The Enterprise Risk Management office was created in 2010 by former CIO Roger Baker. In a memo data Oct. 22, 2010, Baker described the enterprise risk program as “clearly distinct from the security risk program.” But VA sources said they were confused by the hiring of Burnette because she has little or no background in risk management.
“Everyone wondered about this,” said a VA source with detailed knowledge of the agency’s security office. “It looked like first she was hired to do some kind of acquisition review.”
An internal VA organizational chart depicting the positions that make up the Enterprise Risk Management office.That’s because Burnette’s entire career before joining VA was spent in contracting and acquisitions, including a stint as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Commercial Acquisitions at the General Services Administration.
But Burnette is no stranger to congress. As the former FEMA deputy director of acquisition for Gulf Coast Recovery efforts during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Burnette came under fire for her oversight of billions of dollars in relief funds that went to over-priced temporary shelters, nearly $10 million for blue tarps and no-bid contracts.
Today, Burnette remains somewhat of a mystery to those VA sources contacted by FedScoop. “No one has any idea what she does and where her office is,” one source said.
Burnette’s LinkedIn profile lists her location as Lafayette, Louisiana. During a 2006 hearing on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, Burnette refers to herself several times as a career contracting and procurement professional.
A VA source who spoke to FedScoop on background said although Burnette’s career has been focused on procurement and acquisition, “Tina is a very strong and capable manager and has made [ERM] a functional office” for the first time since it was create. Members of the senior executive service “are managers first, not subject matter experts and therefore should be able to step into any office and manage,” the source said.
VA sources also said Landfried has announced her resignation and her last day is July 18th. Landfried’s departure is seen as part of a larger exodus of SES-level executives who fear new legislation by Congress that would make it easier to fire individuals for not performing. “In a couple of years, the lack of qualified SES [managers] at VA will be a story worth covering,” the source said.
