Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D. Biography - Students

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography1EducationMs. Johari M. Rashad, a native of Washington, D.C., is a three-time scholarship recipient at HowardUniversity, where she received her bachelor’s degree in May 1976 with the following honors: Phi BetaKappa Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society, 3.77 GPA, Who’s Who in AmericanColleges and Universities-1976, Dean’s List, and ranked 10 th out of 434 students in her Liberal Artsgraduating class. She received her Masters degree in Adult Education/Human Resource Developmentfrom the University of the District of Columbia in 1981, graduating with a 4.0 GPA; and she received herPh.D. in Organizational Communication (human communication studies) from Howard in May 1997,graduating with a 3.8 GPA. She earned both her masters and doctoral degrees while working full-time asa Federal employee.Employment HistoryDr. Rashad started her career as a GS-4 clerk-typist with the U.S. Customs Service in July 1976. InFebruary 1977, she accepted a GS-5 position with the U.S. Civil Service Commission (CSC). In 1979, shewas selected to participate in the CSC’s Administrative Intern Program. Upon completion of the oneyearprogram, she became a GS-9 Personnel Management Specialist/instructor in OPM’s PersonnelManagement Training Center (PMTC).As an instructor, she taught a variety of EEO and Personnel Management courses: Introduction toPersonnel Management, Planning for Career Advancement, Using the Federal Personnel Manual,Personnel Management for Supervisors, The Role of Supervisors and Managers in EEO, EEO and theFederal Employee, Career Alternatives After RIF, Affirmative Recruitment (FEORP), Introduction to theFederal EEO Program, Upward Mobility Career Counseling, and Upward Mobility Planning andImplementation. In addition to teaching, she also wrote and/or revised instructor guides, participantmanuals, audio-visual aids and job aids. She was a frequent speaker in other OPM training courses suchas the Federal Women’s Program Managers Workshop and EEO for Advisory Committee Members. In1984, she created the two-day residential Career Enrichment Seminar for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG),which continued to be part of the USCG training program after she left the agency.In January 1986, Dr. Rashad transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard as a GS-13 EmployeeDevelopment Specialist. She taught supervisory personnel management and career developmentcourses nationwide, managed training programs in the Civilian Personnel Policy and Programs Division,and worked on training and development task forces and special projects. On February 17, 1990, shewas cited as a hero of the Coast Guard during the keynote address at the Black history Month Ball. Shewas promoted to GS-14 in March 1990.From July 1990-September 1993, she served as the Chief of Employee Development for theBureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Department of the Interior. From September 1993-December1994, she served on an IPA assignment at Howard University where her work led to the establishment ofa formal partnership between Howard and the BLM that was signed on December 13, 1994. From 1995-June 2000, she worked as a senior training specialist for the BLM; from October – December 1997, sheserved as the Acting Assistant Director for Human Resources Management.In July 2000, Dr. Rashad returned to OPM in a newly-established position of Human ResourceWorkforce Effectiveness Advocate in the Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness, where shewas the project manager for several government-wide initiatives to help transform the Federal humanresources (HR) workforce.

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography2She transferred to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September 2004, as aHuman Resources Specialist. She moved to the Human Resources Policy Division in May 2006, whereshe was a policy writer as well as the EPA national telework coordinator. She served as the actingdirector of the Division from May– August 2007.In March 2010, Dr. Rashad joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whereshe is the Director of the Workforce Programs Division (GS-15 Supervisory HR Specialist) FEMA is in theDepartment of Homeland Security.During her 30+ years of experience in Federal human resources (HR), Dr. Rashad has been atrainer (course developer, instructor, and evaluator), supervisor, program manager, internal consultant(senior training specialist), policy writer, special project team leader/member, and chief of employeedevelopment for a Federal agency.Public Speaking/TeachingDr. Rashad is a nationally known speaker. She has been a motivational/keynote speaker, panelmember, or workshop/seminar leader on diverse topics (EEO, career planning, personal development,employee training and development, personnel management, supervision, women’s issues, officepolitics, mentoring, networking, and communication) on hundreds of programs at Federal and D.C.Government agencies, community, professional (American Society for Training and Development,Toastmasters), and religious organizations, and at national conferences (Women in Science andEngineering, Blacks in Government, Federally Employed Women).She has lectured on career planning at the Washington Saturday College and receives frequentrequests to speak during Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and National Secretaries Week.On January 15, 1992, she was the guest speaker at the U.S. Army’s Annual Martin Luther King Luncheonin Heidelberg, Germany. In 1993, she was a guest speaker for the Central intelligence Agency’s (CIA)personnel management conference. In 1996 and 1998, she was the keynote speaker at the U.S. CoastGuard Reserve Training Center’s Annual Martin Luther King Celebration in Yorktown, Virginia and in1998; she was a guest speaker at the Coast Guard’s Black History Month program in San Juan, PuertoRico.In March 1997, Dr. Rashad was a workshop presenter and the luncheon speaker for the FederallyEmployed Women (FEW) mid-Atlantic Regional Training Program in Williamsburg, Virginia and inOctober 1997, she presented a workshop on career management for the U.S. Secret Service’s CareerPlanning Program. From September 1996-1998, she conducted a monthly career transition workshop atthe Metropolitan Area Re-employment Center. She has presented workshops on “FamilyCommunication” (March 28, 1998) and “Teambuilding for Church Leaders” (July 21, 2001) for the FirstBaptist Church of Glenarden (Maryland).On June 15, 1998, she conducted a workshop entitled: “From Career Paths to Competencies: AnEvolving Model for Re-thinking Career Development in the Federal Government” at the CareerDevelopment in Government Conference and on March 17, 1999, she conducted “Re-thinkingGovernment Careers for the New Millennium” at the Workforce Planning for Government AgenciesConference. In July 2000 and 2003, she presented pre-conference workshops for Interior Departmentemployees attending the FEW Conference, and on April 17, 2001, she was the keynote speaker for theUSDA Graduate School’s 14 th Annual Issues Seminar for Secretaries and Administrative Personnel inWashington, D.C.

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography3From 2000-20003, Dr. Rashad made numerous presentations on HR Workforce Transformationat the Small Agency HR Council Conference, the Bureau of Land Management’s HRM/EEO Conference,the Department of the Navy (NAVAIR) HR Conference, the National Labor Relations Board, theOPM/OMSOE National Business Meeting, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Philadelphia Area StaffingSociety (PASS), the Veterans Administration, the State Department (three briefings), Internal RevenueService’s employee development specialists, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)Washington HR staff, their HR Officers’ Conference (July 2003) and their Assistant RegionalAdministrators’ Conference (August 2003).She also presented workshops on HR Workforce Transformation at two national conferences in2002: the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)’s International Conference andExposition in New Orleans, LA (June 3) and FPMI’s HR/EEO Forum (September 10) in Phoenix, AZ.In December 2004, Dr. Rashad introduced the “Career Power” career management workshop tothe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Starting in February 2005, she conducted numeroussessions for employees in Headquarters and field offices. She also coordinated the certification of 19additional facilitators to deliver the course nationwide. She conducted one of the opening workshopsfor the 2007 Excellence in Government Conference: “Managers’ Career Tune-Up or: Have You Checkedunder the Hood Lately?” (April 4, 2007, Washington, D.C.). On May 28, 2008, she presented a workshopentitled, “Transitioning to a More Diverse Workforce” for the Small Agency Human Resources Council’sTraining Conference (Potomac, MD). On June 3, 2009, she moderated a panel of Federal Chief LearningOfficers (CLOs) at the 2009 ASTD International Conference & Expo (Washington, D.C.) and gave thewelcoming comments during the Closing General Session of the Conference. On May 16, 2010, Dr.Rashad presented a workshop at ASTD’s 2010 International Conference & Expo (Chicago, IL).She has been a member of the National Partnership for Public Service’s Annenberg SpeakersBureau since 2002.Collegiate TeachingFall 2002. Adjunct professor, Southeastern University, Washington, D.C.Public Administration Department (graduate level). Course: “Current Issues inPublic Administration.”January 2005-present. Adjunct professor, Lutheran College Washington Semester, Rosslyn, VA.(undergraduate level). Course: “American Diversity: Issues in Race, Religion and Gender.”Because of her success in teaching this course in the spring semesters, it was added to theschool’s fall semester calendar for 2006.Writing/PublicationsDr. Rashad’s poems, essays, book reviews, and articles have appeared in anthologies, journals,magazines, and The Washington Post newspaper. In 1979, she published a book on Federal job-hunting.She has published three books of poetry: (R)Evolutions (1982) Woman, too (1984); and Steppin’ Overthe Glass: Life Journeys in Poetry and Prose (Evanston Publishing, Inc. 1992), which won first place inthe “women’s issues” category of the Chicago Women in Publishing’s competition (June 1992). InAugust 1992, Dr. Rashad was awarded a grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities andthe National Endowment for the Arts for “Steppin’.”

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography4She has given poetry readings at various festivals and programs in the Washington, D.C. areasince 1975. On November 6, 1982, she produced a two-woman poetry concert at Howard University,which featured her work and that of another poet. The 1985 Mid-Atlantic Women’s Studies Conference(hosted by George Washington University) chose one of her poems as a theme; she presented a paperon Black women’s communication at a poster session at the 9 th annual conference of the Organizationfor the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender at George Mason University in October 1986.She was the Washington, D.C. correspondent for Changing Woman Magazine from 1986-89. Inaddition to her published work, Dr. Rashad has written several unpublished papers ontraining/development and women’s communication. She is included in the 1994 edition ofContemporary Authors. She also wrote the liner notes for “Joe Torregano: A Jazzman at 50,” a CD ofNew Orleans jazz (December 2002).Professionally, she has authored numerous reports, position papers, studies and policies ontraining and employee development, new employee orientation, career development and transition,awards and recognition, performance management, SES sabbaticals, IPA assignments, and other humanresources (HR) topics.Volunteer/Community ServiceWhile an undergraduate student at Howard University, Dr. Rashad was president of the Robert B.McGuire Black Studies Union and was a French tutor at the Study Skills Center. She is a very activevolunteer in the Washington, D.C. community. The D.C. Public Schools awarded her pins and certificatesfor her work as a parent volunteer during 1980-84.Since 1981, Dr. Rashad has been an annual volunteer with the Smithsonian Institution’s Festivalof American Folklife on the National Mall. She was also a Smithsonian volunteer during the first Clinton-Gore Inaugural’s “America’s Reunion on the Mall” (January 1993); for the Smithsonian’s 150 th BirthdayParty on the Mall (August 10-11, 1996); the Smithsonian’s Millennium Celebration (December 1999-January 2000); and during the “First Americans Festival” (September 2004), which celebrated theopening of the National Museum of the American Indian. She has received service pins and certificatesfor her volunteer service, and was highlighted in a Smithsonian book (1998) entitled, “Culture Of, By,and For the People: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, by Dr. Richard Kurin, Smithsonian Under Secretaryfor History, Art and Culture.She was an active volunteer, board member (1985-87) and Vice President for IndividualDevelopment (1988-89) with the Downtown Jaycees from 1983-1990. Starting in August 1990, shebecame a reader/volunteer with the Metropolitan Washington Ear, a radio reading service for the blind.From December 1990-July 1995, she served on the board of directors of Training, Inc. (Washington,D.C.), a non-profit training program that provided clerical and office skills training to unemployed andunder-employed men and women; she financially sponsored the 1992 graduation ceremony andconducted workshops and job evaluations for the students.From 1991-92, she served as a volunteer career counselor for the Washington, D.C.Metropolitan Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). She was elected

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography5Vice President for Career Development (Board of Directors) for Metro-D.C. Chapter of ASTD for 1998; in1999, the Board was awarded ASTD’s Volunteer-Staff Partnership Award; it was presented at the 1999ASTD Annual Conference and Expo (Atlanta, Georgia). Starting in 1999, she served on was a member ofthe Federal Team (FedTeam 2002) that produced the first “Conference-within-a-Conference” for FederalHRD specialists at an ASTD Conference in June 2002. She was the co-chair of the planning team for theexpanded Public Sector CWC at ASTD in Washington, D.C., in May 2004. From 2007-2008, she was amember of ASTD’s Program Advisory Committee for the 2008 International Conference and Expo; from2008-2009, she was the Chairperson of the Program Advisory Committee for the 2009 InternationalConference and Expo in Washington, D.C. (May 31-June 3, 2009).She is a member of the Graduate School’s Human Resource Management Advisory Committee(January 2008 – present).Dr. Rashad is a member of the Federal City Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,a Public Service Sorority; she was the Chapter’s journalist from June 1994 –July 1995.Dr. Rashad is an official mentor for a special group of young professional women and is anunofficial mentor/coach for men and women professionally and personally. From 2002-2005, sheworked as a volunteer with Suited for Change, a non-profit organization that meets the professionalneeds of low-income women seeking employment. In 2009, she began working with Northern VirginiaTraining Futures, a non-profit job-training program.In May 2009, Dr. Rashad established, funded, and presented the first Annual Afro-AmericanStudies Alumni Association Awards for graduating seniors in the Afro-American Studies Department ofHoward University, Washington, D.C.Dr. Rashad is also an active leader in her church, where she has held three offices, served on thechurch board, participates in other ministries, and is president of one of the church choirs. With churchapproval and with publicity from local TV, radio, newspaper, and the Internet, she has been conductingfree (4-hour) Federal Resume and Job Search Workshops for job-seeking residents in the Washington,D.C. Metro area since 2004. In January 2010, she established a Job Support Ministry at her church. Shefrequently meets with members of the public after weekly church services to review their Federalresumes and to provide advice and guidance on their Federal job search strategies.Dr. Rashad is profiled in the “I am Public Service: Great Work in Our Own Words” tribute toFederal employees (2009, http://www.iampublicservice.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/iam-public-service-final.pdf.)Current Professional AffiliationsAmerican Association of University Women (Member-at-large)American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) – Member, National ChapterAmerican Society for Training and Development (ASTD) – ICE 2008 Program Advisory Committeemember (2007- 2008 ); Chairperson, ICE 2009 Program Advisory Committee (2008 - 2009 )

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography6 Federal Managers Association (Member, 2010 -) George Mason University Career Network (Member, 2002 - ) Human Resource Development (HRD) Legislative & Policy Committee, U.S. Office of PersonnelManagement (OPM) (2004 – 2006) Human Resources Management Advisory Committee, Graduate School (2008- ) International Public Management Association-Human Resources (IPMA-HR) (Member, 2009 -) Mid-Atlantic Telework Advisory Council (Member, 2006-2007) Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) (Member, National Chapter, circa 2000 - )Community/Civic Awards (Partial List)American Society for Training and Development (ASTD): Dr. Rashad and the Federal Team(FedTeam) that produced the first “Conference-within-a-Conference” for Federal HRD specialistsat the 2002 ASTD Conference were awarded ASTD’s Volunteer-Staff Partnership Award (2002) atthe 2003 ASTD Annual Conference and Expo (San Diego, California).Dr. Rashad and the Metro-DC ASTD Chapter Board of Directors she served on were awarded theASTD Volunteer-Staff Partnership Award (1998) at the 1999 ASTD Annual Conference and Expo(Atlanta, Georgia).Washington, D.C. Public Schools: Pins for Volunteer Service.Downtown Jaycees: Exceptional Service Award (1984); Outstanding Service Award (1985); andthe President’s Distinguished Service Award (1987); selected “Jaycee of the Month” for July 1987and January 1988.Smithsonian Institution: Pins and certificates for 30 years of volunteer service. The Training Officers Conference: Distinguished Award for Community Service (June 11, 1996).Business/Professional Awards (Partial List)U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Special Act Award for successfully introducing and conducting the “CareerPower” workshops in the agency (September 2005); Special Act Award forsuccessfully coordinating the writing and on-time submission of EPA’sCooperative Conservation Competencies Plan (June 2006); performanceAward (May 2007); Special Act Award (September 2007); performanceAward (July 2008); Meritorious Service Award-Bronze medal & plaque(December 2008); “Time-off Award” (March 2009); performance award (September2009); performance award (March 2010).

Ms. Johari Mahasin Rashad, Ph.D.Biography7U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)Two (2) Sustained Superior Performance Awards (November 2000, September2001); two (2) Special Act Awards (November 2001, May 2002); PerformanceAward (December 2002); three (3) Time-Off” Awards (May 2002, February 2003,January 2004).U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)“Thanks a Million” Award from DOT Secretary Norman Mineta (August 2002).Department of the Interior (DOI)On-the-Spot” Award (1996); DOI Citation (May 1997) for serving on the teamthat developed the DOI Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP); SuperiorService Award (June 2000).Bureau of Land Management (BLM)Special Achievement Award for community service (1992); two (2) SpecialAchievement awards (1995, 1996); “On-the-Spot” Award (1996); nominated for a“Women in Public Leadership Award” (1997); two (2) Special AchievementAwards (1997).(October 21, 2010)