U.S. Office of Personnel ManagementKay Coles JamesFormer Director |
After being nominated by President George W. Bush, the United States Senate
unanimously confirmed Kay Coles James to be Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) on July 11, 2001. Former Director James is an advocate for
Federal employees and leader of a dynamic agency with over 3,600 employees across
the country, an annual budget in excess of 261 million dollars and trust funds
that annually exceed 29 billion dollars in appropriations.
As President Bush's principal advisor in matters of personnel administration
for the 1.8 million members of the Federal civil service, OPM, under Former
Director James' leadership, manages financial programs and workforces that are
larger than many Fortune 500 companies! In fact, if OPM were in the private-sector,
it would rank as the largest Fortune 500 company in terms of assets.
Former Director James oversees the stewardship of over $650 billion in Federal
retirement, health, life and long term care insurance assets and oversees the
Federal HSA program - the largest trust fund in the world.
Kay Coles James played an instrumental role in designing the process and system
through which nearly 170,000 employees from 22 different agencies, each with
different cultures and human resources services and represented by 17 separate
labor unions, merged into the new Department of Homeland Security - one of the
largest personnel mergers in history.
She was also a central official in supporting and implementing the legislation
that led to human resource flexibilities at the Department of Defense - providing
the President and Secretary of Defense greater flexibility to manage 700,000
Defense employees in the performance of their duties to support America's men
and women in uniform.
OPM, under the leadership of Kay Coles James has streamlined the way Federal
employees are hired by creating a website recording over 100 million visitors
since it was unveiled 19 months ago- and turning OPM into one of the largest
recruiting agencies for thousands of retiring military veterans.
And OPM, under James, advises many nations on civil service and management
issues - among those countries are Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, India, and Uganda.
James currently serves as the Chair of the Joint Financial Management Improvement
Program (JFMIP) Principals. The JFMIP is a joint and cooperative undertaking
of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the General Accounting Office, the Office
of Management and Budget, and the Office of Personnel Management working in
cooperation with each other and other agencies to improve financial management
practices in government.
Among OPM's responsibilities are planning for the future needs of the Federal
workforce and for helping agencies improve human resources management and human
capital practices and the protection of the Merit System Principles, ensuring
Veterans' Preference, and monitoring workforce diversity in the Federal workforce.
OPM is also responsible for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, Federal
retirement benefits, Federal labor management relations, assisting agencies
with recruiting and hiring employees, and developing managers and executives
across Government to help agencies meet their strategic objectives.
OPM manages five Governmentwide e-Gov initiatives and oversees the Human Capital
portion of the President's Management Agenda. The agency is also responsible
for the creation of Flexible Spending Accounts for Federal employees, and the
introduction of the new Federal Long-Term Care insurance program.
James is chair of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCO), a group
comprised of the selected officers from cabinet departments and other agencies.
Each CHCO is accountable for the strategic alignment of the agency's work force
to its mission, and will be given the responsibility of maintaining and effectively
directing its human resources management policies and programs. James is also
a member of the President's Management Council and Chair of the Council's Subcommittee
for Human Capital / Workforce Management. The Council has been charged by the
President to ensure the implementation of his bold agenda of reform. James has
also been appointed by the President to serve on the White House Fellows Commission.
Prior to coming to OPM James served as a leader and manager in Government on
the Federal, state, and local levels and in private, non-profit, and academic
settings. She most recently served as a Senior Fellow and Director of The Citizenship
Project at the Heritage Foundation. Prior to joining Heritage, James served
as Dean of the School of Government at Regent University and as Chair of the
National Gambling Impact Study Commission. James served as Secretary of Health
and Human Resources for former Virginia Governor George Allen where she designed
and implemented Virginia's landmark welfare reform initiative. As Secretary,
James was responsible for fourteen state agencies and over 19,000 employees.
Before serving in the Allen Administration, James was Senior Vice President
of the Family Research Council. She has also served as Executive Vice-President
and Chief Operating Officer for One to One Partnership, a national umbrella
organization for mentoring programs. She served under President George H. W.
Bush as Associate Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy and as Assistant Secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. She was appointed by President Reagan and reappointed
by President George H. W. Bush as member of the National Commission on Children.
James has served on the Fairfax County School Board and the Virginia Board of
Education. She has also served on several corporate boards, including Focus
on the Family and Amerigroup, Inc., a health care provider exclusively for low-income
families.
A graduate of Hampton University, James is the recipient of numerous honorary
degrees, most recently the Doctor of Laws Degree from Pepperdine University.
Former Director James is also the recipient of several awards and special recognitions,
including the University of Virginia's Publius Award for Public Service.
As a frequent commentator and lecturer, Mrs. James has appeared as a guest
on every network morning show, several national news and talk programs, and
her editorials have been featured in newspapers across the country. In addition,
James is the author of three books; her award winning 1993 autobiography Never
Forget; Transforming America: From the Inside Out (1995); and a third book on
the subject of marriage (2001).
Most importantly, Kay Coles James is the wife of Charles James, Sr. and the
proud mother of three grown children, and a new grandchild.
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