Every Monday on GovExec.com, the People column 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.
Anne Reed, chief information officer at the Agriculture Department, has decided to retire in February. Reed, USDA's CIO since 1996, intends to stay long enough to see the Y2K problem through. Reed has been a pioneer among federal CIOs, becoming the first to win budget authority from Congress over all IT purchases in her department. Reed's retirement was a personal decision and she has not yet disclosed her future plans, a spokesman for her office said.
Craig B. Luigart, a former Navy information management executive, has been appointed chief information officer at the Department of Education. Most recently, Luigart was chief technology officer for Just Medicine Inc., of Norcross, Ga. Previously, he was a career naval officer and served as program manager for the Navy's Information Network Program.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert J. Courter Jr. has been selected to be the next director of the Defense Commissary Agency. John McGowan, the agency's chief operating officer, will be promoted to serve as its chief executive officer. The duo will strive to improve DeCA operations and to make shopping in commissary stores more attractive to military families.
Gloria Flora, supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, the largest national forest in the lower 48 states, is quitting the federal govenment. Flora said she will resign in January and cited anti-government sentiment amidst controversy over natural resource issues as among her reasons for leaving. She has held her position since July 1998.
Kudos to two winners of GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy Real Property Innovation Award, developed to recognize the successes of the federal real property community. The Coast Guard was recognized for its "Maintenance Cost Savings Through Divestiture" program and GSA's own Public Buildings Service won for its "Strategic Positioning" program. The winners were selected from 30 entries. To read more about the winning programs, visit the Real Property Innovation Award's Web site at http://policyworks.gov/realproperty.
Brookings Institution senior fellow Robert D. Reischauer, a former Congressional Budget Office director, has been appointed president of the Urban Institute, effective Feb. 1. Reischauer, who has been at Brookings since leaving the CBO in 1995, will replace William Gorman, the Urban Institute's only president since its creation in 1968.
Nanette M. Blandin, who has served as acting director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Public Policy Education for the past year, has been named its director. CPPE conducts educational seminars for executives in government and business. Blandin joined Brookings in 1984 and has designed programs on topics such as health reform, national security, foreign policy, energy and trade.