Resume: Karen Edwards

June 1999 to Present: Business Manager, Pegasus Technologies, Inc. Serve as human resources manager, handle contracting, major capital purchases, and procurement of day-to-day supplies; building management issues, all financial matters, marketing/advertising issues, and serve as webmaster for Pegasus Technologies' websites (sss-mag.com/rfss/index.html and www-pegasustech.com.

October 20, 2000 - Present: Webmaster, Spread Spectrum Scene Online ( sss-mag.com), a deep-content website serving the professional wireless/RF engineering community. This website, which also provides an advertising medium for Pegasus Technologies, Inc., has over 400 pages, approximately 3,000 visitors/48,000 hits a day, has won numerous awards and consistently places at the top of the list on search terms related to our areas of interest.

October 1, 1996 - July 2003: Consultant assignments with various Department of Energy offices (Headquarters, Office of River Protection, Oak Ridge Operations, Savannah River Operations, and Albuquerque Operations) and DOE contractors, including Westinghouse, Bechtel Jacobs, BNFL, and others. Assignments were related to implementation of integrated safety management systems, including development of standards and standards systems; contractual standards systems; compliance management systems and projects; development and implementation of a new DOE directives system; Price Anderson Act implementation planning and enforcement; exemptions to directives; and general standards and safety management.

September 1991 to September 1996: Leader, Directives Management Group, Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Originally detailed in September 1991 as leader of a temporary task force formed to advise Oak Ridge management on how to develop and implement "management by standards"– a sweeping philosophical change from the "management by experts" concept that had previously been in place within DOE. Because of concerns over major safety issues, DOE's oversight agency, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), mandated this change for all DOE offices. Because of my initial success with the task force in working with DOE Headquarters and contractors to develop processes that would work to improve efficiency, I was asked to head up a permanent directives management group in spring 1992.

During the next four years, I directed a staff of 19 (with a budget of $750,000 a year) in providing strategic planning, expert advice, technical consultation, guidance, program management, leadership, and direction for developing and implementing standards and directives policies for the Oak Ridge complex. One of my main roles was to work with Headquarters in developing sensible and integrated DOE-wide processes, and then to implement those policies at Oak Ridge. I served on a wide variety of special DOE-wide boards and committees relating to standards management, such as: charter Member of the Departmental Standards Committee chaired by Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health Dr. Tara O'Toole; the Implementation Planning Committee for Integrated Safety Management (DNFSB Recommendation 95-2); the Rules Implementation Steering Group, the Directives System Improvement Project, and the Standards Identification and Compliance Assessment Steering Group (DNFSB Recommendation 90-2).

On the local side, I Served as Contracting Officer's Representative for standards matters for ORO's three multi-billion dollar Management and Operating Contracts and for a number of smaller contracts. This included development and implementation of systems for establishing integrated management systems and applicable environment, safety, and health standards through the Hammer Award-winning Work Smart Standards Process. Responsible for coordination, review and approval of contractor implementation plans for specific Orders and DOE Price-Anderson Rules. Served as project leader for ORO and contractor Order compliance activities under Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 90-2. As Directives System Manager and Technical Standards Manager, was responsible for an 89% reduction, system overhaul, and major update of the ORO directives system. Formed and chaired a joint ORO-contractor working group that developed Oak Ridge standards management policies and processes. Through my staff, provided analytical and editorial services for all DOE-wide directives and guides through arrangement with HQ.

Received a high-quality step increase, 5 performance awards, an exceptional service award, three Secretarial commendations, a Vice-Presidential Hammer award, and a plaque of appreciation from Assistant Secretary O'Toole.

July 1974 to September 1991: Supervisory Personnel Management Specialist and Personnel Management Specialist, Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations, Oak Ridge, TN. Seventeen years experience in all areas of personnel, 10 years as a supervisor. Major responsibilities included manpower planning, organizational analysis, labor relations (served as management's chief spokesman for the negotiation of two initial labor contracts covering all Federal employees in Oak Ridge, and handled all grievances, arbitrations, and day-to-day dealings with the unions), special projects, staffing, employee relations including serving as employee assistance counselor and drug testing program coordinator, and position classification. Was active in DOE-wide policy-setting initiatives relating to all personnel areas, and spent 3 months on special detail to Headquarters developing labor relations policy for DOE-wide application. Received numerous performance awards in this position.

National Security Agency
Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland

June 1971 - June 1974: Russian Linguist. Duties included written and oral translation, analysis, and cryptology. Received two outstanding performance appraisals and a letter of commendation. Shortly before leaving NSA, passed the difficult professional linguist exams in both translation and transcription.