DIVERSITY@WORK A PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICE OF DIVERSITYMANAGEMENT & EEO (DM&EEO) 

Welcome to the first issue of 

Diversity@Work. It’s an exciting time to be working in diversity management. As VA Secretary Anthony 

Principi reminded us in a recent VA 

broadcast, we’re all responsible for

making sure that equal employment

opportunity is not just a slogan at VA; it 

must be a reality.

 It is my hope that VA management 

and staff gain greater knowledge of

their responsibilities and the assistance 

available to ensure opportunity in our 

diverse workplace. To do so, we must 

identify, understand, and use the tools 

available to help us meet that goal.

 My office works proactively to 

enhance the employment of women, 

minorities, veterans, and people with 

disabilities through two main areas:

Workforce 

Analysis, and

Complaints 

Prevention 

and Special

Initiatives. 

Some of the

tools we 

provide to you 

include assistance with 

workforce analysis and planning,

special emphasis programs, training 

and education, and internship programs, among numerous others.

 Enjoy our newsletter, share it with 

colleagues, and give us your feedback. Be sure to contact us—see 

page 4—we’re here to serve you.

VA proudly joins the Nation in celebrating National American Indian Heritage 

Month during November.

 It’s important to recognize the contributions that Native Americans have

made to our country, especially in service to our military. Nearly 30 have received the Medal of Honor, the United 

States’ highest military award for

combat valor. To learn more about 

the 20th century medal recipients, go 

to history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-3.htm.

 For information on VA’s National 

Native American Special Emphasis

Program, contact Jos é Marrero at

(202) 273-5839.

MAKING EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY A REALITY

Armando E. Rodriguez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for DM&EEO

CELEBRATE! 

National American Indian Heritage Month

In this issue:

FIELD NOTES

News You Can Use

2

SPOTLIGHT

Executive Order 13021

2

INSIDE STORY

Are You Ready for 

Workforce Analysis?

3

SPECIAL EMPHASIS

National Disabled Veterans 

Winter Sports Clinic

3

DM&EEO ONLINE 4

CALENDAR 4

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2001

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

WASHINGTON, DC 20420

Bookmarks

• National Congress of 

American Indians 

http://ncai.org

• Blacks in Government 

www.bignet.org

• Federally Employed 

Women, www.few.org

• Federal Asian Pacific 

American Confederation 

www.fapac.org

• Hispanic Employment 

Program Managers 

www.hepm.org

• Office of Disability 

Employment Policy 

www.dol.gov.dol.odep
SPECIAL EVENTS. VA sponsors numerous national events that honor and 

support veterans. Here’s a sampling of 

events scheduled for 2002. 

* 16th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic (see story on next 

page), hosted by the Grand Junction, 

Colorado, VAMC; April 7-12. 

* 22nd National Veterans Wheelchair 

Games, hosted by the Louis Stokes 

VAMC, Cleveland; July 9-13.

* 16th National Veterans Golden Age 

Games, hosted by the Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System; August 

11-17.

 For more information, contact Kim 

Byers, VHA Special Events Coordinator, at (734) 761-7824.

DIVERSITY AWARD WINNERS. The 

New Jersey Healthcare System captured first place in this year’s VHA Under Secretary’s Diversity Awards. The 

group was selected for its use of

coaching and mentoring programs to 

promote diversity. An honorable mention went to the Atlanta VAMC, while 

Veterans Integrated Service Network 

(VISN) 8 and the Chief Information Office at VA Headquarters received special recognition awards.

 Established in 1993 by the Under 

Secretary for Health’s Diversity Advisory Board, this award program recognizes facilities that have advanced 

diversity in the workplace and provided a positive role model for other 

facilities. Any VHA facility, VISN, or 

VHA Headquarters program office that 

has developed initiatives to increase 

awareness and improve diversity

within their organization is eligible to 

compete for this award. Winners receive a trophy and a monetary award 

to be used for diversity education and 

training. 

 For more information on this

awards program, visit http://vaww.

diversity.med.va.gov/directives.htm.

elementary, and secondary education 

programs.

 VA fully supports this Order

through programs designed to increase the participation of TCUs in

VA-sponsored initiatives. One such

program is the Washington Internships 

for Native Students (WINS), administered through American University in

Washington, DC. For more information on this program, visit 

www.american.edu/wins.

Former President Clinton signed Executive Order 13021 in 1996 to help 

ensure that tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are more fully recognized 

as accredited institutions and have better access to Federal resources. 

 The Order calls for the promotion, 

preservation, and revitalization of

American Indian and Alaskan Native 

languages and traditions, and it encourages innovative approaches to

better link TCUs with early childhood, 

SPOTLIGHT

White House Executive Order 13021: Tribal Colleges and Universities

FIELD NOTES

News You Can Use

2 Diversity@Work November/December 2001

For More Info

To learn more about 

Executive Orders, go to 

www.va.gov/dmeeo 

and click on the White 

House Initiatives link.
According to the draft VA Workforce Planning and 

Succession Plan, "The Department of Veterans Affairs, like many other Federal agencies, is facing a 

major crisis over the next several years as a result 

of the tremendous number of employees eligible to 

retire between now and 2005. The potential for a 

massive wave of retirements, coupled with the inability to hire new employees to fill mission-critical 

positions on a timely basis at competitive salary 

levels, will severely impact and diminish VA’s capability to deliver service to veterans.” 

 Mike Dole, DM&EEO’s Director of Workforce

Services, says that filling the vacancies left by 

these retirements will be our best opportunity to ensure that the VA workforce resembles the face of 

INSIDE STORY

Are You Ready for Workforce Analysis?

He originated the idea after taking one of his 

patients skiing at a handicapped ski program. 

Trombetta organized and launched the event in

1987 with nearly 90 participants. It now offers approximately 400 disabled veterans opportunities to 

learn and practice adaptive alpine and crosscountry skiing, snowmobiling, sled hockey, and

other sports and educational activities. 

 According to Trombetta, "I've always loved

sports, and I knew the veterans would love it. But I 

never knew how it would affect everyone else." He 

adds, "Tourists at ski areas are astounded. It 

doesn't make a difference who you are; once you 

see this event, you are affected by it. At the outset, 

we were the teachers. But now, we are the 

students. These vets have taught us so much about 

living."

 The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports 

Clinic is open to all U.S. military veterans with 

spinal-cord injury or disease, certain neurological 

conditions, orthopedic amputations, visual impairments, or other disabilities. For information on the 

most recent event, visit www.va.gov/vetevent/wsc.

Diversity@Work recently spoke 

with Ron Fulk, EEO Manager of 

the Grand Junction VAMC,

about the importance of 

workplace diversity. The Medical Center, which this year became the first VA facility to receive the Office of Personnel Management’s 2001 

Presidential Award for Quality, has a relatively 

small staff of 306 employees, so managing 

diversity can be a challenge. But Fulk says, “One 

of our biggest boosters is our Director.” And that 

makes all the difference, he adds. 

 The facility sponsors diversity activities yearround, but without a doubt its biggest event—and 

one that underscores its commitment to serving 

disabled veterans—is the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. The 2002 gathering is 

planned for April 7-12 and is cosponsored by VA 

and the Disabled Veterans of America. 

 The event was conceived and developed by 

Chief of Recreation Therapy Sandy Trombetta,

who now serves as Director of the Sports Clinic. 

SPECIAL EMPHASIS

Grand Junction, Colorado, VAMC: National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic

November/December 2001 Diversity@Work 3

America and the veterans we serve. He adds, “We

will have the opportunity to eliminate underrepresentation in specific occupations and grades and position 

our workforce to respond to the new century. We just 

have to have the right targeted recruitment." 

 To help develop the necessary targeted recruitment, DM&EEO is slated to publish A Guide: Conducting Workforce Analysis. This booklet walks you

through workforce analysis and succession planning, 

illustrating how to analyze the data and pull it into a 

coherent plan. To support the effort, DM&EEO is also 

developing a series of computer-generated workforce 

data summaries that enable you to produce and

download custom reports for your facility. For more 

information, e-mail Michael.Dole@mail.va.gov.
This year, DM&EEO launched a new Web site offering tools and resources that help you promote workplace diversity and enhance the employment of 

minorities, women, veterans, and people with 

disabilities. 

 The site hosts information on the Secretary’s 

Annual EEO Awards, special events and observances, diversityfocused organizations,

and Special Emphasis Programs, among

other useful resources for VA managers,

staff, veterans, and other dive rsity stakeholders. The site reinforces the mission of 

DM&EEO to lead in creating and sustaining a 

workplace free of discrimination. 

 Visit us often; we have lots more content 

and tools on tap for you in upcoming months.

Find us on 

the Web at 

www.va.gov/dmeeo

Diversity@Work

Newsletter published bimonthly 

by the Office of 

Diversity Management & EEO

CONTACT US

Mail:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of DM&EEO (06)

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

Phone:

(202) 273-5888 or

(202) 273-7632

Fax:

(202) 273-9942

E-mail the Editor:

dmeeo@mail.va.gov

(See our Web site for 

staff e-mail addresses.)

COMING SOON

* Celebrate Dr. Martin

 Luther King Jr.’s 

 Birthday 

* Get Your Special 

 Emphasis Programs 

 Up and Running

* How to Plan a 

 Special Observance

* VA Leadership 

 Speaks out on 

 Diversity

* Black History Month 

 Web links

* More tips and tools

Veterans Day

November 11

58th Annual Session of the 

National Congress of 

American Indians

Spokane, WA

(202) 466-7767

November 25-30, 2001

www.ncai.org

SHRM Workplace Diversity 

Conference & Exposition

San Diego, CA 

(703) 548-3440 

December 3-5, 2001

www.shrm.org/conferences

Perspectives on Employment 

of Persons with Disabilities

Bethesda, MD 

December 12-14, 2001

http://grad.usda.gov/

conferences/DisabilitiesInfo.cfm

Looking ahead to 2002:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 

Birthday

January 15, 2002

Black History Month

February 2002

National Women’s History 

Month

March 2002

Asian Pacific American 

Heritage Month

May 2002

Women’s Equality Day

August 2002 (TBA)

For more upcoming events and 

observances, visit our Web site 

and select the Calendar link.

CALENDAR

4 Diversity@Work November/December 2001

DM&EEO ONLINE