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Friday, December 15, 2017

LANL personnel change

The C student is promoting the Ds In order to prove that he is the new maximo leader Terry Wallace has appointed a whole list of people to positions according to the Peter principle. Incoming Lab Director announces transition personnel changes December 13, 2017 As part of his transition to Laboratory Director, Terry Wallace, principal associate director for Global Security (PADGS), has announced some staff appointments and organizational changes. Director’s Office Heading the appointments in the Director’s Office is Carolyn Zerkle, associate director for Business Innovation (ADBI), who will become the new Executive Director in the Director’s Office and have management oversight of the Laboratory’s institutional leaders. Current Executive Director, Dave Lyons, will rejoin Weapons Physics (ADX) as a Deputy Director within the US/UK Program Office. Other personnel announcements in the Director’s office include: Executive Office Manager: Jackie Valdez Director’s Executive

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not one of those staff would make it to Division Leader under Hecker, who was the last Lab Director with scientific chops. Now they are the top of the top in running the whole show. Very sad end to a great place to work for most of a 40 year career.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn Zerkle, is the not brightest person, a horrible manager and is ethically challenged to say the least. Pretty sad overall.

Anonymous said...


God, there is all sorts of baggage with Zerkle, all you have to is type in her name and LLNL and there is endless stuff. I guess they are going out with a bang, what are the odds that this will end up with one more LANL scandal before it is done?
Below is just a few posts.

"LANL has a philosophy of rarely settling to dissuade lawsuits. Tapia has/had close ties to Marquez who resigned suddenly after allegations he was a secret vendor to the Lab. Carolyn Zerkle an associate director has close ties to Tapia and directed that Tapia be placed in a senior management position in procurement, and he had zero skill sets for that position. He was selected based on his relationship with Marquez and Zerkle, who was once Marquez's deputy. If this sounds like a soap opera, then you are right. This house of cards headed by Marquez next was Zerkle, then Tapia and lastly Albert Jiron. The four were pretty inseparable on and off the job. So far 2 have gone down and the fates of the other two is TBD.

You can read the entire complaint on NM courts John Tapia v LANS
December 21, 2016 at 8:42 PM"
Well, the FBI needs to start from the top. Rich Marquez had two IT companies and was filtering contracts through Carolyn Zerkle (AD), John Tapia (Deputy Division Leader/Procurement) and Albert Giron, (one of the Division Leaders for IT). Four IT Division are under Carolyn Zerkle. Rich Marquez did not suddenly retire but was forced too! John Tapia is currently under investigation for several federal violations. Time Fraud was one. The other two hopefully are also being investigated.

In addition to John Tapia, another one of Rich Marquez's protege's is Carolyn Zerkle, a top ranking management official at LANS, the one that an earlier blogger characterized as holding hands with Craig Leisure when McMillan announced losing the contract.

Carolyn is known for having the Zerkle circle, a group of employees who are in her inner circle, kind of a like a high school girl clique where Carolyn is the head cheerleader I guess. There is reportedly a unique email distribution for these individuals with a LANL.gov address.

Her Zerkle circle is comprised of many underqualified employees. One of them is Albert Jiron, a former school teacher who during his career at LANL, including chief of staff to Richard Marquez, has been recycled through a multitude of "acting" leadership roles. He once managed procurement during the time of the procurement fraud waste and abuse. He is now an acting division leader paid a high salary exceeding $200K and for which his own management team and technical staff openly asks that he (Albert) remain in his office making coffee since that is the limit of his skill set.

Anonymous said...

Zerkle is not the only problem. Publish the entire list of changes. Do you see any patterns? What a sad end to UC.

Anonymous said...

Wallace is fulfilling all his "campaign" promises that he made to folks before he became the Acting Director. All those folks he promoted shouldn't get too comfortable with their new titles, raises, new furniture, benefits, perks, etc., because come May 2018 the new contractor will insert all the new managers that will reverse ALL of Wallace's changes he's making.

Anonymous said...

How could Kim Budil, who is an excellent scientist, allow this Wallace guy to become director.
Maybe she has no say in the matter?

OhNoNotAgain! said...

Can someone please post the full
List of personnel changes? The posting seems to cut off.

Anonymous said...

2:49pm nailed it. There has been a long-time club of Marquez related support side managers, who are in management per having zero marketable skills. Once in management, you just go to meetings, and repeat what the workers have told you to say. HR, ASM, CFO prime examples.

Anonymous said...

Incoming Lab Director announces personnel changes
December 13, 2017

As part of his transition to Laboratory Director, Terry Wallace, principal associate director for Global Security (PADGS), has announced some staff appointments and organizational changes.
Director’s Office

Heading the appointments in the Director’s Office is Carolyn Zerkle, associate director for Business Innovation (ADBI), who will become the new Executive Director in the Director’s Office and have management oversight of the Laboratory’s institutional leaders. Current Executive Director, Dave Lyons, will rejoin Weapons Physics (ADX) as a Deputy Director within the US/UK Program Office.

Other personnel announcements in the Director’s office include:

Executive Office Manager: Jackie Valdez
Director’s Executive Assistant: Sim Martinez
Executive Director’s Executive Assistant: Liana Lovato
Deputy Director Rick Kacich’s Executive Assistant: Charlene Martinez
Deputy Director Scott Gibbs' Executive Assistant: Belinda Martinez

In addition, Duncan McBranch, the Chief Technology Officer and Sue Harris, the Director of Human Resources will become direct reports to the Director’s Office as institutional leaders; Steve Renfro, deputy principal associate director for Capital Projects, will serve as acting ADBI. All the Director's Office announcements are effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Principal Associate Director for Global Security (PADGS)

Wallace has appointed Nancy Jo Nicholas to become Principal Associate Director for Global Security (PADGS) effective December 4, 2017. For the month of December, she will be dual hatted and continue to be the Associate Director for Threat Identification and Response (ADTIR).

Other personnel announcements in GS effective Jan. 1, 2018 include:

Associate Director for Threat Identification and Response (ADTIR): Evelyn Mullen
Deputy Associate Director (DAD) in ADTIR with focus on operations: Raeanna Sharp-Geiger
DAD for ADTIR/ Field Intelligence Element (FIE) Director: Jon Schoonover
Program Director for Intelligence and Emerging Threats Program Office (GS-IET): Eric Dors
Chief Technology Officer (moving under Director’s Office): Duncan McBranch

Note: Feynman Center for Innovation (FCI) will remain in PADGS, reporting to the PADGS Office.
Associate Director for Environmental, Safety and Health (ADESH)

Personnel changes in ADESH effective Jan. 1, 2018 include:

Deputy Associate Director (DAD) in ADESH: John Bretzke
Environmental Protection and Compliance Division Leader: Ben Roberts
Deputy Group Leader for Environmental Protection and Compliance-Waste Management Programs Group (EPC-WMP): Tammy Diaz

updated 12/18/17 7:32 AM

Anonymous said...

Carolyn Zerkle and Company may leave their titles, new furniture, benefits, perks, etc. but they get to retire with their current salary which includes this raise. Very strategic!

Anonymous said...


What I don't get is why would he even make these changes? Seems like a lot of change for such short time which is probably cause more harm than good. What is the motive other than a bunch of favors?

A few questions, what is a Chief Technology Officer? What is institutional leader? The title of some of these things is just crazy "Executive Director’s Executive Assistant:" what the hell is that.

"deputy principal associate director " What the heck do these people do?

A few years back Charlie made some remarks about trying to reduce the number of managers, I think he got rid of two but shortly after created several more not the long afterword. In some other meetings he said that the amount of management was a problem but did nothing about it. Hopefully the however gets the next contract will cleans the system of this massive amount of bizarro management that grown like weed over the last 12 years.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn Zerkle and Company may leave their titles, new furniture, benefits, perks, etc. but they get to retire with their current salary which includes this raise. Very strategic!

December 18, 2017 at 2:50 PM

Keep on following the money....Wallace

Anonymous said...

Why does LANS need Human Resources (HR) if they have relegated to non-competitive appointments outside of the Lab hiring policy? Perhaps LANS should just cancel all Laboratory Policies?

Anonymous said...

The Executive Assistant to the Executive is his secretary. However, they really are Professional Staff Assistants [PSAs]. They are salaried positions in the "professional" category, not hourly, and do not get overtime. Each is assigned one executive and they back each other up. In the DIR's office there is enough work to go around. These people keep the logistical day-to-day "wheels on the bus" moving.

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile, at the worker-bee level, where the bus wheels meet the road,the harried Group Admin (Hourly), burdened with the demands of 2 or 3 groups of tiresome scientists, engineers, and technologists, is struggling to make ends meet ...

OhNoNotAgain! said...

FYI, the PSAs and the admins are the same. Both are "worker-bees" burdened with the whims of the many high-maintenance staff and management. No question about it.

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