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| OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS | ONE JUDICIARY SQUARE 441 FOURTH STREET, N.W. SUITE 1100 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001 (202) 727-6224 |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2001 |
CONTACT: PEGGY ARMSTRONG (202) 727-5011 |
(Washington, DC) On March 29, 2001, Mayor Anthony A. Williams named Jack Abadie as Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement, Neil Albert as Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Beverley R. Wheeler as Executive Director of Neighborhood Action, and Eugene Brickhouse as Director of Labor and Management Programs.
As Chief Procurement Officer and Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), Jack Abadie will be responsible for developing and implementing new procedures to make the District’s procurement process more effective. OCP serves as the District government’s one-stop, centralized procurement agency; it acquires all of the goods and services that make District government work. The Chief Procurement Officer is appointed for a five-year term. Mr. Abadie brings over 35 years of leadership experience in the public sector, private sector, and the military to the District.
Mr. Abadie has served as the Interim Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement since October 2000. Prior to that, he managed contracting and procurement services for the District’s public safety agencies and was the Director of the Mission Support Center for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Before coming to the District, Mr. Abadie administered high-tech, supply, and service contracts for Computer Sciences Corporation, CACI, Inc., and the U.S. Army.
Mr. Abadie holds an MBA from Golden Gate University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Weidner University. In addition, he is a Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM).
City Administrator John Koskinen remarked: “Jack Abadie will have the opportunity to use his excellent management and technical skills to re-engineer an important internal operation that is key to making our government work better.”
As Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Neil Albert will be responsible for overseeing the maintenance and staffing at the District’s 77 recreation centers and playgrounds, which include 42 swimming pools and more than 170 tennis courts, as well as the District’s 381 neighborhood parks.
Mr. Albert has served as the Interim Director of Parks and Recreation since November 2000. Prior to that, he served as a Deputy Director within the agency for a year. Mr. Albert has more than 10 years of executive management experience in the public sector.
Some of Mr. Albert’s accomplishments since coming to the District include: establishing 26 computer learning centers within the city’s recreation centers; creating the Capital City Park Foundation, a nonprofit foundation to support agency programs; and improving the agency’s financial procedures and systems.
Prior to his work with the District, Mr. Albert served as the Director of Nonprofit Assistance Programs for the Fund of the City of New York and as Director of Finance for the New York City Department of Youth Services.
Mr. Albert received an MBA in Finance from the New York Institute of Technology. While in New York, he served on the boards of People Against Sexual Abuse and Brooklyn in Touch, a technical assistance organization.
“I look forward to working with Neil Albert as he restores stability to the agency and strengthens our parks and recreation programs, which are vital to the health and well-being of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Williams.
As Executive Director of Neighborhood Action, Dr. Beverley Wheeler will work with the Neighborhood Planning Initiative in the Office of Planning, Neighborhood Outreach in the Office of the Public Advocate, and the Neighborhood Service Initiative in the Office of the City Administrator. Her leadership will allow the District to better coordinate the inclusion of residents’ views into the District’s strategic management and budgeting processes, which impact each neighborhood. In addition, she will manage all future city-wide summits to allow citizens’ voices to be heard.
Dr. Wheeler brings to the District more than 20 years of experience in public and private sector policy development, including 8 years of service with the District government. She comes to us from the Public Services Consulting practice of KPMG, L.L.P. At KPMG, Dr. Wheeler worked in the areas of business management improvement, training, performance management, and strategic planning for a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Education.
Dr. Wheeler holds doctorate and master’s degrees in education from Harvard University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. As a lifelong District resident, she has been very active in her community. She has served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner; as a lifetime member of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, a land use planning organization; and as an activist in the areas of historic preservation, affordable housing, and small business creation.
Mayor Williams noted, “With Dr. Wheeler at the helm, our neighborhood action initiative will move to the next level. She will provide opportunities for citizens to share their ideas and then take the lead in turning their ideas into action.”
As the Director of the Office of Labor and Management Programs within the Office of the City Administrator, Eugene Brickhouse’s challenge will be to increase cooperation between labor and management throughout the District government.
Mr. Brickhouse comes to the District from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where he served as Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration for more than 7 years. At the VA, Mr. Brickhouse managed a staff of more than 800 employees who administered human resources policies and operations for the agency’s 200,000 employees nationwide.
One highlight of Mr. Brickhouse’s career at the VA was establishing the National Partnership Council, with representation from five nationally recognized unions and VA managers. Prior to working at the VA, Mr. Brickhouse served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veteran Affairs. This followed a 30-year career with the U.S. Army, from which he retired with the rank of colonel.
Mr. Brickhouse received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University and a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Texas – San Antonio.
“Housing the Office of Labor and Management Programs within the Office of the City Administrator will provide Eugene with frequent access to both agency directors and union representatives from across the District,” commented Koskinen. “This position will facilitate dialogue and allow us to work jointly to improve conditions for government workers.”
Mr. Abadie will assume the title of Acting Director, Office of Contracting and Procurement, effective April 2, 2001. Mr. Albert will assume the title of Acting Director, Department of Parks and Recreation, effective April 2, 2001. Dr. Wheeler joined the government on February 26, 2001, and Mr. Brickhouse joined the government on March 19, 2001.
Neil O. Albert brings to the District more than 10 years of executive management experience in the public sector. He has served as the Interim Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation since November 2000, and served as a Deputy Director within the agency for a year prior.
As Director of Parks and Recreation, Mr. Albert will be responsible for overseeing the maintenance and staffing at the District's 77 recreation centers and playgrounds, which include 42 swimming pools and more than 170 tennis courts, as well as the District's 381 neighborhood parks.
Some of Mr. Albert's accomplishments since coming to the District include establishing 26 computer learning centers within the city's recreation centers; creating the Capital City Park Foundation, a nonprofit foundation to support agency programs; and improving the agency's financial procedures and systems.
Prior to his work with the District, Mr. Albert served as the Director of Non Profit Assistance Programs for the Fund of the City of New York. In this role, he worked to expand the availability of short-term financing assistance and computer technology to nonprofit and government agencies. Mr. Albert also served as Director of Contract Agency Finance for the New York City Department of Youth Services, where he was responsible for managing the financial, accounting and technical assistance functions with respect to the disbursement of more than $64 million in city and state funds to over 800 grantees.
Mr. Albert received an MBA in Finance from the New York Institute of Technology. While in New York, he served on the boards of People Against Sexual Abuse and "Brooklyn in Touch," an organization that connects nonprofit organizations throughout New York City with the tools and resources they need to improve their community outreach.
Eugene A. Brickhouse served as Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) until January 2001. In that position, he was responsible for directing both policy and operational functions in five major program areas: human resources management, diversity programs, EEO complaints resolution, security and law enforcement, and headquarters administration. He also served as VA's designated agency safety and health official.
While at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Brickhouse worked with Congress to implement a complete transformation of the department's employment discrimination complaint process. He also directed development of the department's National Partnership Council, a model program involving five major labor unions in a collaborative forum. Mr. Brickhouse also guided a major project to replace VA's outdated human resources and payroll systems, reengineer personnel processes, and consolidate operational activities in a single shared service center.
Before joining Veterans Affairs, Mr. Brickhouse served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Previously, he had a 30-year career with the U.S. Army, from which he retired with the rank of colonel. During his Army career, Mr. Brickhouse served in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and in the headquarters of U.S. Army Commands. His tour of duty included overseas assignments in Europe and the Pacific.
Mr. Brickhouse has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Defense and Army Service Medals, and the Army Commendation Medals. He holds a masters degree in human resources management from the University of Texas, San Antonio, and a bachelors degree from Virginia State University.
As Executive Director of Neighborhood Action, Dr. Beverley Wheeler will work with the Neighborhood Planning Initiative in the Office of Planning, Neighborhood Outreach in the Office of the Public Advocate, and the Neighborhood Service Initiative in the Office of the City Administrator. Her leadership will allow the District to better coordinate services for the multiple agencies that impact each neighborhood. In addition, she will manage all future citywide summits to allow residents' voices to be heard. Neighborhood Action will ensure that this Administration stays focused on issues of importance to our citizens.
Dr. Wheeler brings to the District more than 20 years of experience in public and private sector policy development, including 8 years of service with the District government. She comes to us from the Public Services Consulting practice of KPMG, L.L.P. At KPMG, Dr. Wheeler worked in the areas of business management improvement, training, and strategic planning for a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Education.
Prior to working at KPMG, Dr. Wheeler provided consulting services to local small business and nonprofit community groups, including the Ronald H. Brown Foundation and the Ronald H. Brown Center for Politics and Commercial Diplomacy. When she worked for the District, Dr. Wheeler was involved with a variety of projects impacting neighborhood development issues. She was a member of the MCI Arena Task Force, she worked to develop the Enterprise Fund to manage private donations to the Department of Parks & Recreation, and she served as the primary staff advisor to the City Administrator on economic development issues.
Dr. Wheeler holds doctorate and masters degrees in education from Harvard University and an MS in Management & Public Policy and BS in Quantitative Social Science from Carnegie Mellon University. She has served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and as a lifetime member of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City-a land use planning organization.
Jacques (Jack) Abadie, III, CPCM, has served as the Interim Chief Procurement Officer of the D.C. Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) since October 2000. As Interim Chief, Mr. Abadie has worked to implement integrated product teams within the agency. OCP serves as the District government's one-stop, centralized procurement agency.
Mr. Abadie first joined the District of Columbia government in 1999 as the Director of Mission Support in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. He moved to the Office of Contracting and Procurement in July 2000.
Prior to joining the District government, Mr. Abadie worked in the private sector as a senior contract administrator and manager for CACI, Inc. and Computer Sciences Corporation. Before entering the private sector, Mr. Abadie served as an officer in the U.S. Army, where he completed his 20-year tour of duty as the Director of Contracting at Fort Sill, OK. His military career included international tours of duty as a contract officer, artillery officer and military science instructor.
Mr. Abadie has extensive experience in high-tech contracts and supply/service contracts. He has strategically managed and executed all contract types including incentive, performance-based, ID/IQ, FMS, and GWAC's. In addition, Mr. Abadie has a strong background in government contract regulatory systems.
Mr. Abadie holds an MBA from Golden Gate University, a BS in Economics from Weidner University, and is a Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM).
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