News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 24, 2003

Contact: Edmund Byrnes (202) 606-2402

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OPM Director Announces Members of the New Chief Human Capital Officers Council

Washington, D.C. – In accordance with the Chief Human Capital Officers Act, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James announced the names of the federal government's Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO). The Act requires Executive departments and agencies to name or appoint a senior official to be the agency's CHCO.

The Act also establishes a Chief Human Capital Officers Council and names the OPM Director as chair of the Council. The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget will serve as vice chair. By statute, the Council is made up of the CHCOs of cabinet departments. Large executive agencies have been designated by the Chair, and final determinations are underway about how smaller agencies will be represented on the Council.

"Through the hard work of the Chief Human Capital Officers we will enhance our efforts to build and maintain a federal work force that is the envy of the world," said James. "We owe a dept of gratitude to Senator Voinovich (R-OH) for the leadership and vision that helped make this possible."

The 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. (The position is similar to an agency's Chief Information Officer and Chief Financial Officer with respect to its information and fiscal resources.)

As specifically envisioned by the Act, the CHCO will serve as an integral part of senior leadership and will "advise and assist the head of the agency and other agency officials in carrying out the agency's responsibilities for selecting, developing, training, and managing a high-quality, productive work force in accordance with merit system principles."

Those named to be CHCOs include:

• Ruthie Jackson, Department of Agriculture
• Otto J. Wolff, Department of Commerce
• David S. C. Chu, Department of Defense
• William Leidinger, Department of Education
• Claudia Cross, Department of Energy
• Rosemary Taylor, Department of Health and Human Services
• Ronald James, Department of Homeland Security
• Vickers Meadows, Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Lynn Scarlett, Department of the Interior
• Joanne Simms, Department of Justice
• Patrick Pizzella, Department of Labor
• Ruth Davis, Department of State
• Michael Dannenhauer, Department of Transportation
• Rebecca Contrearas, Department of the Treasury
• William Campbell, Department of Veterans Affairs
• Rose Marie Depp, Agency for International Development
• Morris Winn, Environmental Protection Agency
• Gail Lovelace, General Services Administration
• Vicki Novak, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Anthony Arnolie, National Science Foundation
• Patricia Norry, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Doris Hausser, Office of Personnel Management
• Monika Edwards Harrison, Small Business Administration
• Reginald Wells, Social Security Administration

Stressing the importance of the newly designated CHCOs, James said: "Whether serving in government for a season or an entire career, the President has called on all public servants to dedicate themselves to great goals…not to mark time, but to make progress, to achieve results, and to leave a record of excellence. The single most important factor determining an organization's success and effectiveness is the quality of its employees. The federal government is no exception."

As chair of the CHCO Council, James will oversee and coordinate their critical activities. The Council is envisioned to be a high-level policy planning body that can address and advance such matters as modernizing human resources systems, improving the quality of human resources information, and advancing legislation affecting human resources operations and organizations, as well as the Administration's strategic objectives for the management of human capital.

The Council will offer a series of educational seminars and workshops to assist the new CHCOs with their critical roles of improving and implementing their agency's human capital strategic plans.

The first meeting of the Council will be held on June 11.

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OPM oversees the federal work force and provides the American public with up-to-date employment information. OPM also supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.

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