First Conversation with...Series of 2008 Features Mary A. Bomar

On Tuesday, January 29, EWG continued its successful Conversation With Series... by welcoming Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service to a luncheon at the American Geophysical Union. Bomar spoke on her philosophy regarding what it means to be a good manager. Bomar began her remarks with a brief family history. Her family owned a manufacturing company in Leicester, England where as a child working alongside her five siblings, she learned the value of “the bottom line and strong work ethics.” Being raised in the English countryside also taught her the importance of historic preservation. When she came to America as a child, she was awestruck by the splendor of the Stature of Liberty and quickly fell in love with America. She lived in the United States for a time where her family visited a host of historic landmarks including the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Golden Gate, and Mount Rushmore, as well as the many other national parks. These family trips, she says, “instilled in me a strong passion for America’s landscapes, cultures and its people.”

Bomar became a U.S. citizen in 1977. Her career began in the Air Force where she managed several Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. She entered the National Park Service in 1990 where her remarkable skills as a manager and “troubleshooter” led her to be named Northeast Regional Director in 2005. In 2006, she was nominated by President Bush to be the 17^th Director of the National Park Service, a position that she feels honored to serve.

During her confirmation hearings, Bomar was asked what her goals were for the National Park Service. She replied to:

• Re-engage the American Public with our National Parks,
• Increase the capacity of the national park system, and
• Develop a new generation of leaders for the Service.

Bomar spoke about her strong values with include: family, honesty, integrity, respect, trust, good citizenry, and stewardship of both cultural and natural resources.

Regarding her management philosophy as the director of the Park Service, Bomar related an experience she had at National Leadership Council meeting in Olympic National Park in Washington. It was during a canoe ride with several other associates on Lake Crescent where she realized the importance of real leadership and cooperative teamwork.
“...for better or worse, this city girl from Leicester was in the front of the canoe. As long as we moved in unison we were fine – but anytime I stopped rowing, all the other regional directors and associates stopped as well.”

The experience helped Bomar see that it is only by working together as a team can any real progress be made. What’s more, as the one in front, it was important that she led the group in right direction. Bomar incorporates this knowledge with a few leadership principles that she has found helpful. These include: find a mentor for yourself, but also be a mentor to others; take the time to make friends before you need them; surround yourself with informed people and respect every point of view; resolve issues at your level; Courtesy to all; and follow the adage, “To thine own self be true.” Do what you know is right.

Bomar also spoke about a recent interview regarding revisions to the New Superintendents training course for the Park Service. She was asked what she considers the three most important things park superintendents need to know or be able to do in order to promote the “survival and growth of the NPS.” Her answer was first that superintendents must be engaged and take an active role in all aspects of managing park resources. The second is the importance of being a good communicator and constant learner. And finally, take time to understand the changes in today’s world which means gaining a greater understanding of today’s generation. This also means using newer marketing tools to reach a more diverse audience and a wired America. And, be open to technology by recognizing the role it can play in the promotion of America’s parks.

When asked by the same interviewer on areas for improvement, she answered: sound business skills, partnering skills, and communications skills at all levels.

Bomar tells her superintendents that “Knowledge is power,” and they must know their parks and its many issues. They must be willing to take risks, and most importantly, be seen by all – "your staff, your community, and by those who can help – from legislators to philanthropists to the media…The superintendent’s office is not a refuge, but a stage!”

Bomar ended the conversation with commitment “to make the ‘best idea America ever had’ the best it can possibly be.”

Read Mary Bomar’s full bio.

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Flash Mentoring: EWG Style

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

EWG’s Career Series is joining with the Treasure Executive Institute to host an energetic flash mentoring event. We’ve taken the popular idea posed in Government Executive by Scott Derrick, a founding member of 13L, a group of mid-career federal employees and added our twist. The barrier to successful mentoring efforts is often lack of time to devote to a traditional program. So we’re bringing a select group of exceptional women to one location to offer short, individual and group mentor connections. Our mentors include:

• Patricia Sanders, Executive Director, U.S. Missile Defense Agency
• Phyllis Scheinberg, Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs/Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Claudia Erland, Arete Fellow; former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence
• Margaret Carpenter, Former Chief Financial Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Phyllis Bonanno, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Trade Solutions, Inc. and Co-Founder Fusan Designs Inc.; Former Director, U.S. Trade Representative’s Office of Private Sector Liaison; former college president and Personal Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson
• Barbara Sherupski, President, Sher Associates, Inc.; formerly with Office of Personnel Management and responsible for first automation of Federal jobs (now USAJobs.gov)
• Katherine Gugulis, Deputy Chief for Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Maria Parisi Vickers, Deputy Director, Office of Solid Waste, Environmental Protection Agency
• Pamela Gardiner, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Glenda Owens, Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining, Department of the Interior
• Nancy Fleetwood, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Public Debt, Department of the Treasury

Registration is free to all EWG and TEI members. Registration is limited so please register early! Go to http://execwomeningov.org/events/ to register today!

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2007 Ends on a High Note!

EWG's Holiday Season Began in Earnest with Tea at the Ritz...

For over 130 members and guests of Executive Women in Government, the Holiday Season was launched in fine style and for a great cause on December 4, 2007 when we gathered for a Holiday Tea at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City, VA. The event featured a delicious tea, shopping with vendors specifically selected for holiday gift giving, a silent auction which included a long week-end at a beautiful beach house, and a raffle for gifts any woman would treasure!! All this to benefit EWG's chosen charity, the Newton Marasco Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing environmental education and stewardship.

Past President of EWG, Maria Parisi Vickers, welcomed everyone with a champagne toast and introduced Ivette Granier-Smith of the Project Performance Corporation who sponsored the tea. Ms. Granier-Smith told EWG members that she was pleased to join us and pleased to continue to support EWG's mentoring and leadership goals for executive women; she then introduced Amy Marasco, Founder of the Newton Marasco Foundation.

Ms. Marasco delighted us with her story about the chapters of her life including her extensive experience in starting new companies. Ms. Marasco credited her mother with her success stating that her mother encouraged risk taking and inspired her, as a child, to be a steward of the environment. Ms. Marasco has worked on issues affecting the environment for almost 30 years, managing her own companies along the way and succeeding as a business woman and environmental professional.

Currently Ms. Marasco oversees the Newton Marasco Foundation which she founded in memory of her husband whom she lost several years ago. With his death, Ms Marasco began another chapter in her productive life, dedicating herself to environmental education across all sectors of society. Using her considerable business network and calling upon friends and colleagues, Ms Marasco formed a foundation which is dedicated to working on environmental issues, inspiring and educating businesses, communities and students to be better environmental stewards.

The Foundation provides technical environmental education programs to K-12th grade students, offers college internships and colleges scholarships, and provides technical experts for academic and community environmental programs. Through consulting work, the Foundation assists businesses to "green" their internal processes and products. In addition, the Foundation has established a Book Award for authors who write about environmental stewardship for children and young adults. In this creative and inspiring chapter of her life, Ms Marasco's business acumen and energy are now being shared with her community and with future stewards of the environment.

In her closing remarks, Ms Marasco gave us some advice: Author the chapters of your life; work hard and know your stuff; take time to feed your soul; and ensure that your career inspires your passion. We are thrilled that this dynamic woman leader has shared with us her experience in transitioning from the business world to heading a charitable organization and for sharing with all of us the personal journey which inspired that transition.

EWG members are delighted that their Holiday Tea was an occasion for greeting friends, making new friends, and for raising $4000 to benefit the good works of the Newton Marasco Foundation. Another great example of our ability, as executive women, is to multitask productively.

EWG is grateful to Gayle Jefferson who chaired this event and made it such a successful start for the Holidays for all of us and Kate Perry for making our shopping a pleasure. We hope to see all of our new friends who attended the tea at our monthly EWG events.

For more information on the Newton Marasco Foundation and Amy Marasco Newton, go to http://www.newtonmarascofoundation.org/.

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Conversation With...Series Features Vice Admiral Nancy Elizabeth Brown

On November 28, 2007, President Lynn Scarlett launched the first EWG event since her inauguration on November 30. Ms Scarlett welcomed Vice Admiral Nancy Elizabeth Brown and introduced her to members and guests of EWG at a luncheon held at the Portofino Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. Vice Admiral Brown serves in the Pentagon with the U.S. Navy as the Director of Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4), and is the principal advisor to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 systems matters within the Department of Defense. During her Navy career, which spans more than 32 years, she has commanded a warship, served in the White House, and, recently, among many other accomplishments, she has served in Iraq.

Vice Admiral Brown observed that organizations such as EWG provide a place where women can be encouraged and supported in their professional and personal development. While acknowledging that we have experienced considerable progress in the workplace, she underscored that most executive women still work in a male-dominated environment. We must, therefore, continue to mentor women and develop leadership skills in our women colleagues.

Vice Admiral Brown recalled that, with no plan beyond college, her father encouraged her to consider the Navy. As she pursued this idea, she encountered a Navy recruiter who told her that she need not apply because she wouldn’t be selected. She persisted, filling out the application anyway. Her acceptance into the Navy proved the recruiter wrong. The Vice Admiral noted that she wished she could talk to that recruiter today!! Her advice to the group was “never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do; you must control your own destiny and dare to dream.”

When Vice Admiral Brown began her Navy career in 1974, women comprised only three percent of the military, and many jobs were not available to them. But today, women represent 15 percent of Navy personnel. They perform all functions. They routinely command ships and serve as aviators and flag officers. Vice Admiral Brown said that military women today have the same opportunities as men and make contributions in all areas. She quoted a female Navy pilot serving in Afghanistan who said, “I’ve never thought of it as a big deal. I just go out and do my job.”

Vice Admiral Brown recommended that women become experts and not just “doers”. She said each of us needs a career plan with goals and timeframes within which to accomplish goals; we should know the position we want and work to acquire the skills needed to prepare for that position. In a question and answer session, she attributed a great deal of her success to mentors, noting specifically that we need mentors who will provide truthful feedback, who will not be afraid to tell us when we are wrong. Her husband, a retired Marine, is one of her mentors who inspires her with his favorite quote from former President Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Vice Admiral Brown's conversation reminds us that there is no success without obstacles. The Navy recruiter who didn't think she could serve in the Navy was actually an inspiration for her. She needed to prove that he was wrong and went to great lengths to do it! She also confirms that success is not accidental, that promotions come to those who are prepared. Vice Admiral Brown took charge of her career by deciding what positions she wanted and by acquiring the education and skills she needed to succeed.

Vice Admiral Brown’s words and actions speak to all of us about the core qualities of leadership: integrity, vision, courage, passion, and constancy to one’s mission. Indeed, this leader has blazed trails and made it easier for others to follow, especially women colleagues. We are grateful for her service to our country, for her example of leadership, and for her generosity in sharing lessons learned with us at EWG.

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More Secrets to Putting Your Experience to Work

By Tina Sung

“A goal without a plan is just a wish” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I have talked to many people over the years who express yearning to do something different in their working life. Particularly now, with so many baby boomer civil servants eligible to retire, I see an upsurge in interest in figuring out a meaningful “what next”. Success requires self awareness, deep contemplation, thoughtful planning, and time to execute the plan. Here are three more secrets to help you make a smooth transition. More will be shared in future articles.

Headline News for Job Seekers

“Help Wanted: 640,000 Open Positions,” The Non Profit Times. “Over the next decade, non profit organizations with revenues greater than $250,000 will need to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior managers—the equivalent of 2.4 times the number currently employed.”

“More jobs than people in Fairfax,” Washington Post. “Over the next 25 years, the number of new jobs in Fairfax County will far exceed the supply of qualified workers to fill them …”

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that by the year 2014 the number of people in the labor force ages 55 to 64 will increase by seven million. The number of people in the labor force age 65 and older will increase seven times as fast as the total labor force due, in part, to workers postponing retirement.” Boomer Project Newsletter.

All this is good news. However, there are still challenges ahead for the first wave of boomers looking to transition. In the recent MetLife Foundation New Face of Work Study, only 12% of adults felt they would have an easy time finding work that used their skills to make a difference. Employers have been slow to change their practices to accommodate these demographic changes. With perceived roadblocks to employing mature workers, it’s important to leverage these 3 secrets to your advantage.

Secret #1: Crystallize Your Accomplishments

You are a knowledgeable competent professional in your field. The secret is to let the world know in language where they “get it”. Reflect back on what you have accomplished and how you have approached challenges. Focus on your strengths, passions, and what you are most proud of. Then tell it like a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning sets the context: what was the situation, who were the key players, and when did the story take place? The middle is what you did to solve the problem, overcome the challenge, or capitalize on the opportunity. The story ends with results.

For public servants, it is natural to be modest. We know that we are part of a system where many contribute to key outcomes. To stand out in the market for talent, one must break the tyranny of the “we” and let the “I” shine a little. Be able to answer the questions: what did you bring to the experience that was unique? What difference did you make?

My partner, Peter Sherer, and I were working with twelve senior executives to describe their accomplishments. One low key, self deprecating EPA executive told how he represented our country at the Law of the Sea Treaty talks. Using his expert knowledge, diplomatic skills, patience and persistence over a ten year period, he ensured that no country would deposit nuclear waste into the world’s oceans. When he finished his story, all of us looked at him with the deepest respect for this awesome achievement. I have the privilege of hearing many stories like this and it makes me proud to have been part of the SES corps. You are all stars and your experience matters.

Secret #2 Craft Your Elevator Speech

An effective “elevator speech” tells the listener who are you, what are you interested in doing now and what value you can bring. It can be delivered in 60 seconds or less with 100-150 words (the length of this paragraph) and is designed to give just enough information that they have a sense of what you are talking about and want to know more. Don’t overwhelm them with too much information at this point. Done well, an elevator speech will invite the listener to get excited about your vision and share relevant people in their network with you. Here are some examples:

“I help senior executive Baby Boomers create work that they love in the first phase of retirement.”

“I want to use my 25 years as an executive in the EPA to benefit the work of a major international foundation.”

“I want to use my 35 years of federal experience in aviation security to benefit airports, major trade associations and contractors working to make the nation’s airports safer.”

Practice delivering your elevator speech so that it’s natural and conversational. Convey passion, credibility, and likeability. Then start using it at networking events, professional association meetings, with friends and family. You’ll be surprised at what a great conversation starter it is and how those who can help you achieve your goals will continue to talk.

Secret #3: Cultivate Your Network

The old adage, “dig your well before you are thirsty” applies to this secret. Networking is an essential professional capability and is part of the SES Executive Core Competencies. It is the primary technique for senior professionals and executives seeking to change jobs, land on their feet after a reorganization, or transition to another sector. Everyone has least 9-15 networks – list them. Ideas to prompt your thinking include family, immediate work unit, agency or department, interagency councils, professional associations, sports or hobby groups, neighborhood associations, church, the PTA, leadership development programs, military service affiliations, customers, suppliers, and consultants.

Then put networking on your calendar. It takes time to build the trust and relationships. In some networking encounters, you will be receiving advice and information; in others you will be giving value to others. For a core set of associates and allies, reciprocity is built up over time: you help them know what you need and what they can count on you for. They send good ideas your way and when needed, their network becomes your network, and vice versa.

Senator Chuck Hagel said, “the thing you are doing …puts you in a certain universe – that’s a universe of contacts, of relationships, of awareness, of knowledge. That always comes together in a way that presents opportunities.” Start now to make your contacts count.

Let me close with this beautiful quote from Jules Renard:

Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.

Read Tina Sung’s bio.

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Wounded Warriors Project

Naomi Sokol Zeavin

We will begin collecting for the "Wounded Warriors” project on March 12. This worthwhile project is to help our heroes who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let us top the $2,000 we have given already for the men and women who are currently hospitalized as a result of their service to our country. Here is a chance to show your support and gratitude to these brave fighting men and women. Don't let them be forgotten. They are fighting for our freedom so that all of us and our families and friends can enjoy the good life of an American, here safe and sound!

Last year, we assembled backpacks which were placed by their beds. The backpacks contained a jacket, underwear, toiletries, writing material, pen, and other items. A note from EWG members who supported the project was also placed in each bag.

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Career Corner - Overseas Opportunities

Looking for Your Next Job? Ever considered looking outside the US? Maybe you should. The Department of State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs provides a central job listing service that lists a myriad of opportunities outside the US. The International Vacancy Announcements (IVA) list is updated every two weeks and includes vacancies from over 50 United Nation agencies and other international organizations.

Generally, the most competitive candidates have international work experience, skills in a second language, and a graduate’s degree in the required area of expertise. However, there are many other considerations.

For a complete list and additional information, visit www.state.gov/p/io/empl/.

For other employment opportunities within the United States Federal Government, go to www.usajobs.opm.gov.

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Welcome New Members

Kathryn Bouve' - Environmental Protection Agency
Elizabeth Corwin - Department of State
Portia Cross - USDA APHIS
Joan Fegan - GRA, Inc.
Julie Gianelloni Connor - Department of State
G. Charmaine Gilbreath - United States Navy
Melissa Hartman - Department of the Treasury
Judy Kertcher - Environmental Protection Agency
Suzanne McCormick - Department of State
M. Elizabeth Medaglia - Office of Administration
Nancy Merritt - National Institute of Justice
Sumiye Okubo - Department Of Commerce
Fay Ott - Small Business Administration
Michelle Sparrow-Walker - Department of State
Ann Speyer - Smithsonian Institution

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