THOLOS | VOLUME 22 

THOLO

V

S

OLUME 22

EMPLOYEE 

HIGHLIGHT

U.S. Botanic Garden 

Taps New Technologies 

To Grow Plant Education 

FEATURE

Retro-commissioning: 

Big Energy Savings 

For Big Buildings

COOL TOOLS

Mulch Blower 

Extraordinaire
2 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 3

FEATURE COOL TOOLS AGENCY INITIATIVES

TA B LE O F CO N T EN T S

EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHT

4 12 18 22

TA B LE O F CO N T EN T S

4 EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHT:

U.S. Botanic Garden Taps New 

Technologies To Grow Plant Education

12 FEATURE:

Retro-commissioning: 

Big Energy Savings For Big Buildings

18 COOL TOOLS:

Mulch Blower Extraordinaire

22 AGENCY INITIATIVES:

Bridging Our Legacy

26 EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION:

Kudos to You

The photos that appear in this edition of Tholos were taken at different stages 

during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the mask policy in place at that time.
THOLOS

| VOLUME 225

4 THOLOS| VOLUME 22

EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHT

U.S. BOTANIC 

GARDEN 

TAPS NEW 

TECHNOLOGIES 

TO GROW PLANT 

EDUCATION

WRITTEN BY DEVIN DOTSON 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS HATZENBUHLER 

Grace Anderson 

adjusts the camera 

and laptop for an 

online horticultural 

education program.
6 THOLOS | VOLUME 22

ike other parts of the education world in March 

2020, the COVID-19 pandemic-forced closure 

of the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) 

significantly impacted the USBG Learning and 

Engagement team. Much of their work consisted of 

connecting people with plants through hundreds of 

in-person educational programs and school field trips throughout the year. Education is a core part of the USBG, with notes 

from the 1800s showing the USBG has offered educational 

lectures and programs since its earliest days as a public garden. 

The team knew they had to rethink their educational approach 

to continue their work while also keeping everyone safe.

The Learning and Engagement team has embraced new technology and instructional approaches to successfully offer more 

than 200 programs online in 2020 and 2021, engaging more 

than 17,000 participants from all 50 states and 27 countries. The 

team has also developed live virtual field trips for schools, engaging more than 4,000 students from throughout the District of 

Columbia area and in states from Florida to Maine. Most of the 

student participants have been from underserved communities.

Lee Coykendall is the Senior Education Specialist at the USBG, 

having worked as part of the education team for 20 years. “My 

first thought was ‘I am a hands-on plant science teacher. How 

do I do hands-on education right now?!’” said Coykendall. “I 

knew technology could help, but I didn’t know what to do or 

how. I was a dinosaur of technology back then.”

Over the past two years, the USBG Learning and Engagement 

team has banded together to support each other as they tested 

new technological tools and new teaching methods.

Amy Bolton, Learning and Engagement Manager, had envisioned the team offering future online programming before the 

pandemic. “This forced that future plan to come to the forefront,” 

said Bolton. “I tried to put that mantra of ‘Don’t let a crisis 

go to waste.’ into action. We needed new technology and new 

methods for engagement. There was a sense of urgency, but with 

the whole country thrown into this new situation, there was a 

general feeling of forgiveness and acceptance that allowed us to 

offer programs while we built our skills and our tools.”

To build out online programming, the education team tapped 

into their extensive experience with learning methodologies. But 

the switch to online learning required a different approach and 

a different measure of what online learning success could be. It 

was an opportunity to look within the team to identify skills 

each person could bring to this new challenge, and determine 

where there were opportunities for growth and learning.

“I wanted our team to be successful,” said Bolton. “I knew it was 

important to create a trusting, supportive environment where 

everyone was comfortable testing out ideas, having things go 

wrong and then talking about what worked and what didn’t. We 

“ I knew it was important to create a 

trusting, supportive 

environment where 

everyone was 

comfortable testing 

out ideas, having 

things go wrong 

and then talking 

about what worked 

and what didn’t. 

We experimented 

with purpose.”

L

Lee Coykendall, Senior Education Specialist, has worked at the USBG for 20 years.
THOLOS | VOLUME 22 7

experimented with purpose. I knew if we could do that, everyone’s confidence and skills would build over time.” 

In that spirit, the team got to work researching and testing 

online tools and platforms. Two employees enrolled in a university program specializing in online education design and development. Some of the first programs offered online were lectures 

that had already been planned that spring. “A single person 

speaking and presenting photos and information through a slide 

deck was a relatively easy way for us to flip to online instruction 

while we worked to create more complex programs,” said Libby 

Rhoads, the Learning and Engagement Supervisor who has 

helped manage the USBG’s on-site programs for years.

After that, it was more try-and-learn. “We knew we could get 

one of our USBG Horticulture colleagues online with some 

plants using a laptop with a built-in camera. Let’s just do it 

and see how it goes,” said Grace Anderson, Science Education 

Specialist. “The camera was looking a bit up her nose, the 

lighting changed during the program causing some issues seeing 

what she was doing with plants, we couldn’t zoom in . . . There 

were challenges that we knew and challenges that we didn’t 

know until we tried. And so we tried and took lots of notes, and 

we learned.”

In addition to figuring out what software worked best, the team 

realized they needed better hardware and some new processes to 

make it all work.

A Nontraditional Studio

Month after month, the team continued offering programs 

and testing new tools like different cameras, microphones and 

lighting equipment. Broadcasting online from the Conservatory 

offered a beautiful, plant-filled space to work, but it also presented a variety of challenges ranging from no internet connection and strong, overhead light to misters that would turn on 

frequently and myriad audio challenges.

To spotlight the challenges and learn together, the team instituted meetings after each of those first online programs. These 

meetings later developed into a biweekly online producer’s 

meeting in which issues were brought forward to discuss 

and troubleshoot. 

Over time, the team’s tools evolved to address the variety of 

needs for offering programs in a greenhouse. Today, a Learning 

and Engagement team member acts as an on-site producer 

for an online program, setting up with time-honed precision a 

laptop and camera for a good viewing angle, an umbrella to filter 

the strong overhead light, reflectors and lights to brighten the 

presenter’s face and the plants, and a long ethernet cable from a 

separate room where there is a port. 

Their research and hard work to get the technological tools right 

have paid off. In a matter of minutes, a greenhouse can be made 

ready to present an online program about plants to hundreds of 

participants from around the world. 

Planning for Quality

“Once we had tech tools that worked well, we were able to dive 

into developing, designing and offering quality programs,” said 

Bolton. “One of Learning and Engagement’s goals is to offer 

quality programs — so we had to ask ourselves ‘What is quality? 

How do we define it?’” The entire team worked under the 

leadership of Education Specialists Emily Hestness and Maura 

Nelson who had experience in creating, building and assessing 

methodologies; they also sought input from the entire 

USBG staff. 

Through several iterations, the team created UnPACK, the 

acronym that describes quality programs. Producers use 

UnPACK to guide program development and evaluation by 

ensuring programs use the Unique (Un) assets of the USBG, are 

thoughtfully Planned (P), provide Access (A) to everyone, are 

Centered (C) on the audience needs and interests, and present 

the expertise of Knowledge-based (K) people in their field. 

“We needed new processes for online programs, especially since 

many of our programs are recorded and live on after the singular 

offering of the program,” said Rhoads. The team has created a 

suite of helpful tools — an online program proposal form, tech 

rehearsals with presenters, a marketing form, production documents and an online post-program survey. 

Standardizing planning and production streamlined the 

process and created a consistent format for all the programs. 

Grace Anderson is the Science Education Specialist at the USBG.
8 THOLOS

| VOLUME 22 THOLOS| VOLUME 229

In 2020 and 2021 

the U.S. Botanic Garden 

Education Team offered 

200+

ONLINE

PROGRAMS

engaging

17,000+

PARTICIPANTS

from all

50

STATES AND D.C.

as well as

27

COUNTRIES

and developed live 

virtual field trips for

4,000+

STUDENTS
10 THOLOS | VOLUME 22

Every program draws from a shared resource so that the producer has access to pertinent information; a script for program 

introduction and exit; a statement that places the program in 

a positive, safe environment for discourse; preplanned answers 

to possible questions; and links to USBG web pages and social 

media. Standardized orientation slides quickly communicate 

the important features of the program platform such as chat 

and settings. 

Online programming at the USBG has reached a state of 

high capability and quality, with the team offering a range 

of live online programs including plant care demonstrations, 

floral workshops, corpse flower botany, conservation programs, 

cooking demos and more.

Unique School Challenges

Finding new ways to fulfill educational programming for 

schools proved to be a particular challenge. In the beginning of 

the pandemic, teachers were learning their own online systems 

and weren’t ready to work with other organizations. Then local 

teachers began asking for virtual field trips, but each teacher had 

a different vision for what that would be.

The team worked over several months to develop an educational 

online field trip that would bring a unique aspect of the USBG 

to the classroom and align with state and national education 

standards. The field trips needed to accommodate different 

technology use across classrooms and a wide range of teacher 

Anderson tests how additional lighting from a reflector might help the presentation be 

better visible on-screen.

Coykendall studies a cactus in the World Deserts house in preparation for a virtual field trip 

on plant adaptations.

comfort with technology. The team sought out teachers to collaborate with during the development process who would pilot 

programs in their classrooms. With each pilot, the team took 

the experience and participants’ feedback to hone and refine 

the content.

“I knew one of our top priorities had to be student engagement,” 

said Coykendall. “Schools and teachers have turned to the 

USBG for plant science programs that focus on student engagement on-site. But I’m not David Attenborough to do engaging 

prerecorded courses. We do, however, have a team that’s really 

good at live student engagement and has a passion for plants, so 

we realized live classes were the path forward for us.”

The team found an online tool that allows students to engage 

directly with virtual field trip content and USBG educators. 

More than just a slide show and chat, it is a fully engaging 

experience with a direct link to students via individual devices or 

through projection into a classroom via the teacher.

After multiple rounds of piloting, today teachers can choose 

from three “Think Like a Botanist” virtual field trip options that 

cover topics such as plant adaptation, plant form and function, 

and energy and matter for grades three, four and five.

When asked about her previous dinosaur comment, Coykendall 

said “Now there are days when I feel like I am Ms. Technology! 

Over the course of one day, I might be invited into one 
THOLOS | VOLUME 22 11

Anderson completes the technical setup for a presentation by USBG Gardener 

Amanda Helin, left.

Coykendall and the Education team drew from the USBG plant collection to create virtual field 

trips for students.

classroom via Zoom, then another via Microsoft Teams, then 

another via a third platform. I feel comfortable with using the 

technology we have found to join teachers and classes and fulfill 

our educational mission. I am also comfortable adapting when 

something new pops up. That’s a good feeling.

“At the end of the day, we want to offer quality plant science education from the U.S. Botanic Garden. And I’m happy to see in 

responses from both teachers and students that we are achieving 

that goal. One student said, ‘My grandmother loves plants. I’m 

so excited to share with her what I learned today about plants!’ 

That’s pretty special.”

Growing Plants AND Employees

“There is a hidden part of this process — the positive changes 

of our employees learning, experiencing and growing both as 

individuals and as a team,” said Bolton.

“I’m very proud of how our team has learned about online 

learning and how it is unique,” said Rhoads. “The team now 

has a great understanding of the processes and tools for online 

education success, and it’s a joy to see how we are able to use 

them to help achieve the USBG’s mission of connecting people 

and plants through online programs.”

What’s next for this team? They are planning to use new tech 

tools to offer online horticultural programs from new areas of 

the USBG, such as the Orchids house and the Kitchen Garden, 

to showcase additional parts of the USBG plant collection, and 

are also working toward offering hybrid in-person and online 

programs. This project has also highlighted the opportunity to 

create online learning for the volunteer corps. Elizabeth Barton, 

Volunteer Coordinator, is one of the online program producers 

and will be able to use this experience to build a suite of learning 

modules for volunteer training.

This summer, the team will share the school virtual field trips 

template with other botanic gardens across the country at a 

national public gardens conference. They hope the USBG virtual 

field trip model can help other gardens offer online educational 

opportunities for schools in their areas. The team will also 

present their best practices, sharing what they’ve learned and 

continuing the conversation about excellence and interaction in 

online learning.

Looking further out, Bolton wants to use the technology to 

connect with new audiences that don’t traditionally come to the 

USBG. “It can expand our opportunities, our audiences, and 

the creativity we bring to the work we do,” said Bolton. “That’s 

a great path forward for us. There are lots of opportunities to 

expand plant science programming online, and our team is now 

positioned to help this historic 200-year-old garden continue to 

connect people and plants in new ways in the next 200 years.”
12 THOLOS

| VOLUME 22 THOLOS| VOLUME 22 13

A/C Equipment 

Mechanic Horatio 

Evans tests for 

signal across two 

wires with a digital 

multimeter while 

troubleshooting 

air handling 

unit controls.

RETRO-COMMISSIONING: 

Big Energy Savings For Big Buildings

FEATURE

WRITTEN BY ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN GREENE

The Architect of the Capitol’s (AOC) 

commitment to energy conservation and 

sustainability has resulted in a reduction of energy use by almost 50 percent 

across the Capitol campus since 2003. 

The agency continues to look for ways to 

build on those efforts as it works toward 

achieving reductions beyond the 50 

percent goal by 2025. The AOC focuses 

energy conservation and sustainability 

efforts on building systems throughout 

its portfolio to positively impact building 

ventilation, thermal comfort, material 

selection, construction practices and 

maintenance material usage. Maintaining 

an enterprisewide focus on energy conservation has helped make our buildings 

more efficient and sustainable.

As part of this comprehensive energy 

conservation program, the Energy and 

Sustainability group is undertaking 

retro-commissioning of several buildings 

on the Capitol campus to enhance the 

energy performance of those buildings.

Retro-commissioning improves the 

efficiency of an existing building’s 

equipment and systems. This process can 

often resolve problems that have occurred 

during design or construction, or as in 

the AOC’s case, address problems that 

have developed in the building as equipment has aged or as building usage has 

changed. Retro-commissioning involves 

a systemic evaluation of opportunities 

to optimize energy-consuming systems 

and improve a building's operations and 

maintenance procedures to enhance 

overall building performance.
14 THOLOS | VOLUME 22

The AOC uses retro-commissioning 

to periodically retune our buildings 

and return them to peak efficiency. The 

continued focus on energy conservation 

results in utility cost savings that are 

reinvested into our buildings and infrastructure. These investments have resulted 

in reduced long-term energy demand and 

reduced greenhouse gas emissions across 

the Capitol campus. 

Over the last 15 years the AOC has 

reduced its energy intensity level 

by almost 50 percent. As a result 

of these energy savings, the AOC’s 

building-related greenhouse gas emissions 

have been reduced by over 48 percent.

The Energy and Sustainability group 

currently tracks the steam, chilled water 

and electrical performance of individual buildings throughout the Capitol 

campus. As part of this process, energy 

performance target metrics are developed for each building. The Energy and 

Sustainability group compares weekly 

OUR PROCESS 

and monthly usage against those targets 

to determine how a particular building is performing. This information is 

shared with the energy and facilities 

managers across the AOC. If a building 

is exceeding the established targets for 

steam and chilled water energy consumption it is a potential candidate for 

retro-commissioning. 

Electronics Technician 

Edward Williams 

and A/C Equipment 

Mechanic Justin 

Zibragos discuss an 

air handling unit’s 

operations using 

the AOC’s Building 

Automation System 

graphics platform.
THOLOS | VOLUME 22 15

A/C Equipment 

Mechanic Justin 

Zibragos tests 

temperature sensor 

function using an 

electrical tester.

Through this consistent monitoring, 

the Energy and Sustainability group 

has identified several buildings on the 

Capitol campus that are exceeding the 

established energy targets for steam and 

chilled water. The steam and chilled water 

components are directly related to the 

HVAC systems in each building. In part, 

the increase in HVAC consumption can 

be attributed to operations during the 

COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 

Energy and Sustainability group, along 

with AOC energy and facility managers, want to ensure that the HVAC 

systems are performing optimally given 

the new operating requirements, hence 

the need to undergo HVAC system 

retro-commissioning.

OUR PROJECTS 

Retro-commissioning can help improve 

a building’s operation and maintenance 

procedures by identifying and correcting 

problems, such as: 

Equipment that is operating when 

it may not be needed

Systems that are simultaneously 

heating and cooling the same spaces

Belts and valves that are malfunctioning

Thermostats and sensors that are 

out of calibration

Air balancing systems that are less 

than optimal

Many of these small operations and control 

improvements cost little or nothing to 

implement yet can have big energy saving 

impacts. As an example, sensor calibration 

not only improves current operations but 

also increases the effectiveness of diagnostic monitoring and testing.

The current scope of the project is to 

retro-commission the HVAC systems 

in the Rayburn and Longworth House 

Office Buildings and the Dirksen and 

Russell Senate Office Buildings as well 

as the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. The 

Energy and Sustainability group will 

continue to evaluate energy performance 

of Capitol campus buildings and plans on 

retro-commissioning additional buildings 

in future years.
16 THOLOS

| VOLUME 22

A/C Equipment 

Mechanic Anthony 

Mungal replaces 

a malfunctioning 

chilled water valve 

actuator, while Justin 

Zibragos assists by 

steadying the ladder.
THOLOS | VOLUME 22 17

THE BENEFITS

Retro-commissioning not only benefits 

the AOC by reducing operating costs 

through energy savings and improving 

equipment performance, but it also 

improves tenant experience. Building 

tenants will be more comfortable 

because adjustments lead to more consistent temperature control and better 

indoor air quality. Additionally, energy 

and facility managers will face fewer 

tenant calls and will be able to stay 

focused on managing building systems.

Retro-commissioning can produce 

significant cost savings in buildings, but 

the savings can vary depending on the 

size, age of equipment and the scope of 

the effort. In general, by undertaking this 

retro-commissioning effort, the AOC can 

conservatively expect to have a payback 

period of less than two years and an 

energy savings of 5 to 10 percent. Since 

the current retro-commissioning projects 

are focused on the correction of operations and control measures, savings are 

anticipated to exceed these payback and 

energy saving estimates. 

Retro-commissioning is an important tool 

in helping the AOC achieve the established 50 percent energy reduction goal by 

2025 and supporting jurisdiction goals of 

creating comfortable spaces for building 

tenants. This process will continue to be 

used periodically on all Capitol campus 

facilities to ensure that systems are operating as efficiently as possible.

Catur, tem eos volest 

plitas enis repudae. 

Itat voluptate 

autenih iliquia site 

volorro vent que 

si am ut perum 

fugiae voleseq 

uiatumquod ma ve.

A/C Equipment 

Mechanic Kerian 

Ozurumba takes 

airflow readings 

from a vent using 

a balometer. 
18 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 19

Mulch Blower 

Extraordinaire 

WRITTEN BY CRISTIN O’BRIEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS HATZENBUHLER 

COOL TOOLS

Mario Murgueitio 

and Ron Pfeiffer, 

both Pipefitters with 

Capitol Grounds, 

demonstrate how to 

use a mulch blower 

attachment to fill silt 

socks with mulch.
20 THOLOS | VOLUME 22

n a recent sunny morning, employees 

from Capitol Grounds and Arboretum 

gathered to see a demonstration of a 

new tool and hear about its benefits. 

“With this piece of equipment, we 

can finish the amount of work in one 

day that usually takes two to three 

days without it,” said MJ Bardwell, a Gardener Supervisor 

with Capitol Grounds. Dave Ellis, a Supervisor with Capitol 

Grounds added, “It has made things a lot easier for us and saved 

a lot of time — it has improved our access to certain places, it 

makes it easier to do big areas at once, and there’s less raking to 

be fixed later.” The magical, time-saving piece of equipment they 

were talking about is a hooklift truck, with an attachment that 

can blow mulch through a flexible hose. 

The truck and mulch blower are the result of ongoing improvement efforts. Ralph LoJacono, Supervisory Facility Operations 

Specialist for the Capitol Grounds Gardening Division, 

proposed using a mulch blower in 2019 to improve productivity 

and make the work of mulching easier on staff. Mulching is a 

manual, labor-intensive process that involves shoveling mulch 

from a truck into a wheelbarrow, pushing the wheelbarrow 

to the garden bed, shoveling or dumping the mulch onto the 

bed and then raking it out. Automotive Mechanic Supervisor 

Steve Boozer was asked to research possible mulch blowers to 

automate parts of this process and determine if a mulch blower 

aligned with Capitol Grounds requirements that equipment 

1) is safe, 2) adds value to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) 

and Capitol Grounds, 3) improves work or production and 4) 

decreases cost. 

Steve examined different options and settled on the one that 

they have now, confirming that it met all the improvement 

criteria. “This hooklift truck with the mulch attachment frees 

up folks to do other things. And the truck itself is very versatile — it can be used to spread salt, it can plow, vacuum leaves, 

serve as a flatbed truck or a dump truck, support a water tank 

for watering, and blow mulch — depending on the attachments 

added to the back.” 

The new truck will soon be joined by a second one. Together 

the two trucks will replace five other vehicles in the Capitol 

Grounds fleet that have reached or exceeded their life span. “By 

using different attachments to perform multiple tasks with the 

same truck, we are able to reduce the number of vehicles we 

O
THOLOS | VOLUME 22 21

Frank Bussler (left), 

Engineering Equipment 

Operator for Capitol 

Grounds, helps Richard 

Caselman, Heavy 

Mobile Equipment 

Mechanic Assistant 

Supervisor for Capitol 

Grounds, attach silt 

sock material to the 

end of a hose during 

a demonstration of 

the jurisdiction's new 

mulch blower. 

have overall, and keep them in use throughout the year,” said 

Lee Dennis, the Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist for 

Capitol Grounds Maintenance Division. 

In addition to reducing maintenance costs for five vehicles by 

replacing them with two, there are other benefits to these trucks.

The mulch blower can support hoses up to 300 feet long, allowing staff to easily reach areas in courtyards that are inaccessible 

by wheelbarrow because of stairs or retaining walls. The mulch 

blower also has an attachment to fill long tubes of mesh called 

socks. This may not sound exciting, but these socks provide an 

entirely different kind of value. 

“Part of what we do is preserve the historic collections and 

cultural landscape,” said Lee. When there are construction projects around the Capitol campus that will disturb more than 50 

square feet of soil, the AOC is required to implement an erosion 

sediment control plan to filter runoff before it enters the city’s 

sewer system. Lee explained, “We used to use silt fences for all 

of these projects and installing the silt fences requires digging 

a trench.” That digging process often cuts roots, impacting the 

health of the trees, disturbs turf and can cut lines like irrigation 

systems. “Now we can replace that invasive digging process 

in some instances with these silt socks filled with mulch. The 

mulch allows water to seep through while trapping soil particles 

and debris. There’s less waste at the end of a project, too — 

instead of rolling up the fence and throwing it away we can just 

move the silt sock to a nearby planting bed, open the sock and 

spread the mulch. Even the sock is biodegradable, we can leave 

it under the mulch to break down naturally.” 

Andy Gayne, an Environmental Engineer with the Office of 

Safety and Code Compliance added, “Being able to produce 

the filter media is very cost effective, and a sustainable use of 

biomass for projects on level ground where the silt socks are an 

alternative to the silt fences. The socks can also be used for temporary drop inlet protection to filter the runoff before it enters 

the sanitary sewer system.”

As Capitol Grounds employees watched the silt sock demonstration on that sunny morning, it was evident that the new 

mulch blower goes beyond just being a cool tool — it saves 

money, helps preserve the cultural landscape, can prevent 

potential impacts to infrastructure and increases productivity. 

Jim Kaufmann, Director of Capitol Grounds, said “Our mission 

requires us to be efficient. The multi-use truck along with a 

multi-use attachment is like the Swiss Army knife of professional grounds management equipment. It also has the added 

bonus of increasing our sustainability initiatives.”

The next time you walk past a planting on the Capitol campus, 

or see one in a photo, think about the men and women who 

toiled to make that bed beautiful, and the versatile truck that 

helped lay down the mulch.
Bridging 

Our Legacy

WRITTEN BY DR. GANELLA SMITH & THOMAS FIELDS 

AGENCY INITIATIVES

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) continues the organizational transformation intended to make 

us more efficient and transparent. In December 2021, the AOC launched a bridge Strategic Plan to 

support this transformation. Over the past year, we’ve laid the groundwork for several key initiatives. Now that the plans for these initiatives have been developed and milestones created, we are 

taking action on these efforts in this Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan will serve as the vehicle to 

manage and track progress. Through these strategic priorities, we will build a safer and more inclusive, transparent, responsive and effective workplace to support the congressional community. 

STRATEGIC GOALS

Our strategic goals remain unchanged and align our efforts to perform our mission, leverage our core competencies, live 

our core values, and pursue our vision during a time of continued growth in facilities, visitors and capital construction.

MAINTAIN

AWE-INSPIRING FACILITIES

The AOC’s mission centers on our stewardship 

of the structures and grounds of the nation’s 

Capitol. We must ensure every visitor to 

Capitol Hill experiences the grandeur of these 

architectural treasures at their very best.

PROVIDE 

EXTRAORDINARY SERVICES

We support our prestigious tenants in their mission 

to govern our country. We fulfill the journey of 

visitors to celebrate and discover the symbol of 

American democracy. Our internal and external 

services are equally essential in the successful 

fulfillment of our mission, values and vision.

OPERATE

AS ONE TEAM, DEDICATED 

TO ONE MISSION

We support the success of others by 

prioritizing the AOC’s mission, values, vision 

and goals ahead of the interests of any 

individual, work group or business unit.

FOSTER

AN INNOVATIVE AND 

EMPOWERED WORKFORCE

An empowered workforce will exercise 

greater responsibility for its performance 

and proactively apply well-informed 

judgment and innovation to solve problems 

with solutions that focus on results.

22 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 THOLOS | VOLUME 22 23
HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

The Human Capital Strategy (HCS) initiative aims to attract, recruit and acquire a highly skilled and diverse workforce 

to meet our current and future mission needs — so where we have open positions that need to be filled, we are filling 

positions quickly with the right staff who will be a great addition to the AOC team. Through the HCS, we will also 

expand professional development opportunities to enhance employee skills, maximize their performance and “grow 

our own.” This initiative will also strengthen employee engagement and support employee well-being by providing a 

way to assist employees with connecting their needs with opportunities to meet those needs. These efforts will help 

the AOC retain its most valued asset — our dedicated and hardworking staff.

AOC UNIVERSITY

Once established and at full operating capacity, AOC University will foster individual and organizational learning and 

knowledge that drives business results and supports AOC employees in achieving their career goals. AOC University will 

support the growth and retention components of the HCS by providing opportunities for all employees to strengthen 

their skills based on a professional career path and on learning goals that support the AOC’s mission. AOC University 

demonstrates that agency leadership is committed to prioritizing the growth and development of all AOC employees.

ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) will monitor assets allowing us to optimize asset performance in service of cost 

reduction. EAM will help us to address out-of-date assets more effectively, which will help us to restore reliability and 

reduce acute and long-term costs; specifically, EAM will provide the AOC with a system to forecast asset and resource 

needs and requirements so that we have what we need to better address facilities maintenance and capital renewal. 

Simply put, we will be unified in our approach to tracking what we have, the usefulness of our assets, whether they 

are up-to-date or need to be attended to, etc. EAM will maximize return on investment, assets and scheduled maintenance while helping the AOC prioritize work. EAM will simplify tasks by eliminating redundancy and human error. 

The AOC will achieve industry standards and best business practices as identified by the International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) 55000 standard of asset management objectives.

BUILDING OFFICIAL

The AOC Building Official program will provide central oversight, ensuring process consistency and compliance with 

nationally recognized construction and infrastructure codes and standards. All facility construction efforts will undergo 

plan reviews, construction inspections and construction acceptance testing. The Building Official will also document 

code compliance with building permits, certificates of completion and certificates of occupancy. After more fully staffing the office that will oversee and run the program, the goal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 is to conduct 10 pilot programs 

for issuing design review, construction and occupancy permits. The results of these pilot programs will inform policy 

and process development. Building Official-related policy is expected to be published by the end of the fiscal year. Key 

performance indicators for the Building Official program won’t be tracked until FY 2023, however additional goals for 

this year can be found in the full Strategic Plan. 

ARCHITECT’S STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

The Architect’s Strategic Initiatives (ASI) serve as strategic objectives to the agency’s strategic goals. 

Accomplishing these initiatives is critical toward building an agile, safe, inclusive and responsive AOC.

24 THOLOS | VOLUME 22
VISION 2100, CAPITOL COMPLEX MASTER PLAN AND STRATEGIC PLAN

Vision 2100, the Capitol Complex Master Plan (CCMP) and the AOC Strategic Plan together set forth a vision for the 

Capitol complex and align resource allocation and prioritization decisions to achieve that vision. These three interdependent initiatives each have goals and key performance indicators for this fiscal year.

For Vision 2100, the AOC intends to complete a vision for the Capitol complex physical space early this spring. A key 

aspect of our Vision 2100 FY 2022 goals includes ensuring that we clearly communicate what Vision 2100 proposes. 

We will also begin the first phase of the CCMP, which is being developed this fiscal year. The initiative lead and their 

staff are hard at work shaping what these two interdependent components will look like and how they impact the 

agency. There are many agency employees providing feedback on this effort; we are so grateful for such significant 

AOC employee involvement. 

This three-part initiative also includes the Strategic Plan. As of December 2021, we have a bridge Strategic Plan in 

place for FY 2022–FY 2025. It is called a bridge plan because it continues our previous strategic goals while focusing 

on strategic initiatives that are fundamental to transforming the organization. Our next step is to publish the FY 2022 

Agency Strategic Performance Plan, which provides a road map for executing the AOC’s Strategic Plan and holds us 

accountable. 

ALIGNING THE ARCHITECT’S STRATEGIC 

INITIATIVES WITH THE AOC’S STRATEGIC GOALS

Our current bridge Strategic Plan aligns the ASIs with the agency’s strategic goals. Again, these goals and objectives have not 

changed from our previous Strategic Plan. Strategic goals communicate the overall objectives for accomplishing the AOC’s 

mission and vision. Simply put — they identify what the AOC is striving to accomplish, and they are intended to help keep us 

focused. Our strategic goals align with our strategic objectives and initiatives as shown in the figure below: 

Please visit Compass for periodic updates and for more information on these agency initiatives. 

Thank you for your commitment to safety and the AOC mission to serve, preserve and inspire. 

MAINTAIN

AWE-INSPIRING

FACILITIES

OPERATE

AS ONE TEAM, 

DEDICATED 

TO ONE 

MISSION

PROVIDE 

EXTRAORDINARY 

SERVICES

INNOVATIVE

AND EMPOWERED

WORKFORCE

Cultural Behavior 

Transformation

EAM

AOC University Human Capital 

Strategy

Building Official Vision 2100, 

CCMP, Strat Plan

THOLOS | VOLUME 22 25
26 THOLOS

| VOLUME 22

KUDOS 

to YOU

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

The Architect of the Capitol recently recognized the following employees for their 

exceptional service in meeting our mission to serve, preserve and inspire.

Sarah Billington 

Stevan Boozer

Sean Bowman

Tiara Boyd

Debra Brown

Karen Buckler

Teri Cartledge 

Jamilah Charles

Patrick Connor

John Deubler 

Pete Ferentinos 

Jason Fuentes 

Terra Gaines

Sharon Harrison

Sherita Holt

John Jenifer 

Erin Jordan

Brian Klein 

Marc Kochenderfer 

Vernon Miller 

James Myers

Marvin Norris 

James O’Keefe

Joe Okes

Beth Plemmons

Mark Reed

Angela Reinhardt

Justine Ridore

Larry Sizemore 

Kenneth Vereen

Bernard Warnowicz

Jeremy Wiles

Lori Williams 

Alesia Wubben

Photo by Thomas Hatzenbuhler THOLOS

| VOLUME 22 27
28 THOLOS | VOLUME 22

Legislative and Public Affairs

U.S. Capitol, Room SB-16

Washington, DC 20515

THOLOS VOLUME 22

The Architect of the Capitol strives 

to meet its mission 24 hours a day, 

365 days a year to serve Congress 

and the Supreme Court, preserve

America’s Capitol, and inspire 

memorable experiences for all who 

visit the buildings and grounds.

Tholos is distributed by the Architect 

of the Capitol primarily for AOC 

employees. Questions regarding 

content and publication should be 

directed to AOC Legislative and Public 

Affairs at communications@aoc.gov, 

202.228.1793, or U.S. Capitol, Room 

SB-16, Washington, DC 20515.

JOIN AOC ONLINE:

Twitter.com/uscapitol 

Facebook.com/architectofthecapitol 

Instagram.com/uscapitol 

YouTube.com/uscapitol 

www.aoc.gov

Front & Back Cover Photos By: 

Thomas Hatzenbuhler