Leadership
The Director has oversight of privacy policy matters and information disclosure policy, including compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Records Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Electronic Communications Privacy Act, OMB Circular A-130, Government Paperwork Reduction Act and the completion of Privacy Impact Assessments on all new programs, as required. The Director manages enterprise processes designed to incorporate privacy in the development processes used to build all VA information systems. The Director also confirms that privacy is embedded in the information systems that involve personal data through the privacy impact assessment process.
The Director for Privacy and Records Management is also responsible for providing leadership direction and for collaborating with other key representatives in the department to ensure that all privacy issues are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner. In addition, the Director plans, controls, directs, organizes, trains, promotes and conducts other managerial activities involved with respect to records creation, records maintenance and use, and records disposition in order to achieve adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal government and effective and economical management of agency operations (44 U.S.C. 2901(2)).
Director, Office of Privacy and Records Management
Mr. F. John. Buck, Jr., is currently the Director, Office of Privacy and Records Management (OPRM). He was nominated for the Director, OPRM in FY’11, after serving as the Director, Privacy Service, since FY’08. He was selected for that position because of his extensive knowledge and experience in supervising enterprise-wide privacy initiatives, strategic budget planning, and human resource management.
Director, Freedom of Information Act Service
Jim Horan serves as Director of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Service which responds to requests for records from Veterans, their family, the media and other citizens under the FOIA. The Department of Veterans Affairs receives between 25,000 and 30,000 FOIA requests per year and is mandated to respond to those requests within 20 days.
Director, Privacy Service
LaShaunné G. David serves as Director of the VA Privacy Service, where she leads department-wide efforts to embed privacy considerations in VA policy, program planning, operations and stakeholder communication; and advises on matters having privacy impact.
Director, Enterprise Records Service
Samuel T. Nichols, Jr. joined the VA in 2007 as a Management Analyst in the office of OI&T.; He assumed his position as the Director, Enterprise Records Service in 2009 and at which time he was still serving in the Army at the rank of Brigadier General.
Director, Incident Resolution Service Team
Since December 2011, Ken Hartmann serves as the Director of the Incident Resolution Service Team (IRST) where he oversees and directs the handling of all Privacy and Security related incidents that are entered into the Privacy and Security Events Tracking System (PSETS) on a national level. Ken ensures that all decisions on Privacy and Security related incidents are dealt with in a timely manner and are in accordance with Federal and VA-specific incident resolution guidelines.
