Personnel Security

Introduction  

The Office of Law Enforcement and Security’s Personnel Security Office services the fourteen Bureaus/Offices within the department and provides advice, guidance, leadership, and oversight over DOI’s personnel security functions. In addition to the following: 

  • Ensuring through oversight that appropriate background investigations are conducted and adjudicated for all applicable Department positions for both Federal employees and contractor or other non-Federal employee individuals. 

  • Process pre-appointment waiver packets for Interim Top Secret national security clearances, and Non-Critical/Critical Sensitive positions. 

  • Administers personnel security appeal processes and administrative hearings for employees whose security clearances have been denied. 

  • Serves as liaison between other Federal agencies Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and Office of Personnel Management (OPM). 

Contact Information 

LeeAnne Sine 
Personnel Security Specialist  
Office of Law Enforcement and Security 
U.S. Department of the Interior 
1849 C Street, NW (Room 3425) 
Washington D.C. 20240 
(202) 256-0993 – Office / Mobile 
leeanne_sine@ios.doi.gov

Charlena Stephens 
Personnel Security Specialist  
Office of Law Enforcement and Security 
U.S. Department of the Interior 
1849 C Street, NW (Room 3425) 
Washington D.C. 20240 
(202) 208-5173 - Office 
(202) 403-4205 - Mobile 
charlena_stephens@ios.doi.gov  

DOI Office/Bureau Security Officers 

All bureaus within the Department are responsible for providing the following services: pre-employment processing, PIV credentialing, suitability and fitness adjudications, security adjudications, reinvestigations, and security clearance processing. 

Indian Affairs (AS-IA) 

Jennifer Harris 
Personnel Security Specialist 
1011 Indian School Road, NW (Suite 273) 
Albuquerque, NM 78104 
Can be contacted via teams. 
jenniferd.harris@bia.gov 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

Robin Jones 
Personnel Security Specialist 
1011 Indian School Road, NW (Suite 157) 
Albuquerque, NW 78104 
(505) 419-9040 - Mobile 

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 

James Bartlett 
Personnel Security Specialist 
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 
1011 Indian School Road NW, (Suite 150) 
Albuquerque, NW 78104 
(505) 563-3782 - Mobile 
james.bartlett@bia.gov 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Nicole Wilemon 
Chief, Office of Security Operations 
Denver Federal Center, Bldg 50 
Denver, CO 80225-0047 
(303) 236-4002 - Office 
(720) 926-7330 - Mobile 
nwilemon@blm.gov 

Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) 

Donna Stevens 
Lead Personnel Security Specialist 
Denver Fed Cntr, P.O. Box 25007, Mail Code 84-57000 
Denver, CO80225-0007 
(303) 445-2930 - Office 
(720) 614-6287 - Mobile 
dstevens@usbr.gov 

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), this office also services the following bureaus: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Office of the Secretary (OS), and Office of Surface Mining (OSM). 

John Kuhn 
Personnel Security Officer 
45600 Woodland Road, MS VAE-PSAB  
Sterling, VA 20166 
(703) 787-1214 - Office 
(571) 536-8441 - Mobile 
john.kuhn@bsee.gov 

Bureau of Trust and Administration (BTFA) 

Richard Garcia 
Personnel Security Specialist 
4400 Masthead Street, NE (Room 1320D) 
Albuquerque, NN 87109 
(505) 816-1496 - Office 
(505) 280-8693 - Mobile 
richard_garcia@btfa.gov 

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 

Katrina Herbert 
Personnel Security Specialist 
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 
5275 Leesburg Pike, MS-BPHC 
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
(703) 358-2079 - Office 
katrina_herbert@fws.gov 

Interior Business Center (IBC)  

This office also services the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

Donessa Gaspar 
Chief, Security & Drug & Alcohol Testing Division 
7401 West Mansfield Ave (D2050) 
Lakewood, CO 802532 
(303) 716-4306 - Office 
(720) 610-5724 - Mobile 
donessa_gaspar@ibc.doi.gov

Nation Park Service (NPS) 

Byron Hill 
Personnel Security Officer 
1849 C Street NW, MS-2243 
Washington, DC 20240 
(404) 406-0527 – Office/Mobile 
byron_hill@nps.gov 

United States Geological Survey (USGS) 

Tony Gendron 
Security Management Branch Chief
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS-250 
Reston, VA 20192 
(703) 648-4468 – Office / Mobile 
tgendron@usgs.gov

United States Park Police (USPP) 

Sarah Shipman 
Personnel Security Specialist 
1100 Ohio Drive, SW 
Washington, DC 20024 
(202) 924-1801- Office/Mobile 
sarah_shipman@nps.gov 

External Partners (OPM, DCSA, ODNI) 

Below are links to other government Departments and Agencies that have a stake in national security and background investigations. These websites offer general reference material and up-to-date news on personnel security vetting in the federal sector. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

OPM Suitability Executive Agent (SuitEA), provides guidance and instruction in accordance with Executive Order 13467, as amended, "Reforming Processes Related to Suitability for Government Employment, Fitness for Contractor Employees, and Eligibility for Access to Classified National Security Information.”  

https://www.opm.gov/ 

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) 

DCSA is the security agency in the federal government dedicated to protecting America’s trusted workforce and trusted workspaces – real or virtual. DCSA joins two essential missions: Personnel Vetting and Critical Technology Protection, supported by Counterintelligence and Training, Education and Certification functions. 

https://www.dcsa.mil/ 

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) 

ODNI, Security Executive Agent (SecEA) is responsible, in accordance with Executive Order 13467, for the development, implementation, and oversight of effective, efficient, and uniform policies and procedures governing the conduct of investigations and adjudications for eligibility for access to classified information and eligibility to hold sensitive position. In the role of SecEA, the responsibilities of the DNI extend beyond the Intelligence Community to cover government-wide personnel security processes.  

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-how-we-work/ncsc-security-executive-agent 

Policy (E.O., CFR's, HSPD-12) – (All Executive Orders will be attached) 

  • Executive Order 10450, Security Requirements for Government Employment, April 27, 1953 Requires that all persons employed in Government departments and agencies be reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and of complete and unswerving loyalty to the United States 

  • Executive Order 12968, Access to Classified Information, August 2, 1995 Establishes a uniform Federal personnel security program for employees who will be considered for initial or continued access to classified. 

  • Executive Order 13467, Reforming Processes Related to Suitability for Government Employment, Fitness for Contractor Employees, and Eligibility for Access to Classified National Security Information, (June 30, 2008). Expanded on IRTPA requirements to further align and guide reform efforts within Government 

  • Executive Order 13488, Granting Reciprocity on Excepted Service and Federal Contractor Employee Fitness and Reinvestigating Individuals in Positions of Public Trust, (January 16, 2009). Complements EO 13467 by further aligning reciprocity to the extent possible between security clearances and Fitness, Public Trust determinations. 

  • 5 CFR, Part 731, Suitability 

  • 5 CFR, Part 736, Personnel Investigations 

  • 5 CFR, part 1400, Designation of National Security Positions 

  • 5 CFR, Part 330.3100, Timing of Suitability Inquiries in Competitive Hiring 

  • HSPD-12, On August 27, 2004, President Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors. This document establishes a mandatory, Government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees, contractors, and "other" or unclassified individuals in an effort to enhance security, reduce identity fraud, and protect personal privacy. 

Trusted   Workforce - The Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, launched in 2018, is a new approach to personnel vetting. This new model will better support agencies' missions by reducing delays in onboarding new employees, increasing workforce mobility, and providing early detection of risks and threats. 

Training (OPM, ODNI and DCSA) 

OPM: 

ODNI: 

Waiver of Pre-Appointment Investigative Process  

A waiver of the pre-appointment investigative requirement for employment in a "sensitive" position may only be made "in case of emergency" provided that such action is necessary in the national interest or increase federal efficiency. This waiver process is for Noncritical/Critical-Sensitive law enforcement positions and/or interim clearances. Waivers are initiated when an applicant's background investigation has not closed or been favorably adjudicated by the servicing Bureau/Office.  

The servicing Bureau/Office Personnel Security Office shall ensure the following checks are conducted, and the pertinent documentation is submitted through their respective Bureau/Office Personnel Security Officer or designee to the head of the bureau/office: 

  1. Review of the person’s investigation form. 

  2. DI 1912, Request for Waiver of Pre-appointment Investigative Requirement for a Critical-Sensitive Position (Illustration 3 of this chapter). 

  3. DI 1990, Pre-appointment Background Check (Illustration 4 of this chapter); and 

  4. Justification for the waiver. 

Please click the link below if you are a bureau within the agency and would like to submit a waiver request. 

Personnel Security Appeals Process  

Unfavorable Security Clearance Determination Due (Appeal) Process 

If a Bureau/Office renders an unfavorable security clearance determination, per E.O. 12968 Access to Classified, the individual has the opportunity to appeal the decision. The individual may appeal the decision to an Administrative Hearing Examiner or waive a personal appearance and elect to have the case reviewed directly by the Personnel Security Appeals Board (PSAB). During the appeal process, the individual against whom an unfavorable security determination has been made shall be given an opportunity to explain, refute, and/or mitigate the actionable information that was used in making the unfavorable determination. After reviewing the case file, the PSAB will render its decision. The decision of the PSAB shall be in writing to the individual and is final. If the PSAB’s decision upholds the security clearance denial or revocation, the individual cannot be reconsidered for a security clearance or assignment of sensitive duties for at least 12 months from the date of the final decision of denial or revocation. 

Due Process for Non-Clearance Adjudications/Decisions 

There are additional factors that can affect an applicant or employee's eligibility for employment other than the consideration of national security, such as credentialing and/or suitability and fitness. There are a variety of policies and regulations in place under which these determinations are made. As well as various procedures that must be followed if an unfavorable decision is made. The adjudicating Bureaus/Offices will notify the appellant of the appeal process and the appeal requirements if an appeal is available. The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) allows individuals to appeal suitability decisions taken per title 5, Chapter 731 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). After the adjudication has been made, the adjudicating office will provide a written notice explaining how to appeal the decision. 

 

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