Ms. Karen Pane was appointed Director of Human Resources, United States Army Corps of Engineers, in January 2018. She is responsible for the staff direction and administration of a comprehensive human resources management and family readiness program in divisions, districts, and other field operating activities throughout the Corps. These programs are designed to meet the human resource and family readiness requirements of approximately 36,000 civilian employees and 900 military personnel.
Prior to this, she served as the Chief Human Capital officer for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In this position, she directed all matters involving human resources, including labor and employee relations, workforce planning and talent management, staffing, classification, compensation, executive services, performance management, benefits, injury compensation, and organizational design for approximately 20,000 ICE employees. Prior to her position at ICE, Ms. Pane was the Associate Director for Management for the Office of Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In that position, she directed all hiring, training, financial and facilities management for over 4,500 Field and Headquarter force. Prior to her position at FDA, Ms. Pane was the Associate Director for Management for the Office of Research Services and the Office of Research Facilities within the National Institutes of Health. She was responsible for workforce planning and human resources management, information systems/technology management, contracts management, management analysis, ethics, employee and labor relations, and risk management.
While serving within the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, she served in positions as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Planning (OPP), and as the Acting Assistant Secretary for OPP. During the presidential transition period of 2008 through 2009, Ms. Pane acted as the Department Transition Coordinator where she facilitated the Department-wide coordination of all activities and matters related to the Presidential transition. As the Transition Coordinator, she was the primary point of contact with outside organizations such as the White House and the Office of Management and Budget.
Ms. Pane is an emergency/trauma nurse and has worked with distinction in several federal and nonfederal organizations throughout her career. She was also a nurse in the U.S. Naval Reserve Nurse Corps.
Ms. Pane holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Florida and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco