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# 2 DLA employees earn DOD Workforce Recruitment Program awards

By Nancy Benecki

                FORT BELVOIR, Va.  –              
Two Defense Logistics Agency employees received honors during the Defense Department’s 2023 Workforce Recruitment Program Awards ceremony July 27 in Alexandria, Virginia. 39:36VIDEO  | 39:36 |Workforce Recruitment Program Awards Ceremony

Allexas Kirchgessner from DLA Distribution was one of four recipients of the Judith C. Gilliom Outstanding WRP Award, which is presented to WRP participants who demonstrated exceptional achievement during their internships.

Kirchgessner joined DLA Distribution as a management assistant through the WRP in August and was hired as a full-time contracting specialist in February.

“It’s awesome,” Kirchgessner said about receiving the award. “I’m super excited to bring more awareness to the program because it’s another great entry into government work.”

Cristina Rivera, an Equal Employment Opportunity Office specialist for DLA Distribution, was named one of four WRP Recruiters of the Year. She is also a former WRP participant.

“I hold WRP very dear to my heart, and I want to keep getting this program out to all of DLA Distribution and the entire agency,” Rivera said.

The ceremony was held days after the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 50th anniversary year of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, both of which promote access and equity for people with disabilities, said Taryn Williams, assistant secretary for the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.                 Defense Logistics Agency employees (left to right) Oscar Mariona-Acosta, Carrie Cash, Cristina Rivera, Janice Samuel, Allexas Kirchgessner, Michelle Phelps and Eric Spanbauer at the Defense Department’s Workforce Recruitment Program Awards ceremony, held July 27, 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia. Kirchgessner and Rivera, both from DLA Distribution, received awards during the program.                            2 DLA employees earn DOD Workforce Recruitment Program awards                            Defense Logistics Agency employees (left to right) Oscar Mariona-Acosta, Carrie Cash, Cristina Rivera, Janice Samuel, Allexas Kirchgessner, Michelle Phelps and Eric Spanbauer at the Defense Department’s Workforce Recruitment Program Awards ceremony, held July 27, 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia. Kirchgessner and Rivera, both from DLA Distribution, received awards during the program.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Nancy BeneckiVIRIN: 230727-D-OH090-002

Executive Order 14035 calls for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the federal workplace, and WRP is a key tool for agencies to achieve that goal, she said. Since 1995, thousands of students and recent graduates gained valuable career development and work experience from the WRP.

“The program is a critical piece of the federal talent pipeline, both here in D.C. and across the nation,” Williams said.

Phillip Hepperle, director of the DOD Inspector General’s Equal Employment Opportunity Office, is another WRP alumnus and former DLA employee. He noted that he wouldn’t be where he is today without his first WRP internship with the Defense Fuel Supply Center, now DLA Energy. He was offered a job at DLA Headquarters through Schedule A, then helped set up the Transportation Security Administration after 9/11. He returned to DLA, then went to work at the Defense Contract Audit Agency for 10 years. He started his current role in January.

“My disability did not get me where I am today; it gave me the opportunity to get to where I am today,” Hepperle said.

For more information about hiring throughout the WRP, email WRP@dla.mil or contact the local EEO office.

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