Speaker Biographies

Robert E. Bard
Robert E. Bard is the president and CEO of LATINA Style magazine.  He assumed this position in October 2001, after the death of his spouse and business partner, Anna Maria Arias, who founded and had been the editor and publisher of LATINA Style. Mr. Bard founded of The Bard Company (TBC) a consulting public affairs, public relations, marketing and advertising firm specializing in the U.S. Hispanic professional market.  Based in Washington, D.C., TBC has created a number of successful national, regional and local programs for American Express, Nordstrom, The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, LATINA Style Magazine, SBC Communications, Anheuser Bush, the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Hispanic Magazine.

With over 20 years of marketing experience, Mr. Bard has developed unique expertise on the workings of the U.S. Hispanic media. As member of the team that successfully launched Hispanic Magazine and LATINA Style Magazine, two of the most respected media vehicles in the U.S. Hispanic market, Mr. Bard has first-hand knowledge on what a publication needs to establish itself.  His career path includes work in the media, advertising and public relations agencies, and corporate marketing. A native of Chile, he is fluent in Spanish, French, and English.

Stephen Barr

Stephen Barr has worked as an editor and reporter at the Washington Post for 20 years, serving in the Metro News, Style and National News departments of the newspaper.  He currently writes the Federal Diary column, focusing on issues of interest to the region’s 300,000 federal employees.  He was selected as the Federal Diary columnist in May 2000 after seven years as a National staff writer covering federal management and personnel issues, “reinventing government,” the U.S. Postal Service, veterans’ affairs, the congressional appropriations process, and government technology challenges, including the Year 2000 computer glitch. His previous assignments at the Post include a six-year stint as editor of the Federal Page, starting in 1987, and a year as congressional news editor in 1992. Mr. Barr was born in Nocona, Texas, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his bachelor’s degree in journalism.  He served two years in the U.S. Army, including one year with the 1^st Infantry Division in Vietnam.

Timothy B. Clark

Timothy Clark is editor and president of Government Executive, a monthly magazine on management of the federal executive branch. The magazine circulates to 63,000 high-ranking civilian and military executives and managers. Government Executive sponsors annual conferences, including Excellence in Government, which attracted 1,200 people in July 2000. The web site www.GovExec.com recorded 1.5 million page-views in August 2000. Timothy has spent his career in journalism studying and writing about government. He is a founder of National Journal, the preeminent weekly magazine on politics and government. In the mid-70s, Timothy founded Empire State Report, a monthly magazine about politics and government in New York. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and currently serves on the advisory board of the Council for Excellence in Government's "Government from the Inside" project for journalists.

Mr. Clark is on the Public Administration Advisory Board of The George Washington University and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Andrews Episcopal School in Bethesda, Md. He is a graduate of Harvard.

Eleanor Clift

Eleanor Clift is a contributing editor for Newsweek magazine. She reports on the White House, presidential politics, and a variety of national issues. She is currently assigned to Capitol Hill, where she is covering the war on terrorism and its many aspects, from the ongoing anthrax scare to the various pieces of legislation dealing with the continuing threats to the nation. Her column, "Capitol Letter," is posted each week on www.Newsweek.com and www.MSNBC.com.  Ms. Clift is a regular panelist on the nationally syndicated show, "The McLaughlin Group," and a political analyst for the Fox News Network. Playing herself, she has appeared in several films, including "Independence Day," "Murder at 1600 Pennsylvania," and "Dave," as well as the CBS series, "Murphy Brown."

Ms. Clift and her husband, Tom Brazaitis, Washington columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer are co-authors of the book, Madam President:  Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, (Scribner 2000), which tracks the rise of women in politics and looks ahead to the day when there will be a woman on the national ticket. Madam President will be published in paperback (Routledge Press) in 2002. Publishers Weekly called it "a sharp, insider's view of the quest to elect a female U.S. president...melding the immediacy of a breaking news story with savvy investigative journalism." Their earlier book, War Without Bloodshed:  The Art of Politics, was published in 1996 by Scribner and is available in paperback from Touchstone Books. CNN news analyst Jeff Greenfield said in The New York Times Book Review, "War Without Bloodshed unquestionably works as a road map through the byways of the Washington they don't teach in civics classes." 

Formerly Newsweek's White House correspondent, Ms. Clift also served as congressional and political correspondent for six years. She was a key member of the magazine's 1992 election team and followed President Bill Clinton's campaign from the start. In June 1992, she was named Deputy Washington Bureau Chief. Ms. Clift was cited by Brill’s Content as being one of the most accurate predictors among the pundits on the political talk shows.

Dale R. Collins

Dale Collins is the chief, human resources management division at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), a component agency within the Department of Defense.  In that capacity, he also serves as the agency security officer and, from 1985 to 1993, he was simultaneously designated the agency equal employment opportunity officer.  Dale began his federal career as an intern with the State Department, assigned to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.  He transferred from the foreign service to the civil service as a personnel specialist in the Agency for International Development.  After his AID position was abolished, he took a similar position with the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Collins subsequently served in various human resource management positions at the U.S. Geological Survey and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before coming to DCAA.

Collins has a Bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and earned both a Master’s and PhD from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.  He is an adjunct Professor at University College, University of Maryland where, in 2001, he was the only undergraduate faculty member to win the Stanley Drazek Teaching Excellence Award.

Tyra Dent Smith 

Tyra Dent Smith was appointed chief of the human resources division at the US Census Bureau, Commerce Department, in December 2000.   Ms. Smith has leadership responsibility for the full range of human resources management programs and services there.  She joined the Department of Commerce, NOAA in 1988, where she served in key staff and management positions.  Ms. Smith was the chief, management and budget, in the office of finance and administration from 1997 to 2000.  Before than, she was the program management division chief in the Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) joint system program office. 

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Smith served as a presidential management intern for the Department of Treasury.  Before that, she was a personnel staffing specialist for the Department of the Navy. Ms. Smith has received numerous awards and recognitions, including Department of Commerce bronze medals in 1996 and 1999.   She received her BA in psychology, with highest honors, from Hampton University and her MPA from Howard University.  She is a certified group facilitator.

Allan Holmes

Allan Holmes is editor in chief of FCW Government Technology Group, who publish Federal Computer Week and Civic.com magazines. Mr. Holmes was named editor in 1999, after serving as managing editor for three years and as a senior reporter covering procurement reform, the Year 2000 computer problem and numerous IT programs managed by civilian agencies. During his six years at FCW, the magazine has won numerous awards, including best government publication (1999) from Folio Magazine, and best online news section (1999), best government coverage (2001) and best overall web site (2001) from the American Society of Business Press Editors. He has 17 years of journalism experience.  He covered the Clinton administration’s health care reform initiatives, government management, and economic development and state government in North Carolina. He has had articles in The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report and Time. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Martha Johnson
Martha Johnson joined the Council for Excellence In Government ino2002 to serve as Vice President for Leadership and Performance. She manages the Fellows Programs, supports the Senior Fellows, and serves various performance partnerships with clients in government agencies.

Ms. Johnson served in the Clinton Administration; serving in White House presidential personnel, the Commerce Department, and for over five years as chief of staff at the General Services Administration. She sits on the supervisory board for the Office of Government Commerce of the Finance Ministry in the United Kingdom. She has taught in the Public Management School at the University of Maryland and in the Foreign Languages Department at Tunghai University in Taiwan.  Her private sector career spanned 14 years and included manufacturing management at Cummins Engine Company, financial management at the Boston architecture firm, Ellenzweig, Moore and Associates, and consulting work in leadership development and strategic diversity.

Ms. Johnson was graduated from Oberlin College in economics and history and from the Yale University School of Management.

Betsy L. Kravitz

Betsy L. Kravitz is a program manager at the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), U.S. Department of Labor – formerly called the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.  She serves as project co-leader for the workforce recruitment program for college students with disabilities.  In addition, she has grants management responsibilities under ODEP's innovative demonstration grants for youth with disabilities.  She has made numerous presentations on topics related to the employment of people with disabilities, including workshops at the National Association of Colleges and Employers, National Conference, and the Federal Dispute Resolution Conference.  Ms. Kravitz has been with ODEP since 1992.  Before joining ODEP, Ms. Kravitz was the special emphasis program manager at the David Taylor Research Center, U.S. Department of the Navy, Bethesda, Maryland. Ms. Kravitz holds a BA in Biology and English from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. 

Marlis Majerus

Marlis Majerus became news director of FederalNewsRadio.com January 1, 2000.  FederalNewsRadio became the world's first all-news, internet-only radio station on February 22, 2000. FNR is part of the WTOP Radio Network.

Ms. Majerus covered federal news, from Capitol Hill to Uncle Sam's agencies, for nearly 20 years for the various radio and television stations owned by Bonneville Broadcasting before she took over steering the news course for FNR.  One of her career highlights was hosting a half-hour talk show, "Capitol Newsbeat,” where she discussed breaking news with  cabinet secretaries, U.S. senators, congressional representatives, and authors.  She has also covered presidential political conventions since the late 80's.  She's written and been the voice of "The Federal Line" on WTOP Radio, Washington D.C.'s all news station, since it became part of the Bonneville family in 1997.  She began her radio career during her college years, when she moved from an intern covering the Montana legislature to broadcasting for the Intermountain News Network. Majerus was born and raised in Montana.  She graduated with honors from Carroll College in Helena, Mont.

Lark McCarthy

Lark McCarthy has anchored FOX 5 Morning News since June 1990. In that forum she explores the issues, the personalities and the places making news in the Washington area. Before coming to WTTG, McCarthy served as a White House correspondent for ABC News. As a correspondent, Ms. McCarthy's assignments took her across the United States and overseas to China, South Korea, Hungary and much of Western Europe. She covered events such as the Super Power Summit in Malta, the 1989 Paris Economic Summit, and NATO meetings in Brussels. While with ABC News, McCarthy also served as substitute anchor on "Good Morning America," "World News This Morning," "The Weekend Report," and "Newsbreak." Before joining ABC News, McCarthy worked at CBS News as an anchor/reporter in the Washington Bureau and for WJLA-TV as an anchor/reporter.

Ms. McCarthy has received numerous awards and honors for her 20-plus years of news coverage in the nation's capital. She was awarded two certificates from the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for contributing to Emmy award-winning newscasts, as well as a media award from the American Association of University Women for exploring the image of women in society. She received a Best Friends Friendship Award, a National Association of Government Communicators Award for fairness in interviewing and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Award for outstanding work in the field of Communications. She earned an Honorable Mention from the National Association of Black Journalists for a ten-part radio series on the black family and was recognized by Howard University in their salute to Black Women.

Kasey S. Pipes

Kasey Pipes is the associate director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives.  He works with Karl Rove, senior advisor to President George W. Bush.  Strategic Initiatives is a new White House office, created to think and plan “outside the box” on a long-term basis.  In his West Wing position, Pipes coordinates long-range planning, conducts strategic research, and writes speeches for the president.  Previously, he worked as a speechwriter for the Bush for President campaign, where he wrote op-eds, scripts, and speeches.  Mr. Pipes served as an intern in the office of former President Ronald Reagan in Los Angeles, Calif., and as a senior legislative assistant and later director of communications for Congresswoman Kay Granger.  A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Pipes is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve.  He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from Abilene Christian University and a master’s in government from the Johns Hopkins University.

Frank Sesno

Frank Sesno, formerly Washington Bureau Chief at the Cable News Network, is now Professor of Public Policy and Communication with George Mason University in Fairfax,Va. This fall, he will teach a new course tackling the controversial question of media bias, as well as convening public forums and symposia.  Currently, he is working on a major documentary on the life and legacy of Former President Ronald Reagan that will air on the History Channel. He is working with GMU and WETA-TV to develop a new public affairs program for public television and is still a contributor at CNN. Sense hosted CNN's flagship Sunday public affairs interview program, "Late Edition with Frank Sesno" for seven years.  He anchored and reported at many major international and domestic events, including political conventions.  From 1984 to 1991, he was CNN's White House correspondent.  He joined CNN in 1984 from AP Radio, where he was overseas correspondent in London and White House correspondent. Before joining AP Radio, Mr. Sesno was with the Voice of America and WCFR Radio in Springfield, Vt. Mr. Sesno is conversant in Spanish and French and graduated cum laude from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., with an honors degree in American history.

Max Stier

Max Stier is President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. He has worked in all three branches of the federal government.  In 1982, he served on the personal staff of Congressman Jim Leach.  Mr. Stier clerked for Chief Judge James Oakes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1992 and clerked for Justice David Souter of the United States Supreme Court in 1994.  Between these two positions, Mr. Stier served as special litigation counsel to Assistant Attorney General Anne Bingaman at the Department of Justice.  In 1995, Mr. Stier joined the law firm of Williams & Connolly where he practiced primarily in the area of white-collar defense.  Mr. Stier served as deputy general counsel for litigation for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Stier is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University and is a graduate of Yale College and Stanford Law School.

Richard A. Whitford

Richard A.Whitford is the acting associate director for employment services at the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In this position he oversees OPM’s offices of the controller, the administrative law judges, diversity, employment policy, the personnel resources and development center, and service delivery operations and systems.

He was assistant director of service delivery operations and systems at OPM, which includes the service center network providing recruitment, applicant evaluation, and applicant referral services to Federal agencies nationwide; employment systems management division which includes USAStaffing; and the workforce planning and recruitment division which provides USAJOBS, the Federal government’s worldwide automated employment information system, as well as information and assistance on workforce analysis and planning.

Mr. Whitford worked in a variety of positions at the Navy’s human resources office in Crystal City and in line management positions with the Naval Sea Systems Command.  At the command he was chief of staff of the Industrial and Facility Management Directorate and was responsible for program policy and direction for information systems, security, and human resources at Naval shipyards and supervisors of shipbuilding.  He directed the planning and resources office for the Weapons and Combat Systems Directorate.  Mr. Whitford was director of corporate planning for the Command before coming to OPM. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Mr. Whitford completed undergraduate studies at Loyola College, Baltimore, Md., and graduate studies at Brown University, Providence, RI, and the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

FCN Program Steering Committee Members

Suzanne M. Blouin 
Suzanne Blouin is a public affairs specialist in the Office of Communications at the Social Security Administration (SSA).  From 1997-98 she was the issues coordinator for Americans Discuss Social Security.  In 1995-98 she was the international program coordinator for the National Academy of Social Insurance and currently serves on the international committee.  She served as congressional liaison for SSA where she worked directly with the U.S. Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees; executive assistant to the executive director of the National Commission on Social Security Reform; executive assistant to the deputy commissioner for programs at the SSA; and senior analyst for the 1979 National Commission on Social Security.  From 1975-79, she was on the staff of the Subcommittee on Social Security of the House Committee on Ways and Means. 

Donise Cheeks
Donise Cheeks is a senior program analyst and communicator for the Internal Revenue Service. She develops communication strategies, marketing tactics, recruitment plans, and statements of work, as well as managing an intranet project.  She is currently working on her BS in Information Science Technology at the University of Phoenix. In 2000, she represented the IRS at the National Partnership for Reinventing Government as the FCN Coordinator, a reporter for FCN, and as the webmaster for the FCN website. Ms. Cheeks believes her life story would be great material for a stand-up routine – which could possibly be her next career move after retirement.

Dr. Denise M. Decker
Dr. Denise Decker, a human resources manager for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, has worked for the federal government for more than 20 years as a trainer and educator.   Some of the recognition that she has received includes a USDA Honor Award and the Agency Workforce Diversity Award.  An internationally known advocate for people with disabilities, she advises the FCN on disability access.  Among her best friends is her Seeing Eye dog, Quadrant.                                                      

Sue Ducat
Sue Ducat joined the Council for Excellence in Government in 1998, where she is the director of communications and public affairs.  Among other media-related responsibilities, she directs the Council's "Government in the News" program.  Ms. Ducat's background is primarily in television news production and public affairs communication. She produced news and public affairs for 11 years at WETA-TV, the major PBS station in Washington, DC. She produced the PBS news program, "Washington Week in Review."  She was also the executive-in-charge for the PBS interview series, "Talking With David Frost."  And, she produced PBS’s coverage of many major news events, including the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and numerous news specials and documentaries. Her work has received a number of awards, including a national Emmy.   From 1996 to 1998, she was the director of public relations for The Hawthorn Group, L.C., an Alexandria, Va.-based public affairs and government affairs firm. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, with an undergraduate major in history. She also has a master’s in communications from the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Carol Harvey
Carol Harvey, who served as the moderator for today’s seminar, is the acting director of the Senior Executive Service Learning Center at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where she promotes continuing learning in the SES.  Working with the White House, she conducts briefings to help new senior executives and political employees better understand the President’s agenda, goals, and values, and how political and career Federal employees can work in concert.  Over her 30-year career with OPM and its predecessor, the Civil Service Commission, she has conducted management training for U.S. and international managers, worked to improve Federal employment opportunities for women, assisted the Treasury Department in creating the Treasury Executive Institute, and acted as a special assistant to the OPM deputy director.  She lives in Arlington with her two teenagers, a dog and two cats.  She is a founding member of the FCN.  

Marci Hilt
Marci Hilt, who served as program chair for today’s seminar, is a public affairs specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She's worked on numerous communications projects during her more than 30 years at USDA.  She is the project manager for the FCN's Communicators Guide, which is now in its fourth printing.  She chairs a multi-agency task force that works to save lives in rural areas by providing residents with early hazard warnings.  In addition to a Hammer Award, the group received a USDA Honor Award in 2001.  Ms. Hilt was the press secretary for the deputy secretary of agriculture at USDA from 1995 to 2001.  She received her BA in journalism from The Ohio State University, Columbus.  She, her daughter, and their two worthless cats live in a row house on Capitol Hill that they've been renovating for 19 years.   

Joanne Shore 
Joanne Shore is a program analyst with the General Services Administration's office of government-wide policy.  As part of the office of real property's innovative workplaces division, she has been involved in a number of projects including the World Class Workplace, government-wide telework, and performance measures.  She is currently working on a publication called The Virtual Workplace, which addresses the issues involved in working outside of the traditional office setting.  She is an honor graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.   

David J. Starck 
David Starck is the advertising manager for the U.S. Savings Bonds program.  Prior to joining the Treasury Department in 1988, Mr. Starck worked in newspaper advertising and international sales.  Mr. Starck holds a JBA degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Lee Wexel 
Lee Wexel works in the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service as a management analyst.  He worked in a developmental assignment with the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) serving as the FCN coordinator and then supported an NPR customer satisfaction initiative with the Federal Consulting Group. He also served on the President's Task Force on Federal Training Technology. 

Pat Wood 
Pat Wood is founder of the Federal Communicators Network and leader of the interagency team that planned the FCN Government & Media Seminars in 1999, 2000, and 2002.  She is on loan from the Social Security Administration to the General Services Administration's Office of FirstGov where she is senior advisor for usability. She also leads the cross-agency team that developed FirstGov.gov's subscription center. From 1995 to 2001 she represented Social Security in the reinvention effort. At SSA, she was director of the office that published the agency's field instructions and also earned the agency's highest award for leading the agency's plain language initiative. Early in her career, she was the first woman named to Leadership Atlanta, a Chamber of Commerce program that recognized and trained the city's most promising executives. She is an honor graduate of Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C., and did her graduate work at the University of South Carolina as a National Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Bethany Young 
Bethany Young serves as press secretary for the Partnership for Public Service. From 1998 to 2001, she was press secretary to Congressman Martin Sabo (D-Minn), former chairman of the House Budget Committee. During the 2000 election cycle, she managed the statewide communications operation for Minnesota’s Democratic coordinated campaign. She started her career in 1996 at the Washington, D.C., division of Ruder Finn, an international public relations and marketing agency.  Ms. Young holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio.