Comings and Goings

Every Monday on GovExec.com, Comings and Goings announces the arrivals and departures of top federal managers and executives. To submit an announcement, e-mail it to webmaster@govexec.com or fax it to 202-739-8511.

C O M I N G S

Gary S. Guzy is President Clinton's pick to be general counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency. Guzy has been a counselor to EPA Administrator Carol Browning since 1995, before which he was the EPA's deputy general counsel. He has also been a senior trial attorney at the Justice Department.

Bureau of Land Management Director Patrick A. Shea has moved up the chain of command at the Interior Department to become acting deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management. Shea replaces Bob Armstrong, who retired Oct. 30. BLM Deputy Director Tom Fry is moving into Shea's place until a new director is named.

The Federal Aviation Administration has slated Howard L. Wesoky to be the agency's first chief scientific and technical advisor for the environment. Wesoky will concentrate on noise and emission standards in the aviation industry. Wesoky joins FAA after a 34-year career at NASA, where he led a NASA study of the effects of aviation on the atmosphere.

G O I N G S

Former White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry will be a managing partner of a newly formed lobbying and PR outfit called The Public Strategies Group. McCurry took his assistant at the White House, Lori Anderson, with him.

Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's ethics advisor, Sam Dash, quit in protest of Starr's decision to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. Dash, a former Senate Watergate counsel, told the independent counsel in his resignation letter: "You have violated your obligations under the independent counsel statute and have unlawfully intruded on the power of impeachment."

The Education Department's acting general counsel, Jamienne S. Studley, is leaving to become the president of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Studley has been with Education since 1993. The department's general counsel, Judith A. Winston is returning to her position following a year-and-a-half detail as executive director of the President's Initiative on Race.

K U D O S

The USDA Graduate School has selected the Tennessee Valley Authority University as the winner of this year's W. Edward Deming Outstanding Training Award. TVA's training program was selected as a model for other agencies because it takes a systematic approach to assessing training needs and designing a curriculum for employees. The award is named for the man who is considered the father of total quality management. Deming served as an instructor at the USDA Graduate School for 22 years.

William T. Thodos, a scientist with the Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), has been honored with the 1998 CECOM and Army Materiel Command Outstanding Army Employee with Disability Awards. Thodos, who is legally blind, is the project leader for the $10 million Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder Program at Fort Belvoir, Va. Thodos uses an oversized computer monitor and large font sizes to read documents and e-mail.

The 500-employee Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio has named its management excellent awards after their former boss, Vincent J. Russo. Russo headed up the directorate for ten years before becoming executive director of the base's Aeronautical Systems Center. The awards honor top-performing managers at the directorate. "It was so wonderful of them to do that for me," Russo said.