior career employees.
From 2001 to 2003, Ms. Cohen served as the Director of Administration for the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  From 1987 through 2000, she held a number of senior staff and management positions at the Department of Commerce where she gained considerable experience in administrative operations including information technology, human resources, budget execution and formulation, strategic planning, and performance measurement.   Ms. Cohen began her federal career at the Department of Commerce as a Cooperative Education Intern at the International Trade Administration.
Ms. Cohen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Joanne Tornow received her B.A. degree in Biology from Rutgers University in 1979 and her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Yale University in 1983.  Her research training is in the area of molecular biology and genetics, focusing on the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic systems.  After completing post-doctoral training at the University of California, Joanne served on the faculty at Portland State University and the University of Southern Mississippi, ultimately achieving the rank of Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, where she taught genetics and molecular biology to undergraduates and graduate students, and did research on gene regulation in yeast.  In the fall of 1997, Joanne came to Washington DC on a Science and Technology Policy Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she spent one year working in the Senate and a second year at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy working on a variety of issues including veterans’ health and compensation, stem cell research, data access, and biomedical research funding.  Joanne joined the National Science Foundation in the fall of 1999 as a Program Director in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, where she was responsible for managing grant proposals focused on investigating mechanisms and regulation of gene expression.  She moved to the Office of the Assistant Director for the Biological Sciences at the NSF as a Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning, Policy and Analysis in June 2006.  After completing a two-year rotation as the Division Director of the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division in 2009, she served as the Acting Executive Officer for the Biological Sciences Directorate until June 2011.  After being accepted as a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service in June 2011, she served as the Deputy Assistant Director and acting Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, and became the Head of the Office of Information and Resource Management in December 2014.

Veronica Hinton is the Department of Treasury’s Associate Chief Human Capital Officer for Human Capital Strategic Management, responsible for Department-wide policy, programs, and oversight in all areas of human capital management, including human resources, labor and employee relations, human capital accountability, employee engagement, strategic planning and performance management affecting 100,000 employees. Prior to her current executive appointment, Ms. Hinton served as the Director of the Air Force Senior Executive Management Office from May 2013 to November 2015.  In this capacity, she was responsible for all aspects of senior executive talent acquisition and lifecycle management including recruitment, reassignment, development, talent management and succession planning for 300 Air Force civilian senior executives.   
Ms. Hinton’s federal career spans 22 years, primarily in human capital management, resource management, and strategic planning.  She held a variety of positions throughout the Department of Air Force and Department of Defense, to include serving as the Deputy Director for Manpower, Personnel, and Services at Headquarters Air Combat Command, Director for Air Force Human Resources Service Delivery Transformation at Headquarters United States Air Force and Deputy Director for Human Resources Strategic Programs and Advisory Services in the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service.
Ms. Hinton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Texas State University, a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Development from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. 
She is a proud “military brat”, an avid baseball and football fan, and currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, John Arrington.

Mr. Lussier is currently a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources, U.S. State Department, leading the Department’s workforce planning and analysis, resource management, HR systems operations and development, Civil Service human resource management , labor management, and casualty assistance functions.  He has been at the U.S. Department of State since November 2004, first as the Division Chief for Workforce Planning and Analysis and then as Office Director for Resource Management and Organization Analysis, Bureau of Human Resources.

He is responsible for the Department’s Foreign Service promotion and hiring plans, the 5-Year Workforce and Succession Plan, Civil Service personnel policies, Executive Resources Management, Workforce Analytics and $500 million in operating funds.

A former career Air Force Officer, he also spent 8 years in private industry at LMI Government Consulting. 

Mr. Lussier is a 2009 and 2015 recipient of a Meritorious Executive, Presidential Rank Award.

Ann Marie Oliva is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs, which oversees the Office of HIV/AIDS Housing and the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS), the office that manages HUD's homeless programs.  Ms. Oliva has been with the Department since 2007 and was the Director of SNAPS from May 2007 through July 2014.  As Director of SNAPS, Ms. Oliva managed a portfolio of over 8,000 competitive and formula grants with an annual budget of over $2 billion.  In her tenure at HUD, Ms. Oliva has managed the design and implementation of the $1.5 billion Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program and the overhaul of HUD's homeless program portfolio as part of implementation of the HEARTH Act.  Prior to coming to HUD, Ms. Oliva was an independent human services consultant and technical assistance provider, and spent more than 9 years at the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, the organization responsible for administration of public homeless services in the District of Columbia.

Dan Riordan serves as the IRS Human Capital Officer. In this position, Dan provides executive leadership and direction in all matters relating to the Service’s employees by overseeing the design, development and delivery of a comprehensive, Servicewide human resource management and development program that contributes to the Service’s strategic vision and mission.

Prior to accepting this new position, Dan served as the Deputy IRS Human Capital Officer, where his wealth of experience and diverse professional background was key in providing executive leadership and direction in support of IRS in the recruitment, development, and retention of an engaged and productive workforce.

Dan’s successful Federal career began as an attorney at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Office of Legal Counsel, where he defended the agency in Federal district court litigation cases. He later served as General Counsel for the United States Department of Justice Tax Division, where he developed all aspects of an in-house counsel function and advised top leadership on employee, labor and administrative issues, and defended the agency in thirdparty proceedings. As Director of Operations and Strategy for the American Red Cross, he launched the Corporate Ombudsman Office, and in his position as Associate Director for Workforce Solutions at the United States Mint, he oversaw all human resources functions, human capital planning, employee and leadership development, and diversity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity programs. Prior to joining the United States Mint, Dan served as Deputy Director of Workforce Relations and Associate Director for Labor Relations Strategy with the IRS.

Dan earned a law degree at the George Washington University Law School, a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University, is a certified mediator, and is a member of the Department of Treasury’s Human Capital Executive Steering Committee.

Brad Bunn, a member of the Senior Executive Service since November 2003, assumed the position of Human Resources director, Defense Logistics Agency in October 2009. DLA Human Resources is dedicated to enabling the Agency’s workforce to capitalize on their skills, experience and potential by leverage its diverse backgrounds and abilities to effectively support warfighter and the Department of Defense. As director of HR, Bunn leads a team of professionals providing the full range of personnel services and support to approximately 26,000 civilian and military employees within DLA. In addition, DLA HR provides personnel-servicing support to more than 40,000 civilian employees in the office of the Secretary of Defense and a number of DOD agencies and field activities.

Prior to his appointment to DLA, Bunn was the program executive officer for the National Personnel Security System and was responsible for leading the policy and program office in the design, development and implementation of NSPS throughout the department.

Previously, Bunn was assigned to concurrent roles as NSPS deputy PEO and as director of the
Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service from June 2005 to May 2008. As director of CPMS, he supported the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy in planning. In this capacity he formulated and managed DOD civilian personnel programs, including policy support, enterprise human resources information systems, and Department-wide civilian personnel administration services for the military services and Defense agencies.

Bunn has received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Department of the Navy, the CPMS Exceptional Civilian Service Award and the Department of Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

Dr. Karlease Kelly serves as the Provost of the USDA Virtual University in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Human Resources Management, Departmental Management.  Dr. Kelly provides vision and leadership and coordinates with all USDA Training Officers and human resources professionals on employee development and training policies and programs.  This includes managing USDA’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, and overseeing USDA’s implementation of Federal training policies such as mentoring, individual development planning, details, new supervisor training, the Presidential Management Fellows program, intern training and development, and other programs to increase employee satisfaction and effectiveness.  She is a member of the federal Chief Learning Officers Council, and Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer for USDA. 

Prior to this, Dr. Kelly served in USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as the Assistant Administrator for the FSIS Office of Outreach, Employee Education and Training.  In this position, she was responsible for developing the knowledge and skills of Agency and State employees, as well as conducting education and outreach activities to meet the needs of small and very small meat, poultry and egg processors to help them enhance their food safety and food defense systems.  Dr. Kelly has over sixteen years of government service in USDA.  Her experience includes working as an instructor, a Program Analyst, Chief of the Program Analysis Branch at the FSIS Technical Service Center, and the FSIS Chief Training Officer. 

Under her leadership, FSIS became an Authorized Provider of continuing education units, and received the Exemplar Award from the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET).  She was instrumental in establishing the Agency’s policies related to training as a condition of employment, requiring entry level inspection personnel to pass a validated examination in order to continue working in their position.  She has also established a robust distance learning program that includes e-learning courses, webinars, videos, and self-study materials.  This included managing a video production team that created educational materials for the Agency. 

During this time, she has worked collaboratively with employee unions and associations as well as universities to partner with them in providing educational services to Agency employees.  Additionally, she created and administered an assessment center for leadership development.  She spoke at a number of industry meetings about improving workforce training for government and industry employees, including an international meeting in Beijing, China.  Dr. Kelly also established the Small Plant Help Desk to respond to questions small meat and poultry manufacturers about providing updated training to employees on food safety policies. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the FSIS outreach program serving small and very small plants as unique in providing helpful resources and assistance to small businesses (GAO report 07-714).  FSIS training programs contributed to the Agency winning the 2007 President's Quality Award for the Strategic Management of Human Capital.

Mrs. A. Bianca Green was appointed as the Department of Education’s Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) in July 2015.  Mrs. Green, a member of the Senior Executive Service, serves as the CHCO’s alter-ego, assisting in the execution, implementation and leadership of the Department’s human capital programs, to include: recruitment and staffing, learning and development, diversity and inclusion, labor and employee relations, workforce planning and development, work and family life, policy and accountability, and human resources technology.  Prior to this assignment, Mrs. Green led Education’s Workforce Relations Division, having oversight of labor relations, employee relations, benefits, and work and family life programs.
Before joining Education, Mrs. Green served as Director, Labor and Employee Relations (LER) Policy, Office of Human Resources Management, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), providing LER policy guidance and support to a workforce of over 60,000 CBP employees.  Impactful initiatives included: developing CBP’s first-ever, comprehensive policy to combat key integrity issues within its workforce; spearheading the transition of 40,000 employees from a pass/fail to a multi-level performance rating system; and serving as an integral team member in the development and initiation of a groundbreaking automation program to electronically track and audit confidential financial report submissions within a safe and secure system.
Mrs. Green’s Federal career spans over 25 years, beginning as a Clerk Typist, at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.  Since then, she has leveraged her expertise in every human resources (HR) discipline to serve in senior level HR advisory and technical expert roles at the U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Mrs. Green holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management (cum laude) and a Master of Science in Organizational Management (cum laude).  Mrs. Green is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.

Reese Madsen was appointed the DoD Intelligence and Security Chief Learning Officer within the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in January 2006. He is responsible for providing policy, oversight, and guidance to the training, education, and nationally accredited certification of civilian, military, and industry defense intelligence and security personnel within the Department of Defense. He is also the Chairman of the DoD Intelligence Training and Education Board (DITEB) and provides advice and counsel to the National Intelligence University’s Board of Visitors.

Mr. Madsen retired with 24 years of active duty experience from the U.S. Coast Guard. His was the services’ Intelligence Workforce Manager, responsible for managing all Human Capital initiatives for the rapidly growing program. He held leadership and intelligence positions at all levels of the service and spent five years at sea on high endurance cutters patrolling from the Caribbean Sea to the Bering Sea and from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific.

At a national level he highlighted the Coast Guard as “a unique instrument of national security” and was responsible for the Coast Guard becoming the 14th member of the Intelligence Community and gaining all of the service’s new intelligence authorities. Additionally, he facilitated the growth in the services’ intelligence capabilities and established intelligence as an officer career field and developed the Coast Guard’s Intelligence Specialist enlisted rating.

Mr. Madsen graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Management and received his Masters of Science in Management from the University of Maryland (University College). In 2016, he was awarded the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal. Mr. Madsen was selected as one of the 125 Academy Alumni of Distinction for alumni who have helped shape the U.S. Coast Guard and society at large, given back to their communities and to the Academy, and helped raise the profile of the U.S. Coast Guard and/or the Academy on a national and global level in 2013. He has received civilian awards from the Director of National Intelligence and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and was featured as a leading Federal Chief Learning Officer (CLO) in the May 2012 CLO Magazine. While in the military, he earned seven joint awards, five Department of Defense awards and 14 Coast Guard awards including the Legion of Merit. He was a 2007 Distinguished Graduate for the Coast Guard Academy’s Annual Leadership Panel; the Coast Guard’s 2001 Admiral Billard Intelligence Officer of the year, and the 1989 Defense Intelligence Agency’s Coast Guard Intelligence Junior Officer of the year.

Mr. Madsen is a volunteer trainer for a prospective Wounded Warrior Service Dog - Murphy. He is married to the former Catherine Bongiorno, an Optometrist. They have one son, Reese (III).

Lisa McGlasson is the Chief of the Labor & Employee Relations Division in the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service (DCPAS).  DCPAS-LERD is responsible for providing advice and guidance on civilian personnel policy matters within DoD related to Conduct & Discipline, Performance Management, Awards, Workplace Violence Prevention, Suitability for Federal Employment, and Labor Relations.  With over 1300 bargaining units in the DoD, DCPAS-LERD also provides Agency Head Review of all collective Bargaining Agreements across DoD.  Ms. McGlasson has over 31 years of Federal Sector work experience, predominantly in the area of Labor & Employee Relations.  Lisa has worked in the Federal Aviation Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and at operational and Policy levels within DoD.  Ms. McGlasson is an Army Veteran with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Psychology from Illinois State University, a Master of Health Sciences degree from Governor's State University, and a Juris Doctorate from George Mason University School of Law.  Ms. McGlasson is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Jim Trinka is the Chief Learning Officer for the Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) within the Department of Veterans Affairs.  In this role, he designs, develops and delivers a comprehensive individual and organizational development program designed to create and sustain a high-performing OI&T workforce to serve our Nation’s Veterans.  Previous positions include Executive Director of the Leading EDGE Program, Technical Training Director for the Federal Aviation Administration, FBI’s Chief Learning Officer, IRS’ Director of Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness, and fighter pilot in the Air Force.  Jim holds a doctorate degree in International Politics from The George Washington University.

Effective July 29, 2013, Dr. George L. Tanner was appointed Dean of VA Learning University (VALU). In this role, he leads VA’s corporate university to help build a talented and diverse VA workforce and enterprise-wide leaders through high-quality, cost-effective continuous learning and development. VALU’s programs and education tools enhance leadership, occupational proficiencies, and personal growth across VA to equip VA employees with the skills they need to better serve Veterans and their families.

Dr. Tanner became a member of the career Senior Executive Service upon his selection in July 2006 as the first Chief Learning Officer for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As the DHS Chief Learning Officer, he was responsible for providing high quality training, education, and professional development programs under the banner of the DHS Homeland Security University System to the DHS workforce.

While at DHS and prior to his selection for the Senior Executive Service, Dr. Tanner served as the Chief Learning Officer for the Directorate for Preparedness, Director of Training and Education for the Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, and Director of Training, Education, and Recruitment Programs in the Office of Information Analysis.

Dr. Tanner retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 with over twenty-one years of service spanning the enlisted, non-commissioned officer and commissioned officer ranks. He spent the majority of his last decade of military service at the Joint Military Intelligence College serving in a variety of positions, including Professor of Strategic Intelligence, Associate Dean for College Programs, Senior Army Advisor, and Academic Department Chairman. He also served as an adjunct professor on the faculty of American Military University from 2000 to 2005.

Dr. Tanner is married to Tanya M. Tanner who works at DARPA as an Assistant Deputy Program Manager. George and Tanya reside in Alexandria, VA, along with their two boys Richard (age 18) and Andrew (age 16).

David Tumblin serves the 20,000 employees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as the Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO).  In his current role, Mr. Tumblin led agency efforts to reverse negative morale and engagement trends, and he oversaw the effort to align ICE’s law-enforcement positions to the President’s 2014 Executive Action on immigration enforcement.  David led the development of ICE’s refined mission statement, and his efforts have led to a narrowing of ICE’s law-enforcement focus to better equip employees to succeed.
Prior to accepting the position as the Deputy CHCO, Mr. Tumblin was the director of Human Capital Strategy and Technology, where he built on his previous experience with the Transportation Security Administration to transform human capital into a data-driven organization focused on weaving itself into employees’ careers.
David served two years with Booz Allen Hamilton as a budget and performance integration expert, and before that he was the director of the U.S. Commercial Service’s Office of Planning and Resource Management (the U.S. government’s global export-promotion arm).
He reorganized the delivery of mission support and administrative services for a nationwide network of export-promotion offices, reducing administrative overhead by 50 percent while achieving 98 percent approval ratings from clients.  In the process, he eliminated two layers of management and enabled the reduction of oversite management offices in the field.
Mr. Tumblin served two terms in a non-partisan elected position in the District of Columbia, where he led efforts to build a $12 million recreation center and a 65,000 square foot Safeway supermarket.
David is married and has two children in elementary school.  He lives in Washington, DC.  He has a Master’s Degree with an international business concentration from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and he graduated from the University of Tennessee as the top graduate in liberal arts.  He spent two years in undergraduate school studying in Germany.

Lisa M. Pape, LISW, currently serves as the Executive Director of Homeless Programs for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In this capacity, Ms. Pape leads the agency as the principle advisor to VA and VHA leadership on policy, management and operations of a robust continuum of programs that constitute services for homeless or at risk for homeless Veterans.  She is responsible for ensuring effective implementation of the Department’s initiatives to end homelessness among veterans. Her primary efforts include implementation of homeless programs across the field that provide prevention services, outreach, treatment, transitional and permanent housing solutions and supportive services. Her focus is on operationalizing plans and approaches designed to most effectively meet the needs of our nation’s veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Ms. Pape has been with the Department of Veterans Affairs for over 20 years primarily serving Veterans in homeless and residential programs. She has worked in the VA since 1991 after serving in an internship at the Cleveland Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Brecksville, Ohio. Prior to joining VHA’s Office of Patient Care Services, she served as the Director of the Comprehensive Homeless Center of the Cleveland Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Brecksville, Ohio, where she was responsible for the Homeless Outreach, Contract Residential Care Program, Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program, Grant and Per Diem Program, Therapeutic Work Programs, and Transitional Residence Program. 

Ms. Jessica S.P. Lynch currently serves as the Director for the Logistics and Industrial Operations Competency Staff Office (AIR-6.0C) for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), overseeing the Human Capital Strategy for approximately 11,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel responsible for acquisition and in-service support of all Naval Aviation programs.

Concurrently, Ms. Lynch is an adjunct professor for the University of Maryland, University College, where she teaches undergraduate courses in Human Resources and Business.

Previous titles Ms. Lynch has held within NAVAIR include Business Intelligence and Data Analytics Division Head for the Total Force Strategy and Management Department (TFSMD) AIR-7.3.2 and Recruitment and Retention Program Analyst in TFSMD AIR-7.3.1. Prior to her time with NAVAIR, Ms. Lynch held the titles of Director of Recruiting and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) Manager, College Recruiting Coordinator, and Systems and Software Engineer.

Ms. Lynch earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Science and Statistics, Decision and Information Technology in 2000 and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management in 2006 from the University of Maryland. Additionally, she earned a post graduate certificate from Cornell University in Human Resources in 2007. Ms. Lynch is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Southern Maryland, and holds a Green Belt Lean Six Sigma Certification. Ms. Lynch’s team was awarded the 2014 Department of the Navy (DON) Civilian Human Resources Community Awards for Excellence (Command).

Ms. Lynch holds the Human Resources Certification Institutes’ (HRCI) certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) license.

Ms. Lynch is a member of SHRM, the Women in Defense (WID), the Society for Women Engineers (SWE), the Human Resources Association of Southern Maryland (HRASM), the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), and The Patuxent Partnership (TPP)

Ms. Lynch is a mother of three, an ultra-runner, and a triathlete. She is a volunteer futsal and soccer coach. She currently resides in Southern Maryland, but has previously lived in Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama, Florida, California, Texas, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Japan.

Debra Chew has over 20 years of EEO, Diversity, and civil rights experience in the public and private sectors.  Debra joined the National Institutes of Health as the Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in July of 2012.  Prior to her appointment, Debra worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) starting in 2009 as the Executive Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), serving as the Chief Diversity Officer and Chief Civil Rights Officer.  Due to her ground breaking accomplishments, she was selected the IRS Human Capital Officer in 2011 where she led 1,600 Human Capital professionals in the support of the IRS workforce and stakeholders through progressive human capital services and solutions for an agency of over 100,000 geographically disbursed employees.

Prior to her appointment with the IRS, Debra served as the Acting Chief Diversity Officer for the Food & Drug Administration and prior to that the Director of the EEO complaint and reasonable accommodation programs.  Due to her accomplishments, she was recognized by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Levitt for her significant achievement in improving the quality and efficiency of EEO complaint processing throughout HHS and was awarded the HHS Award for Excellence in Management in January of 2009, the highest award for leadership at the Department.

Debra is a licensed attorney who practiced in the areas of employment discrimination and medical malpractice defense both for governmental and private entities. She was a senior attorney in the HHS Office of the General Counsel where she litigated employment related disputes for all HHS Operating Divisions.  A graduate of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she subsequently attended the American University, Washington College of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate Degree.  She is licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia.

Debra is a native of Washington, D.C., and currently resides in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband and two sons.

Appointed to the Senior Executive Service in May 2009, Ms. Engelhardt serves as the Director of Human Resources, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She is responsible for the staff direction and administration of a comprehensive human resources management and family readiness program in divisions, districts, and other field operating activities throughout the Corps. These programs are designed to meet the human resource and family readiness requirements of approximately 35,000 civilian employees and 500 military personnel. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director for Human Resource Management Programs and Policies at the Federal Aviation Administration for a civilian workforce of approximately 45,000.

Susan T. McKeen was named Director for Learning and Development in March 2014.  In this role, McKeen reports to the Vice President, Employee Resource Management, and is responsible for facilitating career growth and progression for over 600,000 employees of the United States Postal Service.

McKeen directs the design and implementation of all leadership development, corporate succession planning, employee training, learning and career development strategies, policies, and programs to advance corporate objectives, and foster an environment of continuous learning. In addition, McKeen is responsible for the management of two U.S. Postal Service owned and operated national learning and development centers -- the National Center for Employee Development (NCED), located in Norman, OK; and the William F. Bolger Center for Leadership Development, in Potomac, MD. 

McKeen joined the Postal Service in 1980 and has held a wide variety of positions throughout her Postal career.  These include Manager, Leadership Development and Talent Management; Manager, Retail Access Channels, where she was responsible for managing retail programs that bring postal products and services to customers beyond the traditional venue of the Post Office, and Manager, Operations Planning and Support, where she was responsible for reviewing, coordinating and integrating all operational activities.  Susan also served in Network Operations Management, where her efforts contributed to the establishment of the Priority Mail Processing Centers.  She has also had assignments in International Operations and Supply Management. 
   
McKeen is a graduate of the prestigious Key Executive Program at American University, where she received a Master’s degree in public administration.  She is the recipient of the Vice President’s Award in 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Linda R. Gray serves as the Director of the Office of Human Resources and Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Ms. Gray is responsible for the strategic leadership of all policy, planning, and oversight activities associated with EPA’s human resources programs and policies, to include: recruitment and staffing; training and development; diversity and inclusion; labor and employee relations; workforce planning; retirement and benefits, policy and accountability; and worklife programs.
Previously, Ms. Gray served as the Executive Director, Human Resources Operations, Programs and Policy (HROPP), Office of Human Resources Management (HRM) with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  She led strategic, programmatic, and operational support for over 61,000 employees nationwide and oversees in the areas of hiring, position classification, pay and policy.  Under her leadership, she transformed and streamlined CBP’s frontline hiring process.
Prior to this appointment, Ms. Gray served as Director of the Benefits, Medical and Worklife Division, in HRM, at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, from 2005 to 2013. In this capacity, she oversaw diverse programs related to retirement, benefits, wellness, medical standards, workers’ compensation, emergency and critical incident response, and worklife programs.
Ms. Gray previously served as Director of the Benefits and Worklife Division at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In this role, she was responsible for leading employees located throughout the country and overseeing the FAA’s retirement, benefits, and worklife programs. This included overseeing 20 childcare facilities, the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, the Employee Assistance Program, and the Unemployment Compensation Program, to support over 47,000 FAA employees nationwide.

Karen Filipponi is the Deputy Director for the Departmental Office of Human Resource Management.  In this role, Ms. Filipponi is responsible for leading Departmental human resource management policies for a large Cabinet-level agency in areas including: recruitment and staffing, position classification, pay, employee and labor relations, employee development, workforce planning, executive resources, employee benefits, automation, performance management, work and family life, and accountability.  She is a strong advocate for streamlining procedures to provide outstanding service to DOT’s Operating Administrations.
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Transportation, Ms. Filipponi served as the Director of Human Resources at the Peace Corps and Chief of Human Resources at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  At both agencies, she was honored with the agencies’ single highest Director’s Award for driving change.  She also served as an Auditor, and later as Director of Human Resources, at the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.  During this time, she performed reviews on Postal Service sponsorships, stamp marketing and emergency procedures during the anthrax scares.  She then led the HR Office for five years, revamping programs, overseeing all aspects of human resources and leading major hiring initiatives. 
Beginning her career at the Government Accountability Office, Ms. Filipponi worked in various disciplines, including human resources.  During her career, she also owned and operated two full-service florists.  Her accomplishments in these prior positions include executing organizational change across disciplines by focusing on innovative cost-effective solutions to increase productivity and accountability.

Ms. Filipponi possesses a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, with Minors in Human Resources and Marketing.  She also received an Executive Leadership Certificate from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and attended both the Federal Executive Institute and the Treasury Executive Institute.
Ms. Filipponi is a member of the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Alumni Association.  Originally from Michigan, she currently resides in Virginia with her husband and children.

Kim Bauhs became the NOAA Human Capital Officer effective March 2015.  Ms. Bauhs is a U.S. Navy veteran with over 30 years of service in the public sector.  As the HCO and Director of the Office of Human Capital Services, she is responsible for a broad range of human capital functions and activities, including those necessary to attract, develop, and retain a mission-capable workforce: consulting services; workforce analytics and HC strategy; policy; talent management and talent development programs; quality assurance; labor and employee relations; executive services; and human resources information technology.  She is NOAA’s lead for the implementation of Commerce HR shared services.
Ms. Bauhs has been a member of the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service since 2007.  Prior to her position at NOAA, she served in executive roles at the Department of Homeland Security as the DHS Chief Learning Officer and as the Human Capital Officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
Ms. Bauhs honed her knowledge of Federal HR during her tenure at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where she served as the assistant director for federal recruitment and hiring.  There she oversaw USAJOBS, the Federal Government’s one-stop source for jobs and employment information.  In that role, Ms. Bauhs led a government-wide effort to transform USAJOBS in support of the federal hiring reform.  She also participated in OPM teams that focused on hiring reform, diversity recruitment and outreach, and the employment of veterans and individuals with disabilities. 
While at OPM, Ms. Bauhs served in other senior-level positions including: the assistant director for the human resources consulting program, a $40-million federal consulting practice that met the needs of agencies across government in the areas of testing, staffing, and other human resource services; and the acting director of OPM’s Presidential Management Fellows Program. 
Ms. Bauhs began her career as an officer in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program where she taught mathematics and physics.  She later worked for the Virginia Employment Commission as the agency human resources director and at the National Institutes of Health in training and strategic management planning. 
Ms. Bauhs has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of Charleston, South Carolina, and a Master of Science degree in organizational development and human resources from Johns Hopkins University.  She is an alumnus of the Virginia Executive Institute and the Federal Executive Institute.

Ms. Stephanie Miller serves as the Director of Military Accession Policy, a component of the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy.  A member of the Senior Executive Service, she is responsible for Department of Defense policies and programs relating to the overall recruitment and accession of both officer and enlisted personnel.

Prior to assuming this position, Ms. Miller served as a Special Assistant to both Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Ashton Carter where she was responsible for liaison to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and for oversight of  a broad spectrum of programs to include Military and Civilian Personnel Policy, Military Force Readiness, Defense Health Affairs, Reserve Affairs, Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, and Department of Defense (DoD) and Veteran Affairs interagency cooperation.

Ms. Miller’s career includes leadership positions as the DoD Director of Diversity and Inclusion Management, Deputy Director for Navy Diversity, and Director, Navy Women’s Policy.  Ms. Miller also served as a Defense Legislative Fellow to Senator Susan Collins (ME), responsible for defense, veteran, and foreign policy objectives in Senator Collins' positions on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee (Defense Subcommittee), and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 

From 2006 to 2009, Ms. Miller served as the Director, of the Navy’s Task Force Life/Work (TFLW) program. Her work on TFLW, which included expanding post-partum operational deferment for service women from 4 to 12 months, mandatory lactation support programs, and Congressional approval of the Career Intermission Program, Paternity Leave, and Post 9/11 GI Bill Transferability earned this program the Families & Work Institute's Work/Life Legacy Award and the Working Mother Media Work/Life Excellence Award.

Ms. Miller previously served in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer on USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52) and with DESTROYER SQUADRON 28 embarked on USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

Ms. Miller has a degree in English literature and Business Administration from Villanova University and a graduate degree in Human Resources Development and Adult Education from The George Washington University. She obtained her national Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification in 2009.  Ms. Miller’s contributions to the Department were recognized with award of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service in 2015.   Ms. Miller is married to Colby Miller and has three children; Anne Marie, Charlotte, and Paul David.

Joe Arata was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. He enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1983. He was commissioned an active duty Army Infantry Officer in 1985 through ROTC at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He spent most of his time in service with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. While with the 82nd, he participated in the Combat Parachute Assault during Operation Just Cause in Panama and was in the first unit deployed during Operation Desert Shield known as the “line in the sand”. Joe also commanded the Advanced Airborne School. His last active duty assignment was as the Executive Officer of the Army Physical Fitness School. Joe retired from the Army Reserves in 2008.
Joe started his career at The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a Federal Air Marshal in 2002, serving as a field agent, Assistant Operations Officer, Assistant Team Leader and Team intelligence officer. In 2006, Joe transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to be the Assistant Director of Recruiting to lead the recruiting operations for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Presidential Mandate to increase from 12,000 to 18,000 agents in 2 years.  Joe also was assigned to stand up CBP’s first veteran’s employment program as well as help stand up the DHS Veterans Employment Council.
Joe presently serves as the Chief of Strategic Recruitment, Alignment and Retention at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  He is responsible for the strategy, direction and operational coordination of all recruiting and retention programs at ICE as well as all of ICE’s Veterans Programs.  He is also the program manager for the HERO program. This program is an internship in which ICE trains wounded, ill and injured service member’s in computer forensics analytics. Strategic Alignment is responsible for properly aligning the Directorates to assist them to meeting the overall lCE mission and its strategic goals. Joe has also been tasked to create the ICE Cyber Investigative program which will look at the future state of employee needs for the agency in the cyber law enforcement field.
Joe served on the executive board of Vetwork for over 20 years. Vetwork is a non-profit veteran’s service organization in New Jersey which provides many services to veterans in need, particularly homelessness and substance addictions. Joe was the president of the organization for 4 years where he refocused fund raising operations as well as preparing the organization for the next 40 years of care for veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Joe’s awards since being at DHS consist of the following: 3 Secretary of Homeland Security Awards; 3 ICE Director’s Awards; 2 CBP Commissioner’s Awards for Team Excellence; CBP Commissioner’s Humanitarian Award; CBP Commissioner’s Top Humanitarian Award.
Joe has one son who is a freshman at Tarleton State University in Texas and is currently a second year Army ROTC Cadet and ROTC Scholarship recipient.

Mr. Kermit Howard is the Director for Strategic Human Capital Planning and Evaluation within the Department of Interior’s Office of the Secretary, Policy, Management and Budget, Office of Human Resources.  Mr. Howard has over 18 years of Federal human capital expertise in strategic planning, human capital reform, workforce management, employee engagement, human capital enterprise risk management and policy development.

Prior to joining the Department of the Interior, Mr. Howard worked for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as a Human Capital Officer. During his tenure, he collaborated with several Federal agencies, such as, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration and the Department of the Interior  His focus areas were Hiring Reform, the President’s Management Agenda: Proud to Be initiative, and the Human Capital Assessment Accountability Framework.

Mr. Howard received the Social Security Administration’s Deputy Commissioner’s Citation in recognition for exemplary collaboration and support in analyzing SSA’s hiring processes nationwide and identified opportunities for continuous improvement.

Mr. Howard is an U.S. Navy veteran and a doctoral student at the George Washington University, Graduate School of Education, in the Executive Leadership and Organizational Development Doctoral Program. Mr. Howard acquired his master’s degree in Business Administration from George Washington University’s World Executive MBA program and his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of the District Columbia.  In addition, Mr. Howard is alumni member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

Ms. Datta is Director of NASA’s Workforce Policy, Planning and Analysis Division within the Office of Human Capital Management at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC.   She coordinates activities across the Agency’s ten field centers in areas such as Agency-level integration of workforce planning with budget and strategic planning.  In addition, Ms. Datta oversees Agency-level human capital policy, accountability, recruiting, hiring and student programs.

Prior to joining NASA in 2007, Ms. Datta was an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, and spent ten years at United Technologies Corporation in various Human Resources disciplines. Ms. Datta holds an M.M. (MBA) from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. from Yale University.

Nichole began her career at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) 26 years ago as an intern in the Cooperative Education Program in the Procurement Pricing Branch.  After graduating from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1992, Nichole accepted a permanent position as a Contract Specialist where she administered and awarded multi-million dollar institutional and project support services contracts.

In 1997, Nichole made a major career transition into the Office of Human Capital Management, Employee and Organization Development Branch.  In 2004, Nichole became the Deputy Chief of the Career Development and Employee Work life Office and subsequently (2007) became the Chief for the Talent Cultivation Office.  As the Chief, she lead and managed a team of expert Learning and Development Consultants in providing integrated strategies to develop and retain a vital and effective workforce that best aligns with NASA’s Vision.

Nichole is currently serving as the Assistant Director, Headquarters Operations where she is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic approaches to communication, employee engagement, and employee development to improve the work environment, employee satisfaction, and organizational health and performance.
 
Nichole has worked on developing and launching a number of innovative, transformative learning and development initiatives within the Agency that have frequently been benchmarked by other Federal Agencies. She played an instrumental role in establishing the Goddard Mentoring, New Employee Orientation, Onboarding, Career Development, and Leadership Development Programs, as well as made significant contributions to the developing the Agency’s first Business Coaching Strategy. Her most valued contributions have been leading and transforming a learning and development function that had existed for over five decades, into best in class program that is routinely sought out by clients, key stakeholders, and NASA, Federal, and Industry partners and playing an instrumental role in the NASA GSFC’s Office of Human Capital Management Organization shifting from being a transactional to a strategic business partner that has a “seat at the table.”  For her efforts, she received the Robert H. Goddard Outstanding Leadership, Exceptional Achievement in Supervision, and Mentor of the Year Awards.  She is also the recipient of the Office of Human Capital Legacy and Supervisor of the Year Awards, and a graduate of the premiere Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society Training Program.

Nichole is devoted to helping others discover their passion for living and finding happiness within the environment that surrounds them.  She actively participates in the mentoring and coaching process.  Nichole uses her gifts and talents to inspire and help others recognize and reach their full performance potential through personal mission development, goal setting, identifying gaps and employee development strategies. 

Nichole’s credentials include a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics.  Nichole is also qualified to facilitate the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and the Achieve Global Training Programs.

Nichole enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, visiting art exhibits, going to the movies, jazz music, photography, traveling, physical exercise, and working on community development projects with her sorority.

Mr. Lee currently serves as the Director of the Leadership & Professional Development Division (LPDD) which oversees staff in Central Office, and he is responsible for managing the VBA Professional Development Academy and Staff in Baltimore, MD. He and his team are responsible for managing VBA’s Senior Executive Services Development Training, Assistant Director Development Program (ADDP), OPM’s Federal Executive Institute (FEI), Leadership Coaching Program (LCP), Leadership Development Program (LDP), Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Program, Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, Station Leadership Development Program (SDLP), Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), VBA Central Office Lunch and Learn Development Series, VBA Central Office Orientation Training, OPM’s Management Development Center (MDC), VA Learning University Training Programs, Supervisory and Management Training (SMT) formerly ITL and Advanced Supervisory and Management Training (ASMT) formerly DLMT. He also serves as VBA’s Content Distribution Network (CDN), Veterans Benefits Network (VBN), and Satellite Broadcast Project Manager. Mr. Lee is also responsible for managing VBA’s National Succession Planning Initiative.

Mr. Lee oversees the administration of the Senior and Executive Level training programs and has responsibility for their respective budgets. He also manages and serves as VBA’s Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) for the CDN/VBN/Satellite Contracts. Mr. Lee serves on a number of National Training Boards and Committees within VA.

Prior to his appointment as the Director of LPDD, Mr. Lee worked as the Team Lead & Senior Learning Officer for VBA (ED&T). Prior to his VBA career Mr. Lee worked at the VA Central Office (VACO)’s Office of Human Resources and Administration (HR&A). He started his career with the VA in 2002 as a Human Resource Specialist in the Human Resource Training and Development Group. He was responsible for writing and interpreting Training Policy at the National level, and he created and developed National training initiatives and programs for VA. He also served as the Chair of the National Training & Development Team which created VACO’s first Supervisory Training Program. In 2005, Aaron joined HR&A’s Office of Employee Relations and Performance Management (ER&PM) Group, as a Senior Human Resource Specialist. While at ER&PM, Aaron continued to create and develop National HR training programs. He served as lead Trainer for a number of VHA sponsored training programs i.e. Senior HR/ER Specialist Training, Disciplinary Appeals Board Training, and other Senior level programs. In 2007 Aaron was selected as the Project Manager for VA’s National Administrative Investigation Board (AIB) Training Group. In this role he was responsible for traveling across the country to each Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to train Senior Managers and their staff on how to conduct proper investigations. Mr. Lee also served as a lead investigator (Chair) in many cases within VA. Mr. Lee also served as one of the lead VACO Senior Specialist who was responsible for reviewing Senior Management cases and briefing the Under Secretary for Health, Under Secretary for Benefits, Assistant Secretary for HR&A, and the General Counsel on all Senior Executive performance management and misconduct issues.

Prior to coming to the VA Mr. Lee served as an International Organizational Development consult with SWIFT, Inc. He also served as the Director of Human Resources and Training for a private Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Arlington, VA. Prior to that, he served as a Human Capital Consultant with Arthur Andersen, LLC in Washington, DC.

Mr. Lee is a graduate of The University of Virginia, where he obtained his B.A. in English Literature and Language with a minor in Sociology. He later matriculated to The George Washington University where he obtained his M.Ed. in Human Resource Development and Organizational Development & Diagnosis with a concentration in Training and Development. Mr. Lee is also a graduate of the Harvard University’s Executive Education Program in Leadership and Development. Mr. Lee is a motivational and public speaker. He has spoken at numerous High Schools, Colleges, Professional and Social Organizations as well as a host of Churches and other religious events. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Trinity University where he teaches courses in Human Resource Management, Leadership & Management, and Organizational Development. He is an accomplished professional singer/songwriter and recording artist. Mr. Lee is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He and his wife reside in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area.

Reginald R. Mebane, MS, is currently the Director of CDC’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO). As Director, Mr. Mebane is responsible for advising and counseling CDC′s executive leadership team on a variety of equal employment opportunity, diversity management, civil rights and human resources issues impacting the agency′s complex and diverse global workforce. His key responsibilities include but are not limited to  matters related to Affirmative Employment(AEP), Disability, Reasonable Accommodation(RA), Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR), Special Emphasis Programs(SEP), and EEO Complaints Processing and Settlements for all CDC centers, institutes and offices. He is also responsible for the design and direction of programs, policies and procedures based on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s(EEOC) rules, regulations, laws and Executive Orders governing equal opportunity, diversity management, civil rights, and human resources that further ensure prevention of individual and systematic discrimination across the enterprise. As the agency’s EEO Director, he is the officer with direct liaison responsibility to the EEOC, Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of General Counsel (OGC) and all other respective internal and external customers and stakeholders regarding employment and civil rights regulatory matters. “Our overarching strategy is to make CDC a world class model EEO program.”

Mr. Mebane joined CDC in February 2005 as Chief Management Officer of CDC′s Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID). In this role, he had direct authority for the management of the estimated $4.0B CCID budget which included business operations, human capital, information technology, grants, facilities, and administrative services for the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases; and National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases. Under his leadership, CCID grew in size and scope to $7B, comprising over half the agency's programs, assets, people and EEO activities.

Prior to working at CDC, Mr. Mebane spent over 23 years at FedEx. After starting his career with the company in 1981, Mr. Mebane was promoted from dock worker, to manager, to the Director of International Operations. In 2001, Mr. Mebane moved to Buffalo, New York, to become the Chief Operating Officer for a $2.0B company that FedEx acquired.

In addition to his management duties at FedEx, Mr. Mebane was the corporate lead for the Diversity training curriculum for the corporation   from 1995 to 1997 where he became part of the critically acclaimed Fed Ex Leadership Institute. While there he taught leadership, diversity and management practices to FedEx employees from around the world.

Outside of his corporate work, Mr. Mebane has served on the faculty of the University of Memphis, the University of Buffalo and Georgia Tech. He also worked as a psychotherapist and psychiatric case manager in Memphis during the national crises associated with homelessness and the de-institutionalization of the severely mentally ill. As a result of this experience, he was inspired to later become Chairman of the Memphis Health, Education & Housing Finance Facility Board (1994-2001). The restructuring of this board under his chairmanship is his legacy to Memphis in making housing affordable and sustainable for moderate income families.

Since joining CDC, Mr. Mebane has been very active in serving others and the community as a proud graduate of Leadership Atlanta, CDC’s Speakers Bureau and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity’s (OEEO) monthly mentoring circles in addition to serving on the board of directors for Georgia’s Visiting Nurse Association and Sisters of Mercy Health System headquartered in St. Louis.

Kara Cotsalas joined the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the second largest of NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers, in July 2009. Kara is the Chief, Workforce Management Branch (WMB), in the NIAID Office of Workforce Effectiveness and Resources (OWER). Kara leads the Institute’s Capability and Culture Programs, which include: Workforce Planning, Succession & Transition Planning, Engagement Surveys, Workforce Reporting & Analysis, and NIAID workforce management information system activities. Additionally, Kara leads the Institute’s Competency Program, which includes competencies development, validation, and implementation across the NIAID. Kara is Co-Chairman of the NIH Workforce Planning Working Group. Recently, Kara led efforts in collaboration with two colleagues at the NIH to launch an NIH-wide Workforce Planning Toolkit, including full service program methodology, thought leadership, and support resources for all 27 NIH Institutes and Centers. In her role as WMB Chief at NIAID and workforce planning SME at the NIH, Kara delivers training and multiple presentations on workforce planning topics to scientific and administrative executives throughout the NIH community, and was asked to serve the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Working Group on leadership competencies and an HHS leadership development framework.

Prior to joining NIH/NIAID, Kara spent four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s Washington Federal Practice in the People & Change Consulting specialty headquartered in McLean, VA, where she supported organization development, change management, staffing models, skills assessments, facilitation and training delivery, and project management for multiple Federal clients, including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Federal Aviation Administration. In support of internal PwC HR, Kara led recruitment and onboarding activities, conducted workforce analyses, workforce reporting, and project deployment; supported performance management and coaching; and trained managers on the use of PwC’s competencies and application to staff development. 
 
Prior to her years with PwC, Kara supported the financial services industry for two years as a Recruiting Coordinator for Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) in Rosslyn, VA, supporting both campus recruiting and experienced recruiting efforts. 
 
Kara’s educational background includes an M.A. in Organizational Sciences with concentrations in Organizational Development and Human Resource Management from the George Washington University. Her undergraduate degrees include a B.S. in Finance and a B.S. in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.  She volunteers for and served 7 years on UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business Alumni Chapter Board.

Mika J. Cross is a seasoned Workplace Transformation Strategist specializing in innovative global workplace initiatives, culture change, strategic communications, knowledge management, next generation/future workplace predictions, mobility and flexible work policy, diversity, inclusion and employee engagement. She also has led several workforce transformation initiatives resulting in winning the organizations she has worked for numerous industry awards- the most recent being USDA named on the Forbes 500 Best American Workplace rankings in March 2015. Mika was awarded the Fed50 “Most Inspiring Up-and-Comer” award, the Federal News Radio “Causey Award” as well as a Next Gen Gov public service award. In 2013 she was named a ‘Work-Life Rising Star’ by WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress. Her 18-year career in public service includes assignments throughout the United States Intelligence Community and across the Federal government. She is a veteran of the United States Army, having served as both an enlisted soldier and commissioned officer. Mika currently serves as Government Chair of the Human Capital Shared Interest Group (HC-SIG) for the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Panel (ACT-IAC) and as a Board member for WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work/life Progress (AWLP).

Mr. Stockton is an Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, with duties as the Reasonable Accommodation Manager, in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO), Office of Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   In this role Mr. Stockton is responsible for managing the Reasonable Accommodation Programs providing service for approximately 9,000 staff members world-wide.   He conducts training, provides technical assistance and guidance to CDC employees, managers, and supervisors on the provisions of reasonable accommodations, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Amendment Acts Amendments Act of 2008.
 
Mr. Stockton joined the OEEO as an Equal Employment Specialist in 2004 with over 20 years of experience in Equal Opportunity and Equal Employment Opportunity, affirmative employment and diversity in both the US Army and Federal Government. Mr. Stockton is a seasoned professional in all aspects of equal employment opportunity, to include Special Emphasis Programs, EEOC Management Directive 715, Diversity Management, and employment discrimination.  Prior to serving as Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator for the CDC, he was the Team Lead for Reasonable Accommodation at the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management (OEEODM) for the Food and Drug Administration.
Mr. Stockton has been instrumental in the development of the Reasonable Accommodation Tracking System (ATS), a Web-based application that enables CDC employees with disabilities to efficiently request a reasonable accommodation that is needed to perform their essential job functions. ATS provides an electronic portal for managers and supervisors throughout the CDC to process requests for reasonable accommodation in a timely manner while reducing redundancies and waste. The ATS is considered a “Best Practice” throughout the Federal government from agencies such as the Equal Employment Commission, Census Bureau, HHS and its Operating Divisions.  
 
Mr. Stockton also served as Team Lead who, with the assistance Health and Human Services (HHS) Operating Divisions EEO Practitioners in the area of reasonable accommodation, developed reasonable accommodation procedures for the HHS EEO and Diversity Management Policy and Procedures Manual that is utilized throughout the HHS.

He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Liberal Arts from Regents College of New York.

Jill Nissan is the Workforce Planning Program Manager in the Office of Human Resources at the U.S. Geological Survey. She has a Masters of Science in Organizational Development (OD) and Strategic Human Resources from Johns Hopkins University and has applied her OD skills to various human capital projects within the federal sector. She can be reached at jnissan@usgs.gov

Pam Agnew serves as the Workforce Data and Analytics Program Manager for the US Geological Survey’s Office of Human Resources.  She has been with the USGS for 26 years, 21 with Human Resources.  She brings an analytical, systems perspective to strategic planning, with a creative bent.  Pam has found that the most important competencies she brings to her work are the ability to listen, and to respond creatively.  She adopted the “unofficial” Marine Corps motto “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!” as her own years ago, and finds that attitude to be critically important in developing policies, programs, and initiatives that are responsive to management needs at all levels of the USGS.  She has a degree in Business Management, with an emphasis on Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Rebecca S. Ayers serves as the manager for Performance Management Solutions (PMS) in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).  PMS provides reimbursable solutions to Federal agencies to address individual and organizational performance matters necessary to properly create and sustain a healthy and effective results-oriented culture.  She is also the Program Manager for USA Performance, OPM’s automated performance management system. She has managed consulting work and performance management projects for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Air Force, Health and Human Services, and numerous other independent agencies. Prior to this position she served as the Strategic Planning and Performance Manager for HR Solutions, the reimbursable divisions of OPM, and was responsible for organizational strategic and business planning and execution and performance management and evaluation. 
Rebecca has facilitated and worked with both public and nonprofit organizations to identify organizational goals, develop strategic plans, and implement performance management systems. She regularly presents at professional and academic conferences on performance management and strategic planning best practices and latest trends and research. She began her Federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow at OPM where she managed workforce and succession planning projects for other Federal agencies. 
Rebecca’s leadership in the development of USA Performance was recognized by a Government Computer News’ Rising Star award in 2014. USA Performance also won the NextGov Bold Award and People’s Choice award in 2014 for creativity and courage for driving advancement in government. Her leadership in the community and in the Federal Government was recognized by the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Leadership award in 2015. Rebecca is currently the President-Elect for the Junior League of Raleigh.
Rebecca holds a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Transatlantic Studies from the University of Bath, England. She completed her Ph.D. in Public Administration at North Carolina State University where her research included public management, performance management, and strategic planning.  Her recent research examines the importance of goal alignment in Federal agency performance appraisal programs and program performance.  She is also teaches the Public Organizational Behavior class in the Masters of Public Administration program at North Carolina State University.
Rebecca is a fulltime teleworker with OPM and resides just outside of Raleigh, NC.

Michelle Calhoun currently serves as SSA’s National Workplace Violence Program Manager, overseeing the management and continued education of 12 national Crisis Advisory Teams, managing Headquarters cases, and providing consultation for cases nationwide. As SSA’s program is now considered to be one of the best models in government, multiple Federal agencies have reached out to Calhoun for perspective and consultation on program building. Passionate about interagency collaboration on the topic, she is now partnered with colleagues from Office of Personnel Management and others across the Federal sector working to develop a Federal Community of Practice on Violence Risk Prevention.
Calhoun was the lead researcher, organizer and main author of the Social Security Administration’s national workplace violence prevention policy and program. Calhoun also guided a cross-agency workgroup in evaluating and finalizing SSA’s policy structure and developed the agency’s procedures for conducting assessments focused on internal violence risk among the organization’s 65,000 employees and contractors. Calhoun also created training and marketing materials for program awareness and outreach, coordinated initial training for the program’s established multidisciplinary Crisis Advisory Teams, and developed design requirements for SSA’s Violence Evaluation and Reporting System (SSAvers). She is the recipient of a distinguished 2016 Commissioner’s Citation for her efforts.
Calhoun earned her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College (University Park, PA) with a focus on early American literature, philosophy, law, and administration of justice and her M.A. in English Literature from University of Maryland (College Park, MD) with a focus on early American literature, religion, and culture. Calhoun is a certified Mediator, a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), currently serving as the ATAP DC Chapter Board Secretary.

Hal Stine joined the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSD(I)) as a Senior Strategist for Professional Development in the Human Capital Management Office (HCMO) in October 2015 after completing an eighteen-month Joint Duty Assignment in HCMO from DIA.

He has over 40 years of experience serving the Department of Defense in a variety of roles as a career Naval Officer, government civilian, and contractor and. After initial assignments as Surface Warfare Officer, he transitioned to Naval Intelligence in 1980. He served as an Intelligence Officer in numerous challenging assignments afloat, ashore and overseas including tours as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (N2) of an Amphibious Squadron; Officer-in-Charge of the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Intelligence Center, Europe; and N2 of a Carrier Battlegroup Staff. In civilian life, he served in a variety of assignments at U.S. Joint Forces Command from 1997 to 2011 supporting Intelligence planning, training and joint exercises in the J7, J2, and Joint Intelligence and Operations Center (JIOC). Prior to his joint duty assignment at OUSD(I), he was the Deputy Director of the Joint Military Intelligence Training Center (JMITC) at DIA.

A 1974 graduate of Duke University, he also earned degrees from Marquette University (MA) and Old Dominion University (MS).

He resides in Springfield, VA with his wife Gineen.

Jack Malgeri, J.D., Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor to the Chief Human Capital Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Jack serves as the Co-Chair of the HRStat Community of Practice.  
Mr. Malgeri has 30 years of experience in the federal government and has worked previously as an advisor to the Deputy Secretary at HUD, and the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  Prior to his work at HUD, Jack served as a tax attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, and as a chapter president of the national headquarters chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union.  

  William Daniel Ferree, Ph.D. is a retired Naval Surface Warfare Officer (1970-94) and has been on the faculty of the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI, since 1998.  Professor Ferree is the Program Manager for WEB-Enabled Programs for the College of Distance Education, which enrolls over 1,700 students annually.

  Dr. Ferree is nationally acknowledged for his distance education expertise and has been a featured presenter at the Annual Conference on Distance Learning and Teaching hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and at the annual US Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Conference. His latest research was published in IRRODL (The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning) was entitled, “Perceptions of Social Loafing in Online Learning Groups: A study of Public University and U.S. Naval War College students.”
   
 He also was the 2002 co-recipient of the “The Crystal Award” presented by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology for his Instructional Design of a web-enabled course. His current research for the Navy is in the area of Competency-Based Education and has presented on this topic at previous Human Capital Management conferences.

Karl W. Reid, Ed.D. was named executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) on June 2, 2014, marking his return to the organization that gave him his first major leadership experience, 31 years earlier. For the past 17 years, he has been a leading advocate for increasing college access and opportunity for low-income and minority youth.

Dr. Reid came to NSBE from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), where he oversaw new program development, research and capacity building for the organization’s 37 historically black colleges and universities and held the title of senior vice president for research, innovation and member college engagement. Before his service at UNCF, he worked in positions of increasing responsibility to increase diversity at his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which he left as associate dean of undergraduate education and director of the Office of Minority Education. While working at MIT, Dr. Reid earned his Doctor of Education degree at Harvard University. His thesis explored the interrelationship of race, identity and academic achievement.

Dr. Reid was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and grew up in Roosevelt, N.Y., a mostly working-class, African-American community on Long Island. The high value his parents placed on education, and his admission to a well-resourced, mostly white high school near Roosevelt, put him on a track to follow his older brother to MIT, where he did his undergraduate and master’s work in materials science and engineering and was a Tau Beta Pi Scholar. He credits his membership in the NSBE chapter at MIT with giving a vital boost to his self-confidence and leadership skills. He joined the Society during his freshman year, was elected chapter vice president during his junior year and served as NSBE national chair for 1984–85.

After graduating from MIT, Dr. Reid worked in the computer industry for 12 years, in product management, marketing, sales and consulting. In 1991, five years into a successful career in sales and marketing with IBM Corporation, Dr. Reid read Jonathan Kozol’s “Savage Inequalities,” a seminal book about educational disparities in the U.S., which sparked his passion for bringing about positive change through education of African Americans.

Dr. Reid is now supporting NSBE’s National Executive Board and the Society’s 31,000 members in reaching the main goal of NSBE’s 10-year Strategic Plan: to move black students and professionals from underrepresentation to overrepresentation in engineering in the U.S., by producing 10,000 Black Engineers annually in the country, by 2025.

Dr. Reid is a member of the DC STEM Network Advisory Council and the American Society of Civil Engineers’ “Dream Big” IMAX Movie Technical Advisory Council, and was recently named one of the “Top 100 Executives in America” by Uptown Professional magazine.

Alesia Booth is the Program Manager for USA Staffing, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's innovative and agile talent acquisition system.  USA Staffing fully automates the intricacies of Federal policies, practices and laws to enable the full range of Federal hiring.  Ms. Booth is responsible for acquiring, developing and managing key stakeholder partnerships while at the same time leading product & system development and providing the full spectrum of user support.  USA Staffing has undergone a system transformation and currently commands 75% of the marketplace enabling in excess of 13.5 million applications annually for 67 Federal agencies which include Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Veteran’s Affairs. 

Prior to assuming this role in December of 2013, Ms. Booth led the Department of Treasury’s CareerConnector product and worked for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's USAJOBS program.  She spent the first 20 years of her career with the National Institutes of Health where she began as a payroll specialist and grew her career through a variety of diverse and challenging positions which included managing and developing  websites, document libraries, recruitment programs, and staffing systems, as well as a number of hiring process change management initiatives.

Ms. Booth attended University of Maryland University College (UMUC) where she pursued a BS in Business Administration.  She is an advocate for HR shared services, agile development, and quality assessment strategy.

David Hagen, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), is responsible for AINS’ global inbound and outbound marketing functions, with primary emphasis on building value in the company’s brand and developing integrated marketing programs that drive growth across all products and services. In that role, Mr. Hagen oversees all brand management, demand generation, and product marketing, as well as product positioning, client acquisition and retention, public relations, telemarketing and integrated marketing communications designed to reach customers worldwide.

Mr. Hagen brings 20 years of marketing and business development leadership and a track record for driving solid revenue growth and company valuation for high-growth technology companies.  Prior to joining AINS, Mr. Hagen was the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Scivantage, where he helped transform the company’s identity into a Global FinTech 100 solution provider.  Mr. Hagen also held marketing leadership roles at Rydex Investments and Thomson Financial. 

Mr. Hagen earned a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) and a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA) from Marymount University. Mr. Hagen also held the FINRA Series 7 (General Securities Representative) license.

Ms. Russell is founder and president of Business Management Associates, Inc (BMA), a business process and human capital management firm.  Ms. Russell possesses more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of business operations and government contracting, serving federal and state governments and international entities. She has broad and deep knowledge of the IT industry, business operations, and human resource management.  Ms. Russell founded BMA in 2005 to continue the initial software life cycle development work she began during her consulting career, but with an emphasis on the integration of people and process. She has developed BMA from the ground up – with $500, establishing the technical and operational infrastructure, and the employee and client-focused culture her firm is known for.

In 2015, BMA celebrated 10 years of successful operations with over 100 employees.  BMA clients include several federal agencies within the law enforcement, financial management, and health industries.  Primary clients include the Department of Homeland Security (several components - Transportation Security Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA); the Department of the Treasury (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Foreign Asset Control, Internal Revenue Service); and Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration) among many others.

In 2012, Ms. Russell and BMA were selected as a SmartCEO100 Best--‐Run Company, a program by SmartCEO magazine.  This prestigious accolade honors 100 companies that are leaders within their industries and have experienced consistent growth.  In 2015, Ms. Russell received the SmartCEO Brava Award for Outstanding Women in Business.  BMA was listed in the 2015 Inc. 5000 list for the nation’s Fastest Growing Businesses and BMA was a finalist for the SmartCEO GovStar Award.

Ms. Russell is a Goldman Sachs 10k Small Business Program Scholar.  She also serves on the Small Business Council as well as on the Board of the Small Business Majority, a small business advocacy group.

Ms. Russell has a B.A. in Communication Studies/Public Relations from Virginia Tech and an Accelerated M.B.A. in International Business and Finance from The George Washington University.  She is also a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Ms. Hoard’s subject matter expertise exemplifies BMA’s “Integrating People and Processes.”  As director of programs and operations, she is responsible for developing and tailoring business process management and improvement methods for problem solving and refining opportunities to deliver consulting services on client engagements.  Ms. Hoard also serves as a specialized consultant and facilitator, having performed on numerous consulting projects in the areas of organizational change management, quality management, Lean, Six Sigma, business process re-engineering, professional development, and performance (human and business) management.  She incorporates the organizational change and performance managemen with process improvement and process management strategist methods, to develop customized change approaches to improve program adoption and organizational performance.  

Combining Lean Six Sigma, quality management and organization maturity model disciplines, she helps clients achieve an agile and optimal efficiency and effectiveness to support layered implementations for a flexible client solution sustainable high performance.  Ms. Hoard has an enthusiasm for quality management and process improvement, a high interest in technology and deep passion for people that influences her approach as a consultant, facilitator and performance coach.  She believes in applying kaizen (a “change for the better” or a “continuous slow improvement” philosophy) down to the personal level and strives to bring that to others.  As such, she works to ring forth positive changes and sustainable overall good while exposing common interferences or variances, reducing variances that interfere with an entities ability and desire to change or improve.

Ms. Hoard has led several mid and large scale projects for federal and state clients.  She has supported clients in various industries, including: law, health care, local, tribal, state, and federal government (e.g., finance/banking, law enforcement, emergency management, engineering, environmental, information technology, and defense). Some of her most recent work involves business process improvement, process management, and probalistic analysis in collaboration with government officials. 

Ms. Hoard is a certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and  Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Jewell Parkinson serves as a member of the North America Management team providing HR leadership across the region for all board areas as well as leading the HR Business Partner organization.
In this capacity, Jewell leads with credibility and acts as a trusted advisor providing consultation and delivery of solutions which enhance organizational capability, develop amazing talent, support leadership development initiatives linking people and business strategy to results. Jewell is a 19-year veteran of SAP and has spent the vast majority of her career as an HR Business Partner supporting various cross functional business units at both the regional and global level. She has a thorough understanding of the SAP business and the intricacies of the business environment.
Jewell earned her BA in Psychology and Business Administration from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of HR Development at Villanova University. Jewell is based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

Jim Gill is Vice President Public Sector -Government at Cornerstone one of the largest cloud computing companies in the world with over 2,000 clients and 25 millions users globally. Jim is responsible for Cornerstone’s Government practice, which includes Federal Agencies, Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community and State/Local Government.

Previously, Jim was President and Co-founder of TMG Government a Serviced Disabled Veteran Owned Small Consulting Business committed to solving complex organizational issues by focusing on building and maintaining High Performance Teams including: Training and Learning Strategies, Human Capital and Leader Development, Talent Acquisition and Retention Systems.

Jim retired from the United States Army in 2003 having served for 20 years in various operational assignments including the US Army Recruiting Command, 193rd Infantry Brigade Panama, the 101st Airborne Division, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 24th Infantry Division’s 2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment.

Prior to founding TMG Government Jim served as Vice President of Public Sector at Saba from 2009-2011 and Director of Government Solutions for SumTotal Systems from 2003 -2008 and previously was Director of Training and Development for the United States Army Recruiting and Retention School from 2001-2003.

Jim is a recognized thought leader in the areas of Veteran and Military Issues, Human Capital, Talent Management and Learning Strategies and has served on several advisory boards including: Center for Human Capital Innovation, American Initiatives for Military and Veterans Support, and Digital Learning Leader at the Foundation for Excellence in Education
Jim earned a BA in Business from St. Leo University, is a life member of the VFW, the 187th Airborne Rakkasan Association and the 11th ACR Blackhorse Association. He is an active angel investor in early stage technology startups including Viddler and Pirq.

Jim has been a contributing author to Chief Learning Officer Magazine, GovLoop and has been interviewed by Military Training Technology, the Denver Post, NextGov, ASTD Magazine, Federal Computer Weekly, Government Executive Magazine and Federal News Radio and is also the co-author of the book “Don’t Sell Yourself Short, Be All That You Can Be!”

Sam leads EY’s Performance Improvement consulting services for Government and Public Sector clients, and has worked with a wide range of global and government clients in the areas of strategy, operating model design, and business transformation.  Sam has also held corporate roles in strategic planning, finance, and operations.  Prior to his business career, Sam served as a paratrooper with the U.S. Army where he earned the Combat Infantry Badge and Ranger tab. Sam has a MA in Economics from Washington University, is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and is certified in The Open Group’s Architecture Framework (TOGAF).  He has also published a number of articles on the intersection of business, policy, and economics, including co-authoring “The Bamboo Network” which was named as a finalist in the Global Business Book Awards.  Sam lives in Virginia with his wife and two children

Mr. Delaney has specific expertise in leading Cabinet Agency level human capital programs with emphasis on change management.  During his thirteen-year SES career at the Department of Labor (DOL), Mr. Delaney implemented a series of leadership development programs aimed at improving overall organizational performance. He recently served as the IBM organizational change management lead on the Department of Veteran Affairs project to implement a new personnel system for the over 350,000 VA employees.

Patrina Clark is founder and president of Pivotal Practices Consulting, a management consulting firm that addresses urgent and important organizational challenges by providing advisory, implementation and support solutions. 
The company, which is headquartered in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area, works collaboratively with government and business leaders to increase motivation and boost performance within organizations. Pivotal was one of only 16 firms to receive the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Small Business Achievement Award.
Prior to launching Pivotal, she held leadership positions for 25 years in the Federal Government with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Election Commission, Department of Navy and Internal Revenue Service.
Her last federal position was Chief Human Capital Officer for the Government Accountability Office.  A career member of the Senior Executive Service, she received numerous awards and commendations during her government career, including the Navy's Meritorious Civilian Service Medal and a Hammer Award from the Partnership for Reinventing Government. 
Since moving to the private sector, Patrina received the SmartCEO Brava Award and Enterprising Women of the Year Award.   She is a contributing author to the ATD Public Manager Journal. She also served as a Presidential Rank Award Board Member in 2014 and 2016.
Active in the community, she is Chair of the Board of Directors for Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School and serves on the Board of Directors for the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
Patrina is currently enrolled in the Executive Leadership Doctoral Program in Human and Organizational Learning at George Washington University. She completed graduate studies and programs at Harvard, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington University and the University of Maryland.
Other professional affiliations and certifications include: Human Capital Institute Human Capital Strategist; HR Certification Institute Senior Professional in Human Resources; Senior Certified Professional; and Neuro Leadership Group Results Associate Certified Coach.

Michael Cirrito is passionate about transforming the way government identifies engages and recruits a 21st century workforce.   As the General Manager for LinkedIn’s Federal Practice, he is responsible for increasing the use of LinkedIn among the federal workforce and for driving the adoption of LinkedIn talent solutions among federal agencies.  In addition to those duties, Michael works with LinkedIn’s nonprofit foundation and government relations team on initiatives to support Veterans & Youth employment.
Michael has been a boot-strapped entrepreneur and corporate executive manager.  Prior to joining LinkedIn, he was the Vice President of Marketplace Advertising at Washington Post Media where he led sales, product and marketing for the company’s marketplace business categories.  Before joining the Post, Michael was a co-founder  at JamBase.com. 
Michael holds a BA in History from Clemson University and an MBA from Georgetown University.  He lives with his family in Chevy Chase Maryland.

Jason Miller has been executive editor of Federal News Radio since 2008. Jason directs the news coverage on federal technology, procurement, finance and human resources issues.  He has also produced impactful and insightful news reports and series on whistleblower retaliation at the SBA, the overall impact of President Obama’s first term, cross-agency priority goals, shared services and procurement reform.

Tom Temin has been the host of the Federal Drive since 2006. Tom has been reporting on and providing insight to technology markets for more than 30 years.  Prior to joining Federal News Radio, Tom was a long-serving editor-in-chief of Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines. Tom also contributes a regular column on government information technology.

Zainab is the program director for the HR events portfolio at Worldwide Business Research (WBR). She is project leader and editorial director developing market leading events for senior HR leaders in retail, healthcare, and government. She researches and creates conference programs addressing top industry trends and concerns and recruits senior executive thought leaders to provide insight and share their experiences. Prior to this role, Zainab supported the WBR production team in running 40+ large-scale conferences. You may run into Zainab on the streets of Manhattan trying to pet as many dogs as possible.