Washington, DC - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was well represented at the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives' (NAHFE) Annual Executive Leadership Development Training Conference on October 12-15, 2004 at the Watergate Hotel, Washington D.C.

OPM Deputy Director Dan G. Blair delivered the keynote address at the conference, and emphasized the commitment and resolve of President George W. Bush and OPM Director Kay Coles James to make Federal opportunities available to more Americans.

"Let me assure you that we at OPM are serious and focused about achieving the goal of creating a work force that draws on the diverse strengths of America," Blair said. "And to do this, OPM will continue to hold agencies accountable to recruit and retain a diverse and qualified workforce which reflects this Nation's rich and vital Hispanic communities."

At this year's conference, OPM Director Kay Coles James was awarded the NAHFE 2004 Distinguished Public Service Award for her agency's efforts to increase the overall diversity in the Federal workforce with emphasis on Hispanic representation. James was the first non Hispanic to receive the award which recognizes "excellence in leadership, creativity and innovation resulting in success and significant achievements that have had a positive impact on the Hispanic community."

Past recipients of the prestigious NAHFE award have included: Israel Valdez, founder of NAHFE; Hector Barreto, Administrator of the Small Business Administration; and, Rosario Marin, Former United States Treasurer.

Other OPM speakers at the NAHFE conference included: Hughes Turner, Deputy Associate Director, Center for Leadership and Executive Resources Policy, who spoke about executive core competencies in qualifying for the Senior Executive Service; and Dr. Jacob Lozada, Special Advisor for Adversity, who informed the participants on ‘Strategies for Success' in their Federal career.

Under Director James' leadership, OPM has employed an aggressive recruitment campaign to make Federal opportunities available to more Americans to fill the leadership pipeline with qualified candidates. This campaign has included: a successful series of recruitment fairs in large, richly-diverse cities such Albuquerque, Tucson, San Antonio, El Paso, Miami, San Diego and New York beginning in September 2003; implementation of eleven "Working for America" Job Fairs - at which 61 agencies were represented; facilitating the participation of 25 agencies at the 2004 League of United

Latin American Citizens' (LULAC) National Convention in San Antonio; deploying senior executives nation-wide to share the opportunities for Federal service; and revamping the USAJOBS website. 

In addressing the ongoing challenges of creating a more diverse Federal workforce, Blair said, "OPM will continue to do our part in addressing the institutional aspect of this challenge - but we can't be fully successful without the assistance and partnership of Hispanic serving organizations like NAHFE. I applaud the work that you've done in taking responsibility not only to urge better results, but to play an active role in achieving them."

The annual NAHFE conference brings together Hispanic executives from all executive departments and federal agencies. OPM is the human resources agency of the federal government.