Michael Koempel joined Congressional Research Service (CRS) as the chief of the Government Division and senior specialist in American national government on Aug. 7.
"CRS is often described as the institutional memory of Congress. The Government Division exemplifies this role, as one of its responsibilities is to track the institutional development of Congress and the executive branch and their interrelationship within the U.S. government system," said CRS Director Daniel P. Mulhollan.
As chief of the Government Division, Mr. Koempel must plan, direct and carry out the research and analytical programs of the division. The division provides information and analysis to Congress on the legislative and budgetary process; congressional organization and operations; public administration in the executive branch; federal regulatory processes; civil rights, minorities and equal opportunity; political parties, campaign financing and elections; public opinion and survey research; gun control; and crime and drug control.
Mr. Koempel earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University in 1971 and a J.D. from Catholic University in 1974.
He brings to CRS a thorough knowledge of government, the result of a long association with Congress during his career. He was a legislative assistant to Rep. Albert Quie (R-Minn.) from 1973 to 1978 and special assistant to Rep. Quie after his election as governor of Minnesota in 1978.
Mr. Koempel's most recent employment was with Congressional Quarterly (CQ), beginning in 1979. He was director of research and development, managing the CQ research, library, seminars and product development department. In 1988 he became director of information services. He led the development of congressional databases on members of Congress and on committee meetings and votes, and he created a product-development strategy for an on- line information service. Mr. Koempel also led the European publishing project at CQ, developing business opportunities for the company in Europe.
Mr. Koempel's work at CQ gave him a detailed knowledge of government and politics, particularly congressional procedures. It also enabled him to demonstrate considerable skill in managing large and diverse staffs. He supervised progressively larger numbers of increasingly senior people, setting performance goals, evaluating performance, coaching and tutoring, helping employees with personal problems, and achieving equal employment opportunity goals.
"I've known the work of many people in the division, either personally or by reputation, and have admired and respected their work. Now I am honored to be able to work with so many knowledgeable and talented people," said Mr. Koempel.
Stephanie Williams became chief of the CRS Library Services Division and a senior specialist with CRS on Aug. 28.
"Library Services has a dual mission. It serves Congress directly with its databases, the selective-dissemination-of-information service and the product distribution center. It also serves every other division and office of CRS. It needs to function efficiently and effectively in order that every other component of CRS can assist Congress in its decision making," said Mr. Mulhollan.
As chief, Ms. Williams manages the division's information and research support program by ensuring that its products meet the needs of Congress for timely, authoritative, comprehensive and balanced information. The division maintains a large collection of newspapers and journal clippings and a public policy literature collection. The division provides access to its literature through catalogs and lists of CRS products, online databases and a weekly service alerting congressional offices and CRS staff to new materials.
"I'm very excited about my new position and look forward to working with the division and the entire CRS team to meet the challenges of the information age," said Ms. Williams. She earned her B.A. from Fisk University in 1972 and an M.L.S. from Atlanta University in 1973. She brings to CRS a comprehensive knowledge of traditional libraries and today's information technologies as well as strong management skills.
Ms. Williams's career began with the Navy in 1976, where she first worked as a librarian, and then as head of the Indexing Section; head of the Reference Branch; and supervisory information specialist.
She was the technical information manager at the Naval Maritime Intelligence Center from 1987 to 1992. There she managed information services for the Office of Naval Intelligence managers at the Defense Department.
Before joining CRS, Ms. Williams was deputy of the Services Directorate with Naval Intelligence, where she managed 144 persons in four departments.