Mentor Biographies

Click the links below to read each mentor's biography.

Sid Ashworth, President, The Ashworth Group
Marcilynn Burke, Deputy Director for Programs and Policy, Bureau of Land Management
Margie Carpenter, Former Chief Financial Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission
Debbie Danker, Senior Adviser in the Office of the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, Department of the Treasury
Claudia Erland, Arete Fellow; Former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence
Kathy Gugulis, Deputy Director for Administration and Management; Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
Loretta King, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Glenda Owens, Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining, Department of the Interior
Lori Santamorena, Executive Director, U.S. Department of the Treasury's Government Securities Regulations Staff, Bureau of the Public Debt
Susan Sawtelle, Managing Associate General Counsel at the General Accountability Office
Barbara Sherupski, President of Sher Associates, Inc., formerly in senior positions with the Office of Personnel Management
Margaret Weir, Executive Director, Global Business Development, U.S. Postal Service

View the "Pearls of Wisdom" compiled from our 2010 mentors.

Sid Ashworth
President, The Ashworth Group

With more than 24 years of experience in the legislative and executive branches, Ms. Sid Ashworth is a seasoned professional and widely respected expert on defense, aerospace, intelligence, military construction, and base closure issues.

Prior to forming the Ashworth Group, Ms. Ashworth spent fourteen years as a Professional Staff Member with the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. From 2003 to 2009, she served as the Majority and Minority Staff Directors of the Defense Subcommittee. From 1997 to 2003, she served as the Majority and Minority Staff Directors of the Military Construction Subcommittee. From 1989 to 1993, Ms. Ashworth held a variety of senior positions within the U.S. Army, Pacific, primarily within the areas of resource management, force structure and strategy. From 1990 to 1991, she served as a Special Advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army, Pacific, and she led a senior task force to consolidate Army command and control throughout the Asia-Pacific region from 1989 to 1990. From 1985 to 1989, Ms. Ashworth held several senior analyst positions within Eighth United States Army and United States Forces, Korea, in the Republic of Korea.

In addition to her experience in the legislative and executive branches, Ms. Ashworth has also held positions with several academic institutions. She is a Senior Adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and has served as an adjunct professor with the University of Maryland, Far East Division in business management. She has also appeared as a guest lecturer on the legislative process at Indiana University, the Brookings Institute, and Georgetown University, and in 1992, she was a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. From 1984 to 1985, Ms. Ashworth served as a facilitator and trainer for the Military Family Department at the U.S. Army War College.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Ashworth has received numerous awards and honors, including several Department of the Army federal service awards. In 2009, she was a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal, and the National Guard MG G.V. “Sonny Montgomery” Award. She also received the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard Association of the United States. 1994, she was selected by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to serve as a Legis Congressional Fellow with the Senate Appropriations Committee. Ashworth holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Campbell University and a B.A. in Management from the University of Maryland.

Marcilynn Burke
Deputy Director for Programs and Policy
Bureau of Land Management

Marcilynn Burke is the Bureau of Land Management’s Deputy Director for Programs and Policy under Director Bob Abbey. To serve in this position, she has taken a leave of absence from the University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) in Texas, where she is an Associate Professor of Law. Burke’s expertise in renewable energy, endangered species, and other land management issues benefits the BLM as it works to support the Department of the Interior’s clean energy, treasured landscapes, and other natural resource and land use priorities.

At UHLC, she taught law courses on land use and its management, natural resources, and property. Burke also served as one of the co-directors for UHLC’s Center for Environment, Energy and Natural Resources. Before joining the faculty at UHLC, she served as visiting assistant professor of law at the Rutgers School of Law in Camden, N.J., and subsequently, at Seattle University School of Law for its “Summer in Alaska” program. Burke was previously with the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Washington, D.C., where she focused on environmental law, antitrust, and civil and criminal litigation. She clerked for the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Burke is a member of several professional associations, including the Association of American Law Schools, the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the New York State Bar Association, and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT).

Burke received her bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She obtained her law degree from Yale Law School where she was an editor for both the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism and the Yale Journal of International Law.

Margaret J. Carpenter
Chief Financial Officer (Retired)
Securities and Exchange Commission

Margaret Carpenter served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1997 – 2007. In 2005 the SEC issued its first audited financial statements, which received a clean opinion from the General Accounting Office. In the final year of her tenure as SEC’s CFO, the agency resolved all material weaknesses in financial reporting and received its third clean opinion. Prior to her tenure at the SEC, Ms. Carpenter held management positions at the Department of Interior. She began her 32 year career in the Federal government as a management analyst and budget examiner at the Office of Management and Budget. Currently she serves on the board of a community service non-profit organization and plans to explore professional opportunities in the non-profit sector. She is enjoying having more time for her family, and for fitness, travel and other personal interests.

Debbie Danker
Senior Adviser in the Office of the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance
Department of the Treasury
Education
Ph.D., Economics, Yale University, 1983
M.Phil., Economics, Yale University, 1977
A.B., Economics, Princeton University, 1975

Professional Experience
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2004-present; most recently as Deputy Director, Division of Monetary Affairs
Senior Adviser, The World Bank, 1993-2004
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Federal Finance, U.S. Treasury Department, 1992-1993
Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisers, 1987-1988
Assistant Director, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1984-1993
Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 1979-1984

Claudia Erland
Areté Associates

Ms. Claudia Erland is currently a Fellow with Areté Associates, a Research and Development company working for both DoD and the Intelligence Community. Prior to this, she spent 26 years with Naval Intelligence. Her career began as an analyst and a manager, becoming the deputy of the Undersea Warfare Department. She moved on to become the Deputy Director of the Collections Directorate, Deputy Director of Corporate Operations, and the Director of Multi-Media Services before spending two years at the CIA’s Nonproliferation Center. In 2000 she became a member of the Senior Executive Service, serving first as the Executive Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and finishing up her government career as the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Ms Erland has received numerous awards and honors, including the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2005 and the Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award in 2007.

Katherine C. Gugulis
Deputy Director for Administration and Management
Executive Office of Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice

The immediate Past President of Executive Women in Government, Katherine C. Gugulis has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 1995. She serves as Deputy Director for Administration and Management for the Executive Office of Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice, in Washington, DC, with responsibility for directing the information technology, budget and finance, human resources, facilities support, security operations, and procurement activities in support of 94 U.S. Attorneys offices throughout the country.

Prior to her current position, she served in a number of leadership positions for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, including as Deputy Chief for Management, Deputy Chief for Strategic Planning and Accountability, Director of Operations Management and Oversight, and Director of the Office of Public Affairs.

From March 1997 to February 1998, Ms. Gugulis served as USDA’s Acting Associate Assistant Secretary for Administration overseeing implementation of the 92 recommendations contained in the Secretary’s civil rights action team report.

She began her career as public affairs officer at the Maryland State Office of NRCS’s predecessor agency, the Soil Conservation Service, from 1974-1986. A native of Maryland, Ms. Gugulis earned a bachelors of science degree in journalism from the University of Maryland with minors in economics and English. Ms. Gugulis received a Presidential Rank Award in 2008 as well national awards for performance management, civil rights leadership, and communications. Besides EWG, she has held various leadership positions in professional associations, and has been recognized throughout her career for outstanding and superior service. She lives in Gaithersburg, Md., with her husband.

Loretta King
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice

Loretta King, a graduate of Duke University and the American University Washington College of Law, is a career Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice. From January 20, 2009 through October 7, 2009, she was the Acting Assistant Attorney General and led the Division in the new administration until a political appointee was confirmed.

Ms. King began working at the Department of Justice as a law clerk in 1979, and was hired as an Honor Law Graduate in 1980. From 1980 to 1990, she worked in the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division, enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and Executive Order 11246. While there, she brought and settled the Department's first sexual harassment case and its first paternity leave case.

In 1990, Ms. King transferred to the Civil Division, Torts Branch, where she defended the government in multi-million dollar medical malpractice and other personal liability cases which were usually brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

In 1992, Ms. King returned to the Civil Rights Division as Deputy Chief of the Voting Section. There she supervised attorneys and paralegals litigating voting rights cases, and reviewed matters submitted under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. She focused considerable energy on the defense of cases challenging majority-minority districts.

In 1994, Ms. King became the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. In this capacity, she has reviewed the work of Division attorneys and staff in almost every subject matter under the Division's jurisdiction, including: disability rights, voting rights, police misconduct, protection of the constitutional rights of persons in public institutions, and protection against discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, lending, education, and public accommodations.

Ms. King is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. She is a founding member of the Department of Justice Association of Black Attorneys and has served on its Executive Board. She has also developed and conducted training courses for the Department and participated on Department management and policy committees.

Glenda H. Owens
Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
U.S. Department of the Interior

Glenda Owens is the Deputy Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). As Deputy Director, Ms. Owens works with the Director to provide leadership and direction for the implementation of the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

Under the Surface Mining Act, OSM is responsible for working cooperatively with 24 coal-producing states to ensure coal mining and reclamation activities are conducted in an environmentally sound manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining through the reclamation of abandoned mines.

As Deputy Director of OSM, Ms. Owens oversees the bureau’s operational activities, ensuring that it meets the requirements established for federal agencies by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, among other things. Ms. Owens also serves as OSM’s Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for ensuring the bureau’s compliance with the Chief Financial Officers’ Act and other financial and business management requirements. Ms. Owens is a member of Interior’s Management Initiatives Team, an executive-level body, which focuses on management efficiency and effectiveness. She also serves on the Interior Department’s Human Capital Team.

Previously, Ms. Owens was an Assistant Solicitor in the Interior Department’s Solicitor’s Office, Division of Mineral Resources. As the Assistant Solicitor for the Division of Mineral Resources, she headed up a legal staff responsible for providing legal services to bureau and departmental officials. She also supervised defensive litigation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

Ms. Owens has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law. She is married and has a daughter.

Lori Santamorena
Executive Director
U.S. Department of the Treasury's Government Securities Regulations Staff
Bureau of the Public Debt

Lori Santamorena has served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Government Securities Regulations Staff at the Bureau of the Public Debt since 1999. The Staff’s mission is to provide balanced regulation that protects investors while maintaining the integrity, liquidity and efficiency of the government securities market. In 2008, Lori received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, and is also a recipient of the Treasury Secretary’s Award.

Prior to joining the Treasury, Ms. Santamorena was Director of Compliance at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, responsible for its U.S. capital markets trading and derivatives activities headquartered in New York City. During that time, she held leadership positions on numerous private sector financial industry committees. Previously, she was a Special Investigator for the NASD’s New York City District and was involved in several high profile investigations in the financial services industry.

Ms. Santamorena also has many interests and is active outside of work: She currently serves on the boards of Women in Housing and Finance Foundation, the Treasury Historical Association, is a past President of Executive Women in Government, and former board member of the Financial Women’s Association of New York. She is a member of St Matthews Breakfast Program for the Homeless, and has also participated in numerous other philanthropic activities, including Holy Trinity Catholic Church Social Justice Committee, and the Children’s Hope Foundation, a New York City pediatric AIDS organization.

Susan D. Sawtelle
Managing Associate General Counsel
U.S. Government Accountability Office

Susan Sawtelle is Managing Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C. She oversees GAO’s legal advice and opinions provided to the Congress and the Comptroller General of the United States on issues including the financial markets, energy, the environment, aviation and transportation, and telecommunications.

Prior to joining GAO in 2001, Susan was a Partner at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C., specializing in regulatory and litigation matters. On leave of absence from 1999 to 2000, she served at the National Science Foundation’s research base at the South Pole in Antarctica, as the Station’s Environment, Health, and Safety manager. She was previously a Partner at what is now DLA Piper, and was Special Assistant to the Director of EPA’s Office of Solid Waste.

Susan earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review, and her B.A. in Anthropology and in Asian Studies from Connecticut College.

Barbara Sherupski
President, Sher Associates, Inc.

Barbara Sherupski is a management consultant and founding partner of Sher Associates, Inc. Her specialty is government-to-government business processes, systems and strategies.
Barbara combines her 11 years of consulting expertise with a successful 28-year career with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. She served in senior positions both in the financial management and human resource management areas.

While in Government, Barbara created innovative recruitment and staffing solutions for Federal agencies including the concept of Federal job fairs and the first automation of the Federal job information line (now USAJOBS). She served as the key senior finance officer in the US OPM as they transformed traditional, appropriated funded organizations into to self-supporting, Government enterprises.
As a management consultant, she has led automation and business reengineering projects that have boosted annual revenues by tens of millions of dollars. She also created a system and the capacity to tackle debt management for Federal businesses. Her company has reduced outstanding debt for clients by more than 90%.

Barbara holds a Bachelors Degree from Syracuse University, a Masters Degree from the University of Maryland and a certificate of Senior Executive Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Margaret (Peg) Weir
Executive Director, Global Business Development
United States Postal Service

Margaret Weir is a results-oriented executive and leader with over 25 years of U.S. Postal Service experience in Business Development, Operations, Finance, Risk Management and Program Management. This broad experience has afforded her the opportunity to address challenges from a strategic and tactical perspective at the corporate and field levels. Weir’s effective team building skills have cultivated an active network of positive working relationships at all levels within and external to the Postal Service. Weir has received several awards for her leadership and teamwork.

In February 2009, Weir began her role as Executive Director, Global Business Development, where she leads a team to develop new strategies and solutions for the Postal Service’s international products. She also leads new business development initiatives with key foreign postal administrations and private integrators.

Immediately preceding this position, Weir was the District Manager, Albany Customer Sales and Service in Albany, NY where she provided leadership to 7,000 employees, managing an expense budget of $604 M and retail/commercial revenue income of over $720 M, providing efficient customer service and community relations at 670 retail outlets and 4 major processing plants. Weir held similar positions in Minneapolis, MN and Spokane, WA.

Earlier Weir served as the Manager, Internal Control reporting to the Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management in the Postal Service and liaison with the Office of Inspector General and Government Accountability Office. Weir also helped develop the foundation for Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance within the Postal Service.

As the Manager, Capital and Program Evaluation, Weir led the overall management of a multi-billion dollar 5-Year Capital Investment Plan. She was the secretary to the Board of Governors' Capital Projects Committee and Management's Capital Investment Committee. During this time, Weir was the Finance lead in negotiating an extremely beneficial and groundbreaking transportation and retail contract with Federal Express.

 Weir holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Arts from Siena College. She is an adjunct professor at Syracuse University (DC campus and distance learning) in the Master of Science Information Management program. She has also taught for American University in a similar Master’s degree program.

Weir, recently elected as President, has been an active member of Executive Women in Government since 2004 and has served on the Board as Treasurer and the Membership Committee chair. She has served on other boards and is an active member in several organizations, including The International Alliance of Women (TIAW) and Women in Technology (WIT).

Weir’s personal goals include the completion of a doctoral degree in management at Walden University, continue being a champion for mentoring others for future leadership positions, and writing a management book.

Weir resides in Alexandria, VA and spends time in upstate New York with her family or relaxing in warm weather in Key West, FL or Carefree, AZ.

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