Comings and Goings: DOE gets management guru

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 ksaldarini@govexec.com or fax it to 202-739-8511.

Jody Zall Kusek has been appointed senior advisor for management reform at the Department of Energy. She will advise Secretary Bill Richardson on his efforts to improve management at the department and help implement current reforms. Kusek was previously the director of planning and performance management at the Interior Department.

Evelyn Petschek has been named to the top spot at one of the IRS' four new operating units. As commissioner of the tax-exempt operating division, Petschek will oversee complex provisions of laws that affect more than 3 million customers. The new division will be established in Washington late this year and is scheduled to begin operations by early next year. Petschek has held several positions in the IRS since 1996. Prior to that, she was benefits tax counsel at the Treasury Department.

Lt. Gen. James M. Link recently assumed command of the Army Materiel Command following the retirement of Gen. Johnnie E. Wilson. Link will remain in the position while Lt. Gen. John G. Coburn awaits confirmation by the Senate. Coburn currently serves as the Army's deputy chief of staff for logistics. Wilson had commanded AMC since March 1996.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt has asked Farmington Hills, Mich., Fire Chief Rich Marinucci to fill the newly created position of chief operating officer on a temporary basis. The COO will serve as the primary advisor to FEMA's director on management issues.

Peter Heydemann has retired as director of technology services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Heydemann previously served as head of the Center for Chemical Physics and the Center of Basic Standards. He began working at NIST in 1964 and assumed his current position in 1993 after a five-year detail as science counselor to the U.S. Embassy in India.

Mary Mitchell has been named deputy associate administrator of the Office of Electronic Commerce in GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy. She will assume her new duties May 10. Mitchell's new office monitors the U.S. government's use of electronic catalogs, smart cards, electronic grants and electronic commerce security.

Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck recently selected Rick D. Cables as regional forester for the Alaska Region. In this post, Cables will be responsible for overseeing 22 million acres of national forests in southeast and south central Alaska. Cable has 23 years of experience in natural resources management. He currently oversees several forests in southwestern Colorado and parts of Kansas. Prior to his current assignment, Cables served five years as forest supervisor of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and Maine.