Posted on April 20, 2022
VICKSBURG, Miss. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Emerging Leaders (ELs) from the Mississippi Valley (MVD) and Transatlantic divisions (TAD) convened at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington D.C., April 4 – 8, for congressional briefings as part of the Government Affairs Institute (GAI) at Georgetown.
GAI week provided a unique opportunity for ELs to hear from a variety of members who work on Capitol Hill such as Jenn Armstrong-Schenck with the Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations, a former congressman, journalists, staffers, and USACE leaders, Director of Resource Management Thomas Stephens and Government Accountability Office Acting Director Cardell Johnson.
Cameron Rice, USACE MVD Acting Business Management Division Chief said, “The nature of work and the way we do it are both constantly changing to external factors such as COVID. For many of the Emerging Leaders, this was the first time they were able to meet face-to-face. The benefits of this week will be far reaching for the ELs when they return to their Districts.
The ELs were able to engage with briefers and ask candid questions to better understand the inner workings of what goes on at the congressional level.
ELs in attendance:
MVD: Richie McComas, Charlene Mosely
MVP: Brian Alberto, Tamryn Frauenshuh, Sam Smith
MVR: Ben DeRoo, Brad Houzenga, Brian Nail, Erica Stephens
MVS: Amanda Fisher, Kate Leese, Matthew Miller, Jennifer Moehlmann
MVM: John Tatum
MVK: Kristen Camp, James Cumberland, Sabrina Dalton, Adrian Davis, Kristi Hall, Nathaniel Jones, Daniel McPhearson
MVN: Craig Baldwin, Deborah Centola, Amanda Landry
TAD: Sarah Field-Jablecki, Andrew Freeman, Renee Tasker, Elaine Lawson
The Emerging Leader program is well respected within MVD and is seen as an example program of success outside of the division. The EL program is 100% developed and implemented by USACE employees except for events such as the Government Affairs Institute week. Many Emerging Leaders who have graduated still reflect back on their time in the program and feel that it played a part in their career development.
