Washington, D.C. - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Deputy Director Dan G. Blair today addressed members of the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (NAHFE) at an annual summit in San Antonio, Texas. Blair told participants their hard work in serving America is appreciated, and welcomed their ideas to address continuing challenges.

"Working for America can be challenging, exhilarating, and exciting," Blair said. "But I think you need to know that your interest in serving America is appreciated and recognized by both President George W. Bush and OPM Director Kay Coles James."

The NAHFE summit, targeted at members of the Senior Executive Service and federal employees at the GS 15 level, focused on several major areas including Hispanics and the strategic management of human capital; building and improving effective mentoring and training programs for Hispanics at the GS 12-14 levels; and management accountability in creating innovative approaches to recruiting, training, and retaining Hispanics in the federal workforce.

"NAHFE sincerely appreciates the tremendous support it has received from OPM in assuring a successful and productive Summit VI," said NAHFE President and CEO Manuel Oliverez. "We look forward to working closely with OPM in the issues discussed at the San Antonio, Texas Summit."

Blair spoke of current efforts OPM is spearheading to diversify the federal workforce while honoring Merit System Principles, including aggressive marketing and recruiting efforts for the new Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, the Executive Readiness Program, and the new Presidential Management Fellows Program.

"We are committed to expanding our efforts to encourage more talented people from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in the federal government," said Blair. "Recruiting and hiring good candidates for federal careers and retaining them to achieve and maintain a diverse workforce is a significant challenge, and one we cannot be successful at without your help," Blair told the audience. "Organizations like NAHFE can do much to help guide and prepare Hispanics for success."

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM 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.