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PARTNERS IN PROJECTS BIOS

Jean Bowling

Jean Bowling has been a feminist activist for the last 35 years.  From 1975 to 1980 she was newsletter editor and fundraiser for the Anne Arundel County National Organization for Women.  She was appointed to the Anne Arundel County Commission for Women in 2001 and was a Commissioner until 2004.  From 1986 to 1991 she served on the National Capital YMCA Operations Committee, which provided guidance for management decisions.  Jean has worked in law for over 40 years, first as a secretary then as a legal assistant.  She earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland and graduated from the Paralegal Program at George Washington University.  She is a licensed real estate broker in D.C. and Maryland and from 1987 to 1992 had her own brokerage company, selling and managing real estate for investors.  Using her brokerage skills she purchased several apartments and furnished them, creating a thriving interim housing market for the Metropolitan DC area.  For the last sevemyears, she has been Legal Assistant for a judge on Maryland's highest court.

In September 2003, she lost her home to Hurricane Isabel.  Striving to rebuild "green," she installed solar thermal, solar energy and radiant heat (installing the tubing for radiant heat herself).  In addition to savings on her monthly utilities, this permits her to sell her unused energy credits to companies who need them and to optimize her contribution to "going green."

Wendy Rieger

Wendy Rieger anchors News4 at 5 and reports on environmental issues in her regular series called Going Green. Rieger joined News4 in 1988 as a general assignment reporter.  She began anchoring the weekend evening newscasts in 1996, then News4 at 5 in 2001.  She is also a co-host for News4 This Week, a weekly show highlighting stories from the Washington, D.C., area.

Rieger has covered news in the Washington area for more than 25 years.  She started at WAMU Radio as a writer then worked her way up to host of Morning Edition.  She later anchored newscasts for NPR and WTOP Radio.  Her television career began in CNN's Washington Bureau.

In 2005, Rieger's first Going Green segment aired about a woman who became allergic to her own house and the eco-ways she found to counteract her bad reactions.  Since then, these eco-stories have focused on topics ranging from "green" building materials to environmentally friendly products, gifts and Web sites.  Rieger's reports air on NBC stations around the country, and the Going Green blog she writes on online is read by people all over the world.  These stories have also inspired NBC Nightly News and several other NBC stations to produce their own series on environmental issues.

In April 2008, Washingtonian magazine readers presented Rieger with one of its inaugural Green Awards in recognition of her dedication to "preserving our environment through education."   She has also received three EMMY awards, including one for a special report she shot in Vietnam on home video 20 years after the war.  

A native of Norfolk, Rieger graduated from American University with a degree in broadcast journalism.  Her community involvement has spanned many local organizations, including Children and the Arts and groups benefiting from the DC AIDS Ride, in which she participated three times.

Linda E. Brooks Rix

CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AVUE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION Linda Brooks Rix founded Avue Technologies in 1983. Prior to founding Avue, Ms. Rix performed appeal adjudication and regulatory audits of Federal government operations as a member of the US Office of Personnel Management’s regulatory oversight group. Ms. Rix, in 1988, designed and developed the first Federal government human resources software application. Since then, Ms. Rix and her company have led the way by rapidly adopting technology innovations, transforming them into service solutions that allow large, geographically dispersed, and multi-mission organizations to manage, optimize, and continuously monitor and improve performance. Today, Ms. Rix’s company is the Federal market leader in commercial human capital solutions. Ms. Rix’s company cultivates relationships with and provides significant support to a number of non-profit organizations including the American Legion, the International Leadership Foundation, the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, Federally Employed Women, Blacks In Government, Black Data Processing Associates, Senior Executives Association, American Federation of Government Employees, Organization of Black Airline Pilots, The Council for Excellence in Government, the Society of American Indian Federal Employees, and National Image, an organization committed to promoting education and employment of Hispanics. Ms. Rix is a principal investor in Avue Technologies and serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors.

Dr. Patricia T. Taylor

Chief, Intelligence Community EEO and Diversity
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
(703) 275-3541, Patricia.T.Taylor@ugov.gov

A professional in government, management consulting, and private industry, Dr. Taylor is a Tier 3 executive (former ES-4) and has been in the Federal Government for 22 years and in the Senior Executive Service (SES) for over 16 years.

She joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on detail from the National Security Agency (NSA) in August 2004 and accepted a permanent position with the ODNI in March 2007. She was named Chief of the Office of Intelligence Community (IC) EEO and Diversity in April 2008 after serving as Deputy for two years. In this new role, she designs and implements innovative strategies and programs to improve diversity in its broadest context—cultural backgrounds, race, gender, ability, language proficiency, orientation, and experience, in all 17 IC agencies and components,. Earlier in her detail to ODNI, she led numerous teams and major projects, including efforts to produce the congressionally-mandated Annual Report on IC Diversity, examine IC retention, develop HR and diversity metrics, and execute the first-ever IC employee climate survey.

Before ODNI, Dr. Taylor served for 10 years at NSA. In her last position, she was the head of Human Resources (HR), reporting to the Director of NSA, and served as part of his Senior Leadership Team. In this role, she led major e-HR, outsourcing, and rightsizing initiatives through the 911 attacks on our nation, and helped move HR away from "high-touch” to “high-tech.” She redesigned many HR functions in workforce planning, compensation, retention, HR information systems, recruitment and hiring, employee services, and occupational health and safety. Prior to that, Dr. Taylor served as Commandant of the National Cryptologic School—NSA’s accredited corporate university—where she renovated school structure, curricula, management processes, and e-learning activities. As the Director of Assessment, Measurement, and Evaluation, she led NSA’s unprecedented participation in the President’s Quality Award program—the public sector equivalent of the Baldrige Award. Through her efforts, the agency was selected as a Department of Defense finalist in 1998 and again in 1999, an Office of Personnel Management finalist in 1999, and a 1999 President’s Quality Improvement Award winner. Dr. Taylor also designed and implemented NSA’s current corporate performance measurement system.

Prior to NSA, she worked 10 years with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), serving last as Director of Information Resources Management Issues, conducting large-scale reviews of major information systems design and implementation projects and business process reengineering efforts. She graduated from GAO’s SES Candidate Development Program and served successfully in a number of senior positions, including Executive Assistant to the U.S. Comptroller General. She advised senior leadership on strategic planning and performance measurement issues, conducted management reviews of many large agencies, and identified savings in excess of $15 billion. Dr. Taylor spent a great deal of time on Capitol Hill testifying before numerous congressional committees, drafting major legislation, and meeting with congressional members and staff.

Before federal service, she worked 15 years in the private sector, first in increasingly responsible positions in human resources, accounting, and marketing at British Petroleum/Amoco and then as an Information Systems Consultant and a Management Consultant with two firms—Deloitte & Touche and Cresap, McCormick, & Paget.

In recognition of her achievements, Dr. Taylor was awarded an NSA fellowship to complete her Ph.D. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School—where she was also an academic fellow—and an undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University. She is a Federal Executive Institute graduate (where she was elected Class Speaker and Chair of the Executive Forum Committee) and she is in her fourth year as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Maryland, specializing in Diversity Studies. She was recently elected to the Board of the U.S. Women’s Army Foundation. Dr. Taylor is an accomplished, recognized motivational speaker and presents on a number of career development topics, including diversity, overcoming career challenges, and mentoring.

MaryLouise Uhlig  

Years of Term in Office as FEW President:  1980-1982

Accomplishments while in office:  First and only pregnant president of FEW; first president to travel abroad ( Panama and Germany).  Negotiated our FEW National Conferencein Hawaii.  FEW, under her leadership, matured in financial and coalition tactics.  Supported women through downsizing.  Outreach by satellite - video communication with women in Portugal, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Kenya, Indonesia, Nigeria, China, and Peru.  Shared information for first time about the employment, education, and health status of women.  In TV studios in Boston, Atlanta, and D.C., dialogued during the International Women's Conference in Copenhagen.  Started a clip-out and mail column - give your views about FEW.  Worked with Sarah Weddington, Assistant to President Carter on Women's Issues, on employment advancement.  Testified on Capitol Hill before House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on employment opportunities.  Private screenings on ABC TV - TV movie "The Women's Room."  Department of Defense, M. Kathleen Carpenter (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense), Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) on Equal Opportunity.  Naval Supply Systems Command, 1980.  EPA, Veterans Preference, Pay Reform, Contracting Out part-time, Flexi-Time, Women inthe Military issues.  Worked to secure the future.  Adopted Bread & Roses as my theme, was American Women's Labor Movement network mentor/outreach.  Worked for retirement benefits for ex-spouses from 10 years marriage to civil servants or military.

Place of birth:  Steelton/Harrisburg, PA

Nickname(s):  MaryLou

Education:  B.A. Penn State University; M.A. Central Michigan University; Harvard Senior Managers Government Program; Federal Executive Institute (FEI); and numerous other programs

Public Service awards:  Listed in many Who's Who; Barbara B. Tennant Award (Outstanding Service to FEW); A. James Award for Exemplary Leadership in Human Resources, etc.

Federal career highlights:  Serves as Associate Assistant Administrator for Management in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  OPPTS' programs range from food quality, public health to toxic substances, biotechnology, and homeland security.  In my current position, I serve as principal advisor to the Assistant Administrator on OPPTS policy, program planning, management, resources and general administration.  My responsibilities range from budget oversight to facilitation of Regional/State/Tribal/Public Communications and Homeland Security.  I joined EPA in 1974 and have held a number of increasingly senior positions:  Executive Officer to the Administrator; Acting Associate Administrator for Regional and Intergovernmental Operations; Chief Executive Development and Career Systems; Director of Program Management in the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.  Prior to joining EPA, I also held management positions at the Department of the Navy and the Defense Mapping Agency.

Community Service participation:  Past President of Executive Women in Government (EWG), Member of the Board of the Senior Executive Association (SEA); Board Member Emeritous Penn State University Libertal Arts Alumni Council, etc.

Iyanla Vanzant

Iyanla Vanzant, is, by many accounts, the premier African American teacher, writer, speaker, on the subjects of spirituality and personal development. The former talk show host is the author of 13 titles, that include three New York Times Best Sellers. The founder and Executive Director of the Inner Visions Institute For Spiritual Development conducts workshops and classes around the country and the UK sharing her brand of practical spiritual which is a blend of ancient African wisdom and New Thought Christianity. As an author, Vanzant has touched the minds and heart of more than 6 million readers. As a orator, she is a major draw at conferences, expos and awards ceremonies for large national organizations and small community groups. As a recurring guest on shows like Oprah Winfrey, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Michael Baisden Show and many other national talk shows, Iyanla has made a major contribution to bridging the divide between men and women; black and white; youth and the elders; Christians and others. She offers something for everyone that makes day-to-day living a little easier to understand and move through. Her motto, “You’ve got to do the work,” makes some a bit uneasy, but for others produces real and lasting change.

From her peaceful presence and disposition, you would imagine that life has been easy for Iyanla Vanzant. It has not. A difficult and “dysfunctional” upbringing resulted in her being raped at the tender age of 9; a teenage mother by age 16; a long-time welfare recipient; a partner in an abusive relationship and the survivor of two suicide attempts. These are the same experiences that led her to Medgar Evers College (City University of New York) at the age of 30, where she earned a B.S. Degree in Public Administration and Early Childhood Education, Summa Cum Laude. From there she went to City University Law School at Queens College and onto the Public Defenders office in Philadelphia. Her transition into talk radio was a fluke. After leaving the Defenders Office, she was invited to be a guest on a local radio talk show in Philadelphia. The subject; personal growth for women. Who better to discuss how to move from welfare to independence? The guess spot unfolded into to a weekly show and the penning of her first book, Tapping The Power Within: A Path To Self Empowerment For Black Women, where Vanzant first exposed her propensity for all things spiritual. Iyanla describes the next 10 years of her life as a whirlwind that resulted in a contract with a major publisher and the authoring her first five books; the birth of her second grandchild who she has raised; the marriage to her life long love and national prominence and recognition. According to Vanzant, “My life was moving so fast, I had to run to keep up with it.”

She shies away from being called a celebrity. Vanzant does not believe that “real celebrities” do their own laundry and shop at Walmart as she does. The loyal and faithful viewers of, Starting Over, the NBC daytime reality drama which featured Vanzant as a Life Coach for two seasons, beg to differ. “She changed my life!” “She helped me through a very difficult time.” “She was my therapist,” are common accolades among those who recognize her in the supermarket. While she is open to another opportunity to do television, she is not actively seeking any projects. “What God has for me will come to me.” In the meantime, Vanzant conducts monthly training sessions at her Institute. She is writing again and raising another grandchild; her 14-year old granddaughter who she inherited after the death of her daughter Gemmia, who lost her battle with colon cancer in 2003. She is single again following the demise of her marriage in the same year. One might wonder how she copes with the demands of her career and the pressures of her personal life. “I do my very best to live one moment at a time. I treasure the joy of little things like scrapbooking and Law & Order reruns.” From all accounts, she seems to be coping pretty well.

In September 2008 Vanzant enjoyed another milestone; she celebrated the re-release of her first published work. The 20th Anniversary Revised Edition of Tapping The Power Within promises to be a best-seller. It is currently nominated for a NAACP Image Award. It chronicles what Vanzant calls her active rebirth over the past 20 years. While the original manuscript remains in tact, she has added a new section to each chapter called, “What I Know Now.”