HUNTSVILLE, Alabama--Three employees working at the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville have been selected to participate in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2019 Special Projects and Professional Development program.
Lisa Hendrix with Center Contracting, Tara Clark with Ordnance and Explosives directorate, and Marsha Jackson with Engineering Directorate, will work at Headquarters USACE in Washington D.C., for 120 days.
The women will travel to the nation’s capital in rotations where they will be able to better understand the USACE organization and culture while working and interacting with senior USACE leadership, according to the position announcement. Their time at headquarters will also include ongoing coordination with Huntsville Center leadership.
They will also perform special studies and projects that may involve complex program functions or missions that contribute to the improvement of the productivity, effectiveness and the efficiency in program operations within Huntsville Center.
Chip Marin, Huntsville Center Programs Manager, selected the women from a pool of 12 candidates.
Marin said he balanced the selections across the Center’s directorates and offices to ensure an equitable distribution of participation.
He said he based his criteria on leadership potential, communications ability at the operational and strategic levels and the potential and proximity to the selectee becoming a GS-15 senior leader.
“Each of these professionals earned this honor and I have no doubt will represent Huntsville Center in an outstanding manner,” Marin said.
It is envisioned that each selectee will work alongside and with senior staff members in the headquarters and become an integral part of daily operations, according to the selection criteria. Additionally, selectees will be afforded the opportunity to engage with Senior Executive Service individuals and General Officer senior leaders so as to develop their own leadership knowledge, traits and characteristics.
The women selected for the assignment are looking forward to learning lessons and acquiring knowledge they can bring back and put to use in Huntsville.
Jackson, lead for the Administrative Furniture Team that focuses on providing furniture to troops in the field and design services for projects that include large barracks complexes, mess halls, tactical shops, gymnasiums and more, sees her selection as an opportunity for professional growth and to become a more valuable team member.
“I'm sure this assignment will be a challenge and will cause me to grow in ways I cannot imagine, so I wanted to be a part of this experience,” Jackson said. “I am excited to learn everything I can and bring this knowledge back to HNC.”
Jackson says she hopes to glean useful lessons about policy and from people while on her assignment.
“I am interested in learning how policy is made that concerns the Center here in Huntsville,” Jackson said. “Also, it will allow me to see different leadership styles and will put me in situations where I will have to make hard choices and deal with the consequences. As a result, I believe this experience will help me become a more valuable team member to the overall mission of USACE.”
For Lisa Hendrix, supervisory contract specialist/contracting officer and Access Control Points, Base Operations, and Fuels Program section chief, this assignment is a chance to use knowledge from previous USACE work at the tactical level in order to make strategic contributions.
“I’m hoping to leverage my experience gained at the district and center levels so that I may tackle strategic initiatives that could ultimately enhance our business execution, project delivery, and mission success at HNC,” Hendrix said. “I am very excited to be part of the bigger picture and look forward to sharing my experience with my staff so they gain an appreciation for what is possible at USACE.”
Tara Clark, a project manager at Huntsville Center’s Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Mandatory Center of Expertise, is excited to learn and grow professionally during her rotation.
“I feel that this is an unbelievable opportunity to not only gain a larger understanding of all Huntsville Center accomplishes but also how we work within the larger USACE organization,” Clark said. “I hope to be an asset to the Huntsville Center and successfully fulfill whatever role is required of me by headquarters.”