As the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) effort to transform the President’s Management Agenda from a list of goals into actionable policy steps gathers steam, OMB is fleshing out its list of Federal agency officials who are taking on leadership roles not only for the three major PMA pushes but for numerous strategic goals within each of them.
OMB earlier this month published new insights into opportunities and success metrics for the three primary PMA goals unveiled by the Biden administration last November. The three big PMA pushes focus on:
- Improving how the government recruits and retains its workforce;
- How the government can better harness technology to improve citizen service delivery; and
- Changing how the government approaches acquisitions in a way that provides advantages for the domestic economy.
Along with success metrics and other new information on the PMA planning effort, OMB also unveiled a new layer of Federal agency leadership ranks to advance the effort.
The new “strategy leads” for the three PMA areas “will ensure that PMA Priorities and goals have the sustained attention they deserve and the focus and expertise of subject matter experts who drive day-to-day implementation,” OMB said.
Strengthening the Workforce
At the top layer, the workforce PMA area is headed by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, and Labor Deputy Secretary Julie Su. Newly named as strategy leads are:
For the strategy of attracting and hiring the most qualified employees who reflect the diversity of the U.S.:
- Colleen Heller-Stein, Director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Human Resources and Acting Chief Human Capital Officer, and;
- Tracy Therit, Chief Human Capital Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For the strategy of making “every Federal job a good job, where all employees are engaged, supported, heard, and empowered”:
- Roland Edwards, Chief Human Capital Officer at the Department of Homeland Security; Kristin McNally, Branch Chief of Employee Engagement, Division of Worklife and Engagement in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, Department of Labor; and
- Nancy Speight, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy.
For the strategy of building a roadmap to the future Federal work informed by pandemic lessons and workplace trends:
- Jason Barke, Deputy Associate Director, Strategic Workforce Planning at OPM;
- Dustin Brown, Deputy Assistant Director for Management at OMB;
- Wonzie Gardner, Office Head and Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Information and Resource Management at the National Science Foundation; and
- Zoe Garmendia, Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the General Services Administration.
For the strategy of building a personnel system and support required to sustain the government as a model employer:
- John Gill, Assistant Director of Center For Leadership Development at OPM;
- Veronica Hinton, Principal Deputy Associate Director for Employee Services at OPM; and
- David Padrino, Executive Director, Office of Human Capital Data Management and Modernization at OPM.
Improving Citizen Service
The citizen service improvement area of the PMA is headed by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, and Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Donald Remy. Newly named strategy leads are:
For the strategy of improving service design, digital products, and customer-experience management of Federal high-impact service providers:
- Pam Coleman, Associate Director for Performance and Personnel Management at OMB.
For the strategy of identifying and prioritizing the development of Federal shared products, services, and standards:
- Dave Zvenyach, Director of Technology Transformation Services at GSA.
For the strategy of designing, building, and managing government service delivery for “key life experiences that cut across Federal agencies,” OMB said that the President’s Management Council is responsible for forming interagency teams to tackle cross-agency life experiences as directed by President Biden’s executive order issued in December 2021.
Federal Acquisitions
The acquisitions area of the PMA is headed by Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves, Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary John Tien.
Strategy lead appointments remain pending in the following areas:
- Fostering “lasting improvements in the Federal acquisition system to strengthen the U.S. domestic manufacturing base, support American workers, lead by example toward sustainable climate solutions, and create opportunities for underserved communities”; and
Building “capacity in Federal financial management, including through Federal financial assistance, to catalyze American industrial strategy, address climate-related risks, and deliver equitable results.”
