Washington, D.C. - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) executives joined professionals from across government to help facilitate the 7^th Annual National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (NAHFE) Summit to address issues of promoting professional growth, opportunities and diversity within the Federal government. 

Marta Perez, OPM Associate Director for Human Capital Leadership & Merit System Accountability, encouraged those who were in attendance to get the word out about the countless opportunities available in the Federal government.

"OPM is constantly seeking new partnerships, new ideas and new programs for reaching out to the Hispanic community," stated Perez.  "We will continue to do our part in addressing the institutional aspect of this challenge, but we can't be successful without the assistance and partnership of organizations like NAHFE."

The summit, co-sponsored by OPM, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), included speeches by senior officials and breakout sessions where participants joined together to discuss new, innovative ways of approaching diversity outreach and other critical issues facing the Federal workforce.  The end product of the conference activities was a comprehensive draft of ideas on how to actively address issues of career development, leadership, human capital and outreach.

"I am encouraged by the recommendations that have come forth from this summit," stated Manuel Oliverez, President of NAHFE. "These motivated professionals from across government have taken an important step in the direction of excellence and change.  They are succeeding in their efforts to serve this country with diligence and boldness."

During an awards presentation, NAHFE also recognized two OPM employees with awards for excellence: Carmen Andujar, Human Resources Specialist for Strategic Human Resources Policy and Digna Carballosa, Human Capital Officer for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Working with the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, NAHFE will release a final report on the findings of the summit within the next few months.