REBECCA R. RHODES
Posted by Mariah Walters
In 1995, I helped launch the Office of Governmentwide Policy. Consolidating governmentwide policy in one office may sound mundane, but it took guts, leadership, perseverance and conviction from leaders throughout the federal government.
While the reorganization crossed internal boundaries, it also served as a beacon for agencies hungry for consistent, progressive policies and guidance.
I established public advisory committees, and then incorporated all we learned into policies on vexing issues such as per diem rates and relocation expenses.
At a time when collaboration was sorely lacking, I formed interagency executive committees to help create strategic and tactical plans aimed at achieving our goals.
History and results testify to the success and impact of our office.
Our influence extends to federal travel, relocation, transportation, mail, personal property, government sales, the motor vehicle fleet and aircraft.
In 2006, we launched the Federal Asset Sales site, GovSales.gov, with four centers that sell personal and real property.
Today, the site gets 8.1 million hits and has seven centers that generate gross revenues of nearly $5 billion a year.
Rhodes is deputy associate administrator of the Office of Governmentwide Policy at the General Services Administration.