1. MS. V KOHSE, FORMER DIRECTOR KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, WILL RETIRE ON 31 MARCH 2018, AFTER A 32 YEAR CAREER IN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. MS. V KOHSE JOINED THE PUBLIC SERVICE IN 1986 LEAVING HER JOB WITH ESSO AS A CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER IN CALGARY AND SOON MOVED TO OTTAWA.
2. SOON AFTER DISCOVERING THERE WERE NO OIL COMPANIES IN OTTAWA, SHE SEGUED HER MASTER OF LIBRARY SCIENCE DEGREE AND EXPERIENCE AS A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN AT ESSO INTO A CONTRACT LIBRARIAN POSITION WITH THE MINISTRY OF STATE FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, EVENTUALLY BECOMING A MANAGER IN INFORMATION SERVICES. WHILE THERE, MS. V KOHSE AND HER TEAM WON A GTEC AWARD FOR THE BUSINESS START-UP ASSISTANT, AN ONLINE BUSINESS PLANNING TOOL, AND THE AGATHA BYSTRAM AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.
3. IN 2000, SHE MOVED TO THE SOLICITOR GENERAL OF CANADA, WORKING FOR HER MENTOR MS. EVA PLUNKETT, AND JUMPED ON THE GOVERNMENT ONLINE BANDWAGON – CREATING THE PUBLIC SAFETY PORTAL AND SIMON THE SAFETY BEAVER, A MASCOT FOR THE PORTAL. SHE BECAME AN EXECUTIVE THAT SAME YEAR.
4. MS. V KOHSE’S CAREER TOOK ANOTHER TURN IN 2001 WHEN THE SOLICITOR GENERAL BECAME PART OF THE NEWLY CREATED PUBLIC SAFETY CANADA. MS. V KOHSE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING A SINGLE CORPORATE SERVICES ORGANIZATION ACROSS THE THREE FOUNDING DEPARTMENTS AND ESTABLISHING AND FILLING THE ROLE OF CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO) AT PUBLIC SAFETY. IN THIS CAPACITY, SHE DEVELOPED THE CIO ORGANIZATION, IMPLEMENTED RDIMS ACROSS 26 REGIONAL OFFICES AND IMPROVED THE SECURITY POSTURE OF THE AGENCY.
5. READY FOR BIGGER CHALLENGES, MS. V KOHSE TRANSFERRED TO DND IN 2009 AS CHIEF OF STAFF FOR MR. MICHEL LESSARD, DIRECTOR GENERAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY (DGIMT). WHILE THERE SHE MANAGED THE TRANSFER OF STAFF AND RESOURCES TO SHARED SERVICES CANADA (SSC).
6. BUT SHE SOON RETURNED TO HER ROOTS IN 2012 BY TAKING ON THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR AT DIRECTOR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT POLICY AND STANDARDS (DIMPS) WITH THE AIM OF PUTTING THE “IM BACK IN THE IM GROUP”. THIS INCLUDED OVERSEEING THE RECORDKEEPING INITIATIVE AND THE CREATION OF THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENTAL INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FRAMEWORK, NEW IM TRAINING, THE DIGITIZATION OF PAPER DOCUMENTS, AND GCDOCS IMPLEMENTATION. HER WORK CULMINATED WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECTOR KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (DKIM) IN 2014 TO LEAD THE DND/CAF IM PROGRAM. THIS SET THE STAGE FOR THE CREATION AND STAFFING OF THE EXPANDED DKIM ORGANIZATION IN 2018. WHILE WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE IN LINKING DATA AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, ADOPTING E-SIGNATURES MORE BROADLY AND ALIGNING WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA DIGITAL STRATEGY, THERE IS NOW A STRONG TEAM IN PLACE AT DKIM TO MANAGE THESE CHALLENGES!
7. IN LIFE AFTER WORK, MS. V KOHSE WILL CONTINUE TO ENJOY HER VARIOUS INTERESTS. SUCH AS TEACHING FITNESS AND CHAIR YOGA, BECOMING MORE INVOLVED IN NATURE CONSERVANCY AND WILDLIFE RESCUE, AS WELL AS EXPLORING MORE OF CANADA, ESPECIALLY THE NORTH, ON FOOT AND BY CANOE, AND EVEN LEARNING TO PLAY THE BAGPIPES.
8. AND WHILE ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF HER DAUGHTER AND SON, MS. V KOHSE WILL CONTINUE TO TRAVEL TO VISIT FAMILY AND FRIENDS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
9. SO IT IS WITH GREAT APPRECIATION AND GOOD WISHES THAT HER STAFF AND COLLEAGUES IN ADM (IM) CONGRATULATE MS. V KOHSE AND SEE HER OFF ON A WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT.
10. A RECEPTION WILL BE HELD FOR MS. V KOHSEAT THE CROW’S NEST AT THE HMCS BYTOWN AT 78 LISGAR ST ON 19 APRIL 2018 BETWEEN 13:30 TO 16:00. PLEASE CONTACT: (CONTACT REMOVED 2023 APR 20 BY ADMIN. SEND INQUIRIES HERE: https://cmcen-rcmce.ca/contact/).