A Woman Is Set to Lead the U.S. General Printing Office

[Anonymous]

A Woman Is Set to Lead the U.S. General Printing Office for the first time‎

Davita Vance-Cooks Named Deputy Public Printer in Historic Appointment
WASHINGTON, DC—Dec, 2011—In the closing days of GPO’s 150th anniversary year, Public Printer Bill Boarman has taken historic action in naming Davita Vance-Cooks as Deputy Public Printer for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), the second-highest ranking position at the agency. Vance-Cooks is the first woman ever to be appointed to that position.

Since January 2011, Vance-Cooks has been serving as chief of staff to the Public Printer, with responsibility for the development of GPO’s strategic plan and oversight of GPO’s Human Capital, Acquisitions, Security, Information Technology, Equal Employment Opportunity and Program, Strategy and Development offices.
 
Vance-Cooks is a seasoned business executive with 30 years of private sector and Federal Government experience. She has held a succession of senior management positions at GPO for nearly eight years, beginning as the Deputy Managing Director of Customer Services, with responsibility for overseeing GPO’s liaison with Federal agencies for in-house print production and printing procurement services.

Under Vance-Cooks’ leadership, GPO annually awarded approximately $500 million dollars in printing contracts to private industry, developed the GPOExpress program vehicle which provides Federal agencies with direct access to FedEx Office services worldwide, and oversaw the award of an innovative $50 million contract for the production of 2010 census materials.
 
Before being named chief of staff, Vance-Cooks served as the managing director of GPO’s Publications and Information Sales business unit, where she oversaw a large print distribution/supply chain operation with customers across the United States. In that position she led GPO’s effort to partner with Google to sell Federal publications in an e-book format, launched an award winning Government book blog, modernized GPO’s customer contact center, and oversaw the renovation of the agency’s retail bookstore in Washington, DC.
 
In appointing her, Public Printer Boarman said, “Over the past year, Davita Vance-Cooks has been a leading member of GPO’s senior management team in developing and carrying out our program of reducing the size and cost of GPO, streamlining our operations, and utilizing new technology, a program that has yielded positive results for the Government and the taxpayers. Her superlative leadership skills and extensive management experience over multiple mission-critical GPO operations uniquely qualify her for the position of Deputy Public Printer. I am honored that she has accepted this appointment, and have full confidence in her abilities to continue carrying out GPO’s historic mission of Keeping America Informed.”
 
Before coming to GPO, Vance-Cooks held several private sector management positions. She was the Senior Vice-President of Operations for NYLCare MidAtlantic Health Plan where, among other duties, she was responsible for a digital print work center for production of variable data printing products. She also served as the Director of Customer Service and Claims, Director of Membership and Billing, and Director of Market Research and Product Development for Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans. She also served as the General Manager of HTH Worldwide Insurance Services. Ms. Vance-Cooks earned her Bachelors degree from Tufts University and her MBA from Columbia University.
 
About the U.S. Government Printing Office
With 2,200 employees, GPO is the Federal Government’s primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO’s Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program.

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December 26, 2011 at 9:09 AM