Executive and Administrative Personnel Reassignments MEMORANDUM To: All USGS Employees From: Gordon P. Eaton Director Subject: Executive and Administrative Personnel Reassignments In February 1996, I announced the reassignments of our Associate Division Chiefs and Administrative Officers for one year, effective May 1, 1996. I am pleased to report that all is proceeding well, although a few changes have been made in the original plan in order to maintain momentum for implementation of our bureau wide assessment policy. This message is intended to provide you with information about the changes and the status of the reassignments. As of Monday, May 6, the Associate Division Chiefs began their new assignments as planned. Jim Plasker, formerly in Mapping, is now the Associate Chief Geologist for Operations in Geology; Jack Fischer, formerly in Water, is now the Associate Division Chief for Operations in Mapping; and Dave Russ, formerly in Geology is now the Associate Chief Hydrologist in Water. Monday was also the start date for new assignments for the division Administrative Officers. Carole Carter and Joe Pillera, formerly in Geology, have assumed their new positions in the Office of Program Support and Mapping, respectively. Larry Amos, formerly in Mapping, has also moved to the Office of Program Support. These three moves were made as planned. Modifications to the original plan have been made as follows: Alice Sabatini, formerly in Water, has assumed responsibilities for co-chairing with Gayle Sisler (Director's Office Administrative Officer) implementation of our new assessment policies. Alice will also be responsible for overseeing both the Water Resources and Geologic Division's audits of the Cooperative Program. Louie Pectol, formerly in the Office of Program Support, has become the Geologic Division's Administrative Officer for the next year. And, Dave Madril, from the Water Resources' Western Region Office, will assume the Water Resource's Administrative Officer position vacated by Alice's move. The various moves thus described, let me introduce more formerly each of these individuals with a brief description of their careers and experiences. Jack Fischer received a B.S. in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, an M.S. in forest hydrology from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in watershed hydrology from the University of Arizona. He first worked for the USGS as a field assistant in the Four Corners Area while a graduate student in Arizona. Subsequently, among many other assignments, Jack has been a ground water project leader in Miami, Florida, special assistant to the Director, and Acting Associate Director. He was involved in the early development of the National Water Quality Assessment program and is currently a technical advisor to the State Department on water issues related to the Middle East Peace talks. For the past eight years, Jack has been the Associate Chief Hydrologist. Jim Plasker received his B.S. in Civil Engineering and his M.S. in Engineering Surveys from Oregon State University. Prior to becoming the Associate Division Chief for Operations, Jim worked in all phases of mapping operations, including field seasons spent in Montana, New Mexico, and Texas, and in headquarters assignments where he was responsible for planning, directing, and evaluating the technical and production operations of the National Mapping Program. Jim was also assigned to the Director's Office for a period of time in the early 1980's when he chaired a team responsible for implementation of the Bureau's National Coal Resources Data System involving the Geologic and the (then) Conservation Divisions. Jim is quite active in professional societies and is currently serving as President of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Dave Russ joined the USGS in 1975, working with the Branch of Seismicity and Risk Analysis in Golden, Colorado. He served seven years coordinating USGS earthquake hazards projects in the New Madrid Seismic Zone of the Lower Mississippi Valley, determining the geological structures, hazards, and recurrence rates of the devastating earthquakes that occurred in this region in 1811-1812. Prior to this, Dave worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducting geomorphological and tectonic studies of the origin and evolution of landforms and fluvial features of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. In the early 1980's, Dave became Deputy Chief of the Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering in Reston, Virginia, and following this assignment the Assistant Chief Geologist for Programs, responsible for coordinating the development of science initiatives, program plans, and budgets for the Geologic Division and coordinating division activities with other Federal agencies and the National Academy of Sciences. Dave became Associate Chief Geologist in 1992. He received a B.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State University and an M.S. from West Virginia University, all in geology, with specialization in structural geology, Quaternary geology and geomorphology. He has published numerous scientific papers in professional journals and in reports of the USGS. Larry Amos received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla while employed at the Survey's Mid-Continent Mapping Center. In 1969, Larry was part of a two-man team that re-established the location of the South Pole. He has held various positions in research, planning, program coordination, and program and budget development, including a two-year assignment as program analyst in the Office of the Director. Larry was instrumental in establishing the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on Digital Cartography, now referred to as the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). In the late 1980's, he was co-leader of several studies that justified the modernization of the division's mapping systems. In his most recent position in NMD as Chief, Administration and Finance, Larry directed the development of NMD's financial plan and oversaw its administrative functions. Carole Carter joined the USGS in 1975 as a clerk-typist in the Office of Personnel. Shortly thereafter, she was reassigned to the Geologic Division and has progressed through the administrative ranks to her most recent assignment as Acting Division Administrative Officer. During her career, Carole pursued a B.S. in Management from George Mason University at night and on weekends. She has extensive experience in all administrative management functional areas including budget and finance, human resources, procurement, and general administrative support services. Carole was a member of the my Benchmark Team on Assessments and has continued to work on this effort to define policies and implementation processes and procedures. Carole also led and coordinated the effort to restructure the administrative management program of the Geologic Division in 1995. Louie Pectol has held a variety of administrative positions since joining the USGS. Her early career was spent as a personnel staffing specialist with responsibilities for developing the bureau's merit promotion policy and selection procedures. Subsequently, Louie served as Chief of the bureau's Personnel Management Evaluation Program and as Assistant Personnel Officer. Louie also served as the bureau's Training Officer in the early 1980's. In the early 1990's, Louie assumed the position of Administrative Officer for the (then) Assistant Director for Administration, where she had responsibilities for all facets of administrative management for the division, including formulation of the division's budget and financial management. Her most recent assignment has been as the Acting Administrative Officer for the Office of Program Support. Louie holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from George Washington University with an emphasis on management in scientific agencies. She is a 1981 graduate of the Department of Interior's Managerial Development Program. Like Carole, she also served as a member of my Benchmark Team on Assessments. Joe Pillera began working for the USGS after graduating from the University of Maryland with a bachelors degree in Business Administration. Joe's initial assignment was with the USGS's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) program. Later, he moved to an Administrative Officer's position in the Office of Energy Resources and then, the Denver Regional office in the Geologic Division. The remainder of Joe's career has been spent as an Administrative Officer in various offices of the Geologic Division. He has had experience in many areas of administrative management, including budget and finance, personnel, contracting, property and general services. Joe has participated in a number of efforts to further the goals of improving and streamlining administrative business practices in the USGS. Alice Sabatini joined the USGS in 1987 as the Administrative Officer for the Illinois District, Water Resources Division. As District Administrative Officer, Alice served on several division-level committees to develop documentation for the Administrative Financial Management System (AFiMS) and resolve various administrative concerns. Alice transferred to National headquarters in 1989 to take the position of Chief, Financial Operations and Reporting Section where she had primary responsibility for leading the division's closeout and correcting audit and accounts receivable deficiencies. She has served as the division Administrative Officer since 1994 where she has directed the budget execution and management services functions. Like Carole and Louie, Alice was also a member of my Benchmark Team on Assessments. I hope that this information may help you understand better some of the changes that are continuing to be made in order to provide a more integrated work environment that emphasizes the basic parameters that I like to refer to as the 3 C's and 2 R's - cooperation, coordination, communication, relevance, and responsiveness. All of these individuals possess key skills and basic knowledge that they will be sharing with colleagues in their new assignments. I ask that you share with them your knowledge and assistance in bringing about scientific collaboration and common business practices across the divisions. At the end of a year's time, when everyone returns to their former organizational homes, I am sure the bureau will be better for having created this opportunity for cross-division interaction and synergy. Thank you, again, for your support for these "pioneers" as they begin the challenge of working in a different division.