New Laboratory Policy Office to improve Lab-wide policies and procedures

Contact: Kevin Roark, knroark@lanl.gov, (505) 665-0582 (03-093)

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M. Diana Webb New Policy Office Director

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 17, 2003 -- Los Alamos National Laboratory Director George P. Nanos has named M. Diana Webb to lead the Director's Policy Office, a new organization that will streamline and consolidate policy functions at the institution. The Policy Office will report to the Director's Executive Chief of Staff, advise senior managers on policy issues, and assist all Laboratory organizations with matters related to internal policy and procedures.

"Diana brings a wealth of understanding to the Policy Office," Nanos said. "She has put together a comprehensive approach to policy that fits in extremely well with my strategic goals and priorities."

The Policy Office is one of two new elements Nanos has put in place to help execute his vision of excellence for the Laboratory. Along with the new Institutional Planning and Evaluation Office, the policy staff will work across the organization to consolidate and streamline policies to align with our corporate strategies and mission objectives.

"A centralized Policy Office is long overdue for this institution," Nanos said. "We operate on a daily basis under a framework of policies, procedures, and other requirements. It is imperative that we understand what is expected of us and execute our work crisply. Moving the policy function to my office underscores my commitment to streamline our operation. "

The Policy Office will consolidate staff already working on policies and procedures related to facility and site operations, administrative and business practices, programmatic work, and information management. The Standards and Requirements Group, Performance Surety Division (PS-OI), will immediately move to the new office as a first step in consolidating policy functions that are now spread across the Laboratory.

Webb has been instrumental in setting up the Policy Office. Since February she has led a multi-disciplinary task force with membership drawn from across the Laboratory to develop the mission, scope, organizational structure, and business plan for the new office. The impetus for this effort was a grass-roots recommendation from Laboratory Group Leaders to the senior management team that policy information needed to be reviewed and centralized. "The team has done a great job," Webb said. "A project of this size could not be successful without bringing to the table the many points of view and differing needs of our various organizations."

Webb comes to the Policy Office from the Operations Directorate Office. She served as the Group Leader for the Ecology Group (RRES-ECO) from 1995, when she joined the Laboratory, until 2002. She also served as the acting Office Leader for Program Integration for the Risk Reduction and Environmental Stewardship Division. Prior to joining the Laboratory, Webb worked for many years as a staff member and a manager for the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington D.C., and the DOE Los Alamos Site Office, in matters pertaining to environmental policy, Defense Programs initiatives, and tribal relations. She has also worked for the Bureau of Land Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, and private consulting firms.

Webb holds a master's degree from the University of Illinois, where as an undergraduate student she was an Edmund J. James Scholar and graduated with high honors; she is also a graduate of University of Illinois High School. She has spoken and written extensively on the application of environmental policy and is the co-author of a college textbook on this subject.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

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