by Dan Perkins

On January 24, Mamie Mallory assumed her new appointment as Acting Deputy Director of the FAA's Operational Evolution staff.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is one of five agencies within the Department of Transportation.  The agency is responsible to Congress for the operation and safety of the nation's airspace and aviation community.

Mallory will manage the day-to-day responsibilities of a highly specialized staff charged with implementing improvements within the National Airspace System.  The improvements will be achieved through an initiative called the Operational Evolution Plan (OEP or The OE Plan).

The OE Plan is an extensive effort to insure the coordinated development of systems, procedures and capacities needed to service the estimated 200 million people who will make up the flying public by 2010.  That estimated passenger volume represents a nearly 30-percent increase over current levels.

Mallory will continue to report to Charles Keegan, OEP Executive Director and FAA Associate Administrator.

Mallory intends to pursue The OE Plan by relying on the expertise of engineers, air traffic controllers, technicians, scientists and other specialists who make up the OEP staff.  These individuals come from various lines of business within the FAA and from other highly regarded organizations, including MITRE, NASA, and MIT Lincoln Labs.

Mallory and her staff will coordinate with the leadership of the aviation community, from research and development, to manufacturers, airlines, airports and air traffic control, to Congress and the media.

Mallory brings to her new position 21 years of program management and engineering success.  Over the course of her distinguished career, Mallory has organized, developed, supported and managed numerous complex systems, including the National Airspace System for the FAA and fleet-wide programs for the U.S. Navy.

Mallory's expertise includes cost management of programs with annual budgets of $180 million; technical management of engineering systems; development, acquisition and testing; and communications with Congress, labor partners and FAA executive management; and coordination with the FAA's nine regions.

While working for the U.S. Navy, Mallory negotiated a $30 million cooperative research and development project with the French Navy.  As Scientific Assistant to the head of Mine Warfare, Mallory restored the service's documentation status of excellence - a move that allowed the Navy to secure funding for its mine warfare and mine countermeasure programs.

For the past year, Mallory has served as Manager for Resources and Finances among the OEP staff - a role she also filled previously for the FAA's Free Flight Program.  As a senior program manager on the OEP staff, Mallory was responsible for the development and integration of systems and procedures.

Mallory also has experience dealing with labor management issues involving the deployment of OEP-related technologies.  She also managed a survey that measured perceived benefits to end-users of the Operational Evolution Plan.

In addition to her considerable responsibilities involving OEP, Mallory has been able to serve effectively as as National President of the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE). She is currently serving a second four-year term.  Mallory says that her passion is helping other people achieve their full potential. She has served as a mentor and role model and won many awards for her philanthropy.

Mallory holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, an M.S. in Engineering Management, Professional Certification in Facility Management, and is a graduate of the Office of Personnel Management Federal Executive Institute and the Executive Potential Program.

The End

 

Special thanks to Arthur Humphries for his generous contribution to this article.