Speaker Bios (as of July 13, 2012)

Transcription

1 ASAP Training Series August 1, 2, and/or 3, 2012 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington D.C. Speaker Bios (as of July 13, 2012) Cindy Allard is the Chief of the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff (OSD/JS) Privacy Office and is responsible for the implementation of the Department of Defense (DoD) Privacy Program for over 20 OSD Components with over 42,000 employees and contractors. She has been an employee of the DoD for over 25 years. She currently serves on the ASAP Board of Directors and served as secretary in William Carpenter is a Senior Program Analyst with the Information Security Oversight Office, National Archives and Records Administration. April Christensen is an Attorney-Advisor (FOIA Appeals) with the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of the Navy. Nicholas Delaney, since joining the FBI in 2008, has been responsible for providing subject matter expertise and recommendations to the FBI Records Management Division, other FBI Divisions, and the Department of Justice regarding the implementation of Executive Order and other issues related to the disclosure of information. Other duties include maintaining liaison with government agencies and working groups, program management for the FBI Declassification Program, training, and the development of declassification policy and procedures. Another primary duty is the preparation of classified FOIA, Privacy Act, and MDR appeals for presentation to the DOJ appeals panel and ISCAP. Mr. Delaney currently serves as the primary FBI Point-of-Contact for revisions to the Automatic Declassification Guide and has been responsible for many of the revisions made to that guide. Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Delaney was a Senior FOIA Specialist in the Office of Information Policy where he helped create and develop the Declassification Program for the Office of the Attorney General. While at DOJ, Mr. Delaney also co-wrote the Automatic Declassification Guide for Attorney General originated information. Mr. Delaney was the first non-attorney at the Office of Information Policy to be designated as a FOIA Exemption Subject Matter Expert (Exemption b1, classified information). He began his career in declassification in 1998 as a Team Leader for a government contractor reviewing records for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Delaney holds a bachelor s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University and is a certified Federal Records Manager. Brentin Evitt is an Assistant General Counsel in the Defense Intelligence Agency Office of the General Counsel. He is responsible for providing legal advice in multiple areas including the FOIA, Privacy Act, civil liberties, security/law enforcement, logistics, and mission assurance. He previously served as an attorney with the Office of Information and Privacy at the United States Department of Justice, departing as Senior Counsel and Chief, Administrative Appeals, in He served as the treasurer of the American Society of Access Professionals in Mr. Evitt is a graduate of law schools in the United States and New Zealand, and came to the Department of Justice from private practice in Christchurch, New Zealand. Prior to law school, he served on active duty in the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps as a Russian linguist and tactical electronics warfare and intercept specialist. After law school, Mr. Evitt served as a reserve officer and trial defense counsel in the United States Army Judge Advocate General s Corps. Karen M. Finnegan is the Deputy Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration. OGIS's statutory mission is to serve as the government-wide Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Ombudsman, to review agencies' FOIA practices, procedures and compliance, to recommend policy changes to Congress and the President to improve the administration of FOIA, and to provide mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. Prior to serving in this position, Ms. Finnegan served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the FOIA Staff of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys as well as its Privacy Act Officer. Prior to serving in this capacity, Ms. Finnegan was the Chief, FOIA/PA Branch, Office of Freedom of Information, in the Department of Defense. In this capacity, Ms. Finnegan supervised the processing of FOIA

2 and Privacy Act requests seeking access to records maintained by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. Ms. Finnegan has also served as an Assistant General Counsel in the FOIA Litigation Unit, the Office of the General Counsel, at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and as an Attorney-Advisor with the Office of Information Policy ("OIP") in the Department of Justice. Ms. Finnegan is currently serving as the Treasurer of the American Society of Access Professionals ("ASAP"), and served as President in 2007 and its Treasurer in and Ms. Finnegan also serves as an instructor in various OGIS, ASAP, and Department of Justice training programs. Timothy Graham is the Director of the Veterans Health Administration Freedom of Information Act Office within the Department of Veterans Affairs where he has served in this position since In this role, he has direct oversight of VHA FOIA Staff and indirectly provides consultative support and training to 175 field FOIA Officers. Prior to this position, he was a Privacy Specialist in the VHA Privacy Office from Prior to 2007, he was the Privacy and FOIA Officer at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Mr. Graham received his B.A. in English Education from Eastern Kentucky University in 2000, a J.D. from the University of Tulsa in 2004 and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Health Law from Widener University in Nikki Gramian is with the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, (DHS/OIG). In this position, she supervises the FOIA unit at OIG and assists in preparing pleadings, including draft answers, declarations, and Vaughn indices in FOIA litigation involving the DHS OIG. Prior to this position she was a FOIA specialist at the Department of Justice, Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) FOIA unit where she worked on some of the most complex FOIA cases received by EOUSA. Ms. Gramian holds a Master s degree from Marymount University in Legal Administration. Scott Hodes entered private practice in Prior to that, he spent over a decade working as an attorney for the federal government. Mr. Hodes worked for the Department of Labor, Department of Justice (Office of Information and Privacy) and the FBI. From 1998 to 2002 at the FBI, Mr. Hodes was the Acting Unit Chief of the Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Section s Litigation Unit and was a Top Secret Classification Authority. Mr. Hodes has been involved in thousands of FOIA and Privacy Act matters. Mr. Hodes is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He has also been admitted pro hac vice to practice before other federal district courts. Mr. Hodes is a member of the American Society of Access Professionals and a contributor to a number of publications on matters dealing with government information policies and practices. Mr. Hodes currently practices civil matters, focusing primarily on the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. Mr. Hodes received his J.D. from Arizona State University in 1989 and his B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University in James Hogan is responsible for the formulation and implementation of FOIA policy guidance for the Department of Defense on behalf of the DoD Chief FOIA Officer, the Director of Administration and Management. Additionally, he has oversight of the administrative processing of all FOIA litigation cases and appeals for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, and DoD Field Activities. A recognized FOIA instructor in the Federal government, Jim conducts FOIA training for the Department of Defense, the Departments of Justice and Energy, and the American Society of Access Professionals. His experience as an action officer includes the processing of over 3000 FOIA requests and appeals, many involving very sensitive and difficult issues. Jim is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and initially was assigned to the DoD FOIA Office while on active duty in While in the Air Force, Jim served as an Instructor Navigator in KC-135, EC-135, and T-43 aircraft and as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Jim earned his undergraduate degree at Grove City College and his Master s degree at The Ohio State University. William H. Holzerland serves as the Associate Director, Disclosure Policy & FOIA Program Development for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He originally joined DHS in November 2003 with the Transportation Security Administration s Office of Security, Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Division. Holzerland currently focuses on developing and implementing DHS Freedom of Information Act policy, conducting department-wide FOIA training and assessing and improving DHS components FOIA-related processes and procedures. He also serves as the DHS FOIA Public Liaison, pursuant to E.O. 13,392 and the OPEN Government Act of Holzerland s last appointment prior to joining the DHS Privacy Office in November 2006 was with the DHS Office of Inspector General, Office of Counsel. Mr. Holzerland, a Buffalo, New York native, earned a dual Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Mass Communications and History from St. Bonaventure University, and is presently a J.D. candidate at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

3 William Kammer is the Chief, FOIA Division, Department of Defense. Mr. Kammer has been working with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Declassification fields since He has served with the Department of Defense Directorate for Freedom of Information and Security Review (DFOISR) since October 1998, and was named Chief, FOIA Division in February While at DFOISR, he has developed and implemented FOIA policy, and managed the OSD/JCS FOIA program. Prior to joining DFOISR, Mr. Kammer served as a FOIA action officer in the Joint Staff from , and was responsible for developing and implementing the Joint Staff Automatic Declassification plan in He was the principal declassifying official for the Joint Staff Automatic Declassification program from Mr. Kammer has been with the Department of Defense since 1984, serving as an Ammunition Surveillance Specialist with the Department of the Army, and as an Investigator with the Defense Investigative Service prior to joining the Joint Staff in Mr. Kammer served for two years as Director for the American Society of Access Professionals from He currently serves as vice president. He also serves as an Instructor for ASAP, Department of Defense, Department of Justice and other federal agencies. He is the recipient of the 2006 DOJ FOIA Officer of the Year Award. Carmen L. Mallon became the Chief of Staff of the Office of Information Policy of the United States Department of Justice in The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is responsible for developing guidance for Executive Branch agencies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), for ensuring that the President s FOIA Memorandum and the Attorney General s FOIA Guidelines are fully implemented across the government and for overseeing agency compliance with the law. OIP is also responsible for processing initial FOIA requests for the Senior Leadership Offices of the Department of Justice and for adjudicating all administrative FOIA appeals from denials for all forty components of the Department. Before becoming Chief of Staff, Ms. Mallon served for eight years as the Chief of the Initial Request Staff of OIP, where she was responsible for managing the processing of initial requests made to the Department s Senior Leadership Offices, including the Offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, Legal Policy, Public Affairs, Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental and Public Liaison. As Chief of Staff of OIP, Ms. Mallon oversees the day-to-day operations of the Office and holds primary responsibility for the work performed by the IR Staff which includes serving as the denial authority for all IR Staff actions. Ms. Mallon has over twenty years of experience working with the Freedom of Information Act. She joined the Department of Justice s Civil Division in 1987 working in its FOIA office and then joined OIP in 1989 where she has held various positions. Ms. Mallon has taught courses on the FOIA for numerous federal agencies and the American Society of Access Professionals. Carol Maloney is the Director of FOIA-Records Management Services at the Program Support Center (PSC) within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). She also worked as a Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Specialist within HHS Office of the Secretary. Prior to working at HHS, she worked as a Regulatory Counsel/FOIA Specialist within the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), specializing in disclosure related litigation. Robert Martin is the Records Management Officer for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also worked in the Lifecycle Management Division as an Appraisal Archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration from Mr. Martin has also worked Records Management in the private sector with Booz Allen, Bradsen Corporation and Northrup Grumman. He has 20 years Records Management experience with the US Air Force as a Records Officer where he was instrumental in developing the Air Force s Electronic Records Keeping System. Carrie McGuire is a Program Analyst for the Office of Government Information Services within the National Archives and Records Administration. She joined OGIS after six years with the American Library Association s Washington Office, where she directed the Office for Information Technology Policy s Program on Networks. In that position, Carrie studied telecommunications policy issues that impacted libraries; directed two major projects funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and advocated for the library position in policy debates. Carrie earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her Master of Library Science from Syracuse University, and has taken mediation and conflict resolution courses at Northern Virginia Mediation Service. Carrie s work at OGIS is focused on resolving disputes between FOIA requesters and agencies, review of FOIA policies, procedures and compliance, and outreach to a variety of audiences. Joel D. Miller is an Assistant General Counsel in the FOIA Litigation Unit of the Office of the General Counsel of the FBI where he has been since July of He came to the Bureau after a 30-year career as an Army Judge Advocate. Mr. Miller currently serves as a director on the ASAP Board.

4 Kirsten B. Mitchell is a facilitator with the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the FOIA Ombudsman s office located at the National Archives. Before joining OGIS in 2010, she spent two years at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a year at the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a coalition of media groups that worked to gain passage of the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which amended FOIA and created OGIS. A former journalist, most recently with the New York Times Co., Kirsten frequently used state and federal records to shine a light on how government operates. Her involvement in a federal press freedom case in the late 1990s fueled her interest in government transparency issues. Kirsten earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mary Washington College and her Master of Arts degree in journalism and public affairs from American University. She earned a certificate in federal workplace mediation in 2011 from Northern Virginia Mediation Service, an affiliate of the George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and is a member of the American Society of Access Professionals. Ramona Branch Oliver is the Director of the Office of Information Services (OIS), within the Office of the Solicitor at the US Department of Labor. Under her leadership, OIS is the newly established focal point for the coordination of FOIA program improvement efforts at DOL, providing agency-wide oversight, leadership and guidance to ensure compliance with FOIA, particularly to increase the quality, and timeliness of FOIA responses; reduce the backlog of pending FOIA requests; and review the effectiveness of each agency component's FOIA processes in order to benchmark best practices, and make recommendations for programmatic improvements. Prior to joining DOL, Ms. Oliver provided leadership for the FOIA, Privacy Act, and PII Awareness programs at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Ms. Oliver has lectured on FOIA and Privacy Act for many Federal agencies and private organizations. She has been a member of ASAP for over 10 years and served on the ASAP board as a Director. Catrina Pavlik-Keenan currently serves as the Director, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As director, Ms. Pavlik-Keenan oversees the processing of FOIA request made by the public, educational intuitions, non-profit organizations and the private sector. Her office allows to the greatest degree possible access authorized by law both under the FOIA and Privacy Act to agency records. The ICE FOIA Office processes in excess of 100 cases per month with an authorized workforce of nine employees. Ms. Pavlik-Keenan is a graduate of the 2007 DHS Fellows Program. Prior to her appointment as director, Ms. Pavlik-Keenan served as the Transportation Security Administration s FOIA Director. Ms. Pavlik-Keenan served TSA since its inception and was instrumental in establishing TSA s FOIA Office. Ms. Pavlik- Keenan served twelve years with the Department of Transportation. Her initial appointment in the government was with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission where she served for two years. Frederick J. Sadler is the Director of the Division of Freedom of Information, for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the Office of the Commissioner, where he is responsible for administration of the Agency's FOIA and Privacy Act programs. Prior to assuming this position, Fred served as the Agency's Denials and Appeals Officer, where he was responsible for overseeing and preparing responses to all requests which required issuance of either a denial or an appeal. Fred is also an accredited CIPP/G (Certified Information Privacy Professional, for Government), under the International Assoc. of Privacy Professionals. Fred has also served as the FOI officer in two component offices within the FDA, which dealt with medical devices and biologic products. Fred assists with FOIA-related litigation, and has served on various agency working groups dealing with disclosure related issues, to include "Re-engineering" the FOIA process for the agency. In addition to the HHS Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service, Fred has received numerous awards and commendations. Fred provides FOI training for FDA, has been a speaker for the Dept. of Justice's FOI training conferences, and is a frequent speaker at the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP). Fred served as ASAP's President in , and has been with the FDA for 33 years. Dione Jackson Stearns recently moved to the Federal Trade Commission. Prior to that, she was Senior Attorney with the Executive Office for United States Attorney, Department of Justice, FOIA/Privacy (FOIA/PA) Staff. In this role, Ms. Stearns reviewed requests sought form EOUSA and the 94 United States Attorney s Offices (USAOs) and made final disclosure determinations in compliance with the FOIA/PA. Ms. Stearns also oversaw FOIA/PA training for EOUSA and the 94 USAOs, and she served as EOUSA s agency counsel in FOIA/PA lawsuits files in the United States District Courts. Shari Suzuki is with the Department of Homeland Security s Customs and Borders Protection. Paul M. Wester, Jr. is the first Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government. David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, named Mr. Wester to this position effective March 13, As the Chief Records Officer, Mr. Wester

5 leads records management throughout the Federal Government, with an emphasis on electronic records. He is responsible for issuing Federal records management policy and guidance; liaisoning with Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Government CIO Council, and other stakeholders on records management issues; and serving as an ombudsman between agencies and the Archivist to ensure that NARA and the agencies it serves meet their statutory mandates and records management requirements. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Wester served as the Director of Modern Records Programs in the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of Records Services - Washington, DC. In this position, Mr. Wester was responsible for the overall management and performance of NARA's agency-facing activities in the Washington, DC area. Mr. Wester also directed NARA's National Records Management Program, coordinating the activities of headquarters and regional records management staff in support of NARA's overall strategic plan. Mr. Wester holds an undergraduate degree in history and Master of Arts and Master of Library Science degrees from the University of Maryland. Anne Weismann serves as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington s Chief Counsel. Prior to joining CREW, Ms. Weismann served as Deputy Chief of the Enforcement Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, where she had responsibility for all of the Bureau's telecommunications matters. Before that, she worked in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, where she served as an Assistant Branch Director with supervisory responsibility over banking litigation, housing litigation and, from 1995 until 2002, all government information litigation. This included litigation under the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act and statutes governing federal and presidential records. Prior to that, she worked in the Solicitor's Office at the Department of Labor. Ms. Weismann currently serves as a president on the ASAP Board.