By Yaropolk Kulchyckyj, Kim Tuminaro and Robert Hankinson
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo met with the newly selected 2019 White House Leadership Development Program (WHLDP) Fellows during their visit to the Department, Dec. 20. The WHLDP focuses on building the next generation of career senior executives with a whole-of-government perspective. During the fellowship, these senior federal leaders are placed on a one-year rotation to either the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the General Services Administration (GSA) to support and lead the President’s Management Agenda. Fellows work to solve cross government organizational challenges such as IT modernization, workforce development and data accountability and transparency. Pompeo discussed the importance of service to the nation, the need for accountability to American citizens and mentoring the next generation of federal leaders about public service. The Secretary and the Fellows conferred about the positive impact civil servants can achieve by working together with a common mission in service to the nation. The Fellows also met with Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale, who discussed how to promote and leverage a diverse workforce, and also with Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Lussier, who spoke about the challenges with government-wide problem solving.
The 2019 WHLDP Fellows are comprised of 18 high-performing GS-15 civil servants from the following 12 federal agencies: State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, GSA, Social Security Administration, USAID, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of the 18 Fellows, three were selected from the State Department: Kim Tuminaro, Yaropolk “Yaro” Kulchyckyj, and Robert Hankinson. The WHLDP, now in its fourth year, is managed by the Bureau of Human Resources’ Office of Civil Service Human Resources Management, Career Development and Training division. For more information about WHLDP, email rotations@state.gov or visit the Performance Improvement Council or Performance.gov.
Yaropolk Kulchyckyj is a WHLDP Fellow in the Bureau of Budget and Planning. Kim Tuminaro is a senior trade officer in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Robert Hankinson is a branch chief in the Bureau of Information Resource Management.
