WHERE IN THE WORLD...
In this section:
Inspector General Mosley Retires
Mike Flannery Retires
Hill Wins Award
'Tish' Butler Retires
Inspector General Mosley Retires
Inspector General Everett Mosley retires in September after 10 years at USAID's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and 25 years with the OIG at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
During the 1970s and 80s, Mosley worked for USDA in Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; and Hyattsville, Md; before being posted to headquarters in Washington, D.C.
He first worked on international programs auditing USDA's food aid programs and meat inspection and grading sites overseas.
Overseas you sometimes find "bribes and other corruption is a way of life," Mosley said. But he found "most people are honest." Problems crop up when "people get lax or the system is lax and entices people to do wrong," he said.
Helping the Agency strengthen its accounting and finance systems has been a big part of Mosley's work.
Key to the Agency getting its first clean audit opinion in 2003 was "building in controls upfront."
OIG staff worked closely with Agency staff to put Phoenix, the new Agency financial management system, into operation in Washington and now overseas.
Emphasizing to management as well as to OIG staff that the office is part of the Agency rather than in opposition to it was crucial, said Mosley.
"We went from no cooperation and not being listened to in the development of the previous computer system to working hand-in-hand to make things better with the Phoenix system."
Moving around the United States, traveling around the world, and meeting people of different backgrounds was probably the best thing about his 35-year career, Mosley said, considering that he was "a boy from a small town in Mississippi."
Initially, Mosley plans to take some time off: to "really retire"—in contrast to retirees who immediately start new jobs and careers—before thinking about what he might want to do next.
Mike Flannery Retires
Corbett Michael Flannery, director of USAID's Office of Security for 17 years, drew a large crowd to his retirement party Aug. 17, not long after an equally emotional farewell took place during the senior staff meeting at which Flannery first announced his retirement.
Known as Mike to his colleagues, Flannery was responsible for the direction, management, and supervision of operational security programs supporting USAID missions worldwide and was the principal advisor to the Administrator on security matters.
Flannery is a retired U.S. Army officer—a highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam War who served for more than 20 years in military intelligence and special operations assignments throughout the world. Among his military awards are the Legion of Merit and four bronze stars.
An eloquent orator, when Flannery spoke to Agency employees on the eve of Veteran's Day in 2003, Tim Beans of the Office of Procurement said the speech was one of the "most moving moments he ever experienced."
Flannery joined USAID in 1987. He was a career member of the Senior Executive Service.
'Tish' Butler Retires
Former bosses and colleagues spoke of Leticia "Tish" Butler's ability to get tough jobs done, one even leading attendees in a "Send Tish" refrain at her retirement party July 29.
Most recently, Butler was director of the Office of Policy Planning in the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, where she led the effort to draft a white paper on the Agency's evolving mission. Prior to that, Butler served as deputy director of the Afghanistan task force.
Butler, who joined USAID after finishing graduate school in 1977, said: "I grew up at AID, my life was shaped by AID. I married an AID guy, I almost died with AID. I realized my dream of having a family, thanks to AID."
In retirement, Butler will be working part-time, "still engaged in development work and international affairs."
Hill Wins Award
Kent R. Hill, Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, was honored by the National Albanian American Council (NAAC) June 18 with the Mother Teresa Award for Contributions to Peace and Development in the Balkans.
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker also was honored, receiving special recognition for supporting Albania's efforts to embrace democracy.
"I am honored by this recognition," said Hill, who was president of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass., before joining USAID.
"I want to give particular credit to hundreds of my USAID colleagues, both U.S. citizens and citizens of the region, and our partners like the NAAC, who are working hard to rebuild this troubled part of the world."
