In the latest episode of the Government Enabled podcast, our host William Cahillane meets George Garcia, a Federal HR Subject Matter Expert at EconSys. George's rich background in human resources, governmental project execution, and teaching has aroused his interest in the three essential topics of today - diversity, inclusion, and technology.

George is a big believer. He believes in respect and synergy, considering them the two vital concepts for understanding different people and joining forces toward a unique goal. He also believes that learning can foster people to widen their horizons and better understand the culture and people around us.

In addition to speaking about equal employment opportunities, George focuses on the Federal Government using data and technology to raise diversity and inclusion awareness. He also dives into tools and projects that help identify problems and solve them. But that's not all. Tune into the ninth episode of Government Enabled to hear more about the critical issues of today.

In the last episode of the Government Enabled podcast, our host Cheryl Mitchell spoke with Dr. Virginia Selleck, who has been working in the field of mental health and rehabilitation for over 20 years. She’s currently doing consulting with states, adjusting her goal toward evidence-based implementation and policy.

We have discussed the problem of (un)employment of people with psychiatric disabilities, especially since post-COVID. According to Dr. Selleck, employment has significantly changed during and post-pandemic, mostly in terms of giving people with psychiatric disabilities the opportunity to work using the latest technology needed in business, which is one of the most crucial goals of the evidence-based practice.

Dr. Virginia Selleck refers to the most common challenges that people with disabilities have faced throughout the years while trying to get employment, including the fact that “people with psychiatric disabilities have been told for decades that work was too stressful.” Is it a myth or the truth? Should everyone be given a chance to work, including those who had criminal justice involvement in the past? Or employment should be limited to a certain group of people with adequate assets and abilities? Are there consequences of long-term unemployment?

Dr. Virginia provides valuable and justified answers to all the burning questions associated with the topic. Additionally, she helped us understand the position where people with disabilities are when it comes to employment, by sharing useful resources, websites and articles where we can learn more about this issue.

Episode Summary

In the last episode of Government Enabled Podcast, the host Cheryl Mitchell had a chat with David Mank, who is a Professor Emeritus at Indiana University.

We have covered hot topics such as what changes the employment will experience post-COVID, but also David’s journey from the University of Oregon, the project he had started named McKenzie Personnel Systems, to the Indiana University, and his role as a director of Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.

Find out what employment agencies have learned in a pandemic, and how will they implement those new strategies in the future. Technology has proved extremely useful especially when people shouldn’t meet in person, so how will that transform the world we knew before? The other important thing is how will people with disabilities adjust to those changes and what are the pros and cons of implementing technology.

A lot will evolve in a way we can’t foresee, but David helped us predict some of the most important changes the employment agencies and people with disabilities could experience.

Don Bauer has been pushing offices in the federal government forward in their software since the turn of the century. 

“I was one of the co-founders of Quick Hire, which was one of the first commercially available staffing products for the federal government. Back in ’99, 2000, we were doing software as a service before it was a thing,” Don says. 

After years of building programs for the National Park Service, NASA, the United States Digital Service and more, he now serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Bureau of Global Talent Management at the U.S. Department of State, working at the intersection of HR and IT. 

In this episode of Government Enabled, host Linda Sue Kirschner talks to Don about his role in the State Department, the challenges he has faced in recent years and how he’s managed to get the department to modernize. 

It hasn’t always been easy given the security protocols and budget restrictions of federal agencies, but he’s made it his mission to transition the office to smooth, easy-to-use systems for HR management.  

“Our mission is making our software as easy to use and as reliable as possible because when you're in the field, it's not your primary mission and you don't need to be distracted by it,” he says. 

Chris Brown cannot be stopped. After retiring from a 34-year federal career in 2008, he was back in the workplace within two months, working for EconSys. He started out in its Human Resources Group before moving on to head its retirement seminar programs as the Deputy Director of Federal HR Software and Services. 

“I've never really thought of myself as being a retired person. I'll say I'm a retired Fed, but I am not retired. I have never actually retired.”

Although he’s not interested in retiring himself, Chris has spent his second career helping others in the federal workforce prepare for retirement through seminars he designs and teaches. 

In this episode of Government Enabled, host Linda Sue Kirschner talks to Chris about his journey teaching retirement seminars, which have taken him all across the country and even abroad. Chris also shares when he might just consider retiring. 

Though there’s no exact date in mind, one thing’s certain — he knows what to expect when that day comes, even if he’s not quite there yet. 

“I tell people, you also need to have a nonfinancial plan. What is it you're going to do every day? What time will you get up? What's the first thing you're going to do? What's the second thing you're going to do? What is that plan? I don't have one of those yet, which tells me I'm not yet ready to give it all up and just be a retired person.”

Abby Cooper is a busy woman. For more than 15 years, she’s owned Kennedy Douglas Consulting, where she works with federal, state and local governments and nonprofits to increase employment for individuals with disabilities. 

The reality is that one in four people in the U.S. have a disability, but states aren’t doing enough to help these individuals enter the workforce. “I think a lot of times, people have incredible difficulty seeing the person — they just see the disability,” Abby explains.

Because the U.S. has squeezed a large portion of the country — and some of the most innovative problem-solvers — out of the job market, Abby has made it her mission to create more employment opportunities for them. She does this by educating companies on disability laws, employee etiquette and technology accommodations.

Abby’s also a firm believer that states need to band together to create consistent messaging around this matter — that if you live in the U.S. and you want to work, you should have the opportunity to do so.

The FedRAMP certification process is a maze of documentation, checks and ongoing monitoring for cloud service providers looking to work with government agencies. 

In this episode of Government Enabled with host Gil Tillman, Cory Clements, Director of Federal Programs at SecureIT, an IT security company that is also a certified assessor for the FedRAMP certification program, breaks down exactly what each phase entails — and how you can boost your chances of successfully getting certified.

“There are many things you need to make sure are implemented in the system,” Cory says. “You will need full-time resources, and you will need that FedRAMP expertise to be able to interpret and help devise the different countermeasures and controls you're implementing in your system to make sure you are FedRAMP compliant.” 

FedRAMP, or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, is a streamlined, standardized process that prevents cloud systems from having to be assessed by multiple agencies or organizations. The complex process is necessary for cloud security providers if they want to store government data. 

“This results in government agencies relying on that single assessment, saving time and money for both the IT provider as well as the federal government,” Cory says.

The protection and storage of government data is not a matter that is taken lightly. That’s why there’s FedRAMP, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which enables government agencies to move from outdated systems to secure, cloud-based IT through certified Cloud Serice Provider partners. 

On this episode of Government Enabled, host Gil Tillman interviews Maria Horton, the Founder and CEO at EmeSec, a federal contractor that offers cloud security, compliance and engineering as well as assistance in the FedRAMP application process.

The process is more of a marathon than a sprint, says Maria, who has years of experience in the FedRAMP system. Her company is a FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO), which means they are accredited to advise Cloud Service Providers (CSP) on the design and preparation of their application.

Despite the long and complex process, Maria says it’s worth the time and cost.

“To me, FedRAMP is a strategy into the marketplace. It is an ongoing process. You can't just get in, get certified and drop it. You actually have to be thinking FedRAMP while you're managing and operating your cloud solution,” she says.

In this episode of Government Enabled, the President & CEO of EconSys introduces some challenges that face our government partners today during an unprecedented time.