Yolanda Kennedy-Edwards is director of the Planning, Evaluation and Enterprise Risk staff in Office of Planning, Analysis and Risk Management (OPARM). Kennedy-Edwards exemplifies that patience and resilience win the race. She empowers and leads the Strategic Planning and Evaluation Branch and the Enterprise Risk and Internal Control Branch. Like many government roles, Kennedy-Edwards wears many hats, as her work within the OPARM impacts all FSIS employees. Because of this impact, Kennedy-Edwards makes it a purpose to tread with compassion and ownership. She primarily ensures the framework is established and maintained for the agency’s evaluation, strategic planning, audit, internal control and enterprise risk programs. “I manage and direct work related to evaluations, surveys, audits, internal control and enterprise risk initiatives and activities,” she says.

A Step-By-Step Approach to Success

In October 1990, FSIS employees were administering a civil service test. At this time, applications were not enough to qualify for a federal position. A civil service test that evaluated skills across various subjects was required. At the end of the testing period, anyone who passed the test was encouraged to call and schedule an interview with FSIS. “I called, interviewed and was selected for two positions: one full-time temporary and one part-time permanent. I chose the part-time permanent position,” she said. Kennedy-Edwards took the job as it was stable and only planned to be with the agency for a single year. Today, 34 years later, she has created a career within FSIS by taking advantage of various opportunities for growth and advancement. Kennedy-Edwards started as a clerk-typist before holding a secretary position for a many years, after which she became a program analyst.

Kennedy-Edwards persistently grounds herself in the present by making each day efficient and effective. She understands the importance of integrity and leading by example, especially in the face of challenges. When challenges present themselves in her day-to-day experiences, she takes a calm and objective approach to assess each and every situation. This approach helped her pivot from secretary to program analyst, then from program analyst to IT specialist and, eventually, to a director. She credits the agency for providing the resources that she took advantage of with every step. She says, “FSIS empowers me to be successful by ensuring that I am able to take necessary training and that I have access to the tools and resources to do my work.” Now, Kennedy-Edwards harnesses her compassion, wisdom and knowledge and employs it with her team members. Frequently, she takes the time to review the skills of each staff member, discussing their interests and strengths to devise ways for skill maintenance, improvement or enhancement.

Evaluate, Devise and Execute

With the FSIS mission and core values as her guide, Kennedy-Edwards is able to ground herself in the importance of the work at FSIS. With the motivation to make things more efficient, combined with her strong sense of accountability, Kennedy-Edwards and her team complete and publish the FSIS Annual Plan. It methodically highlights the activities FSIS intends to conduct each fiscal year. The work to deliver on such a plan is rooted in innovation and effectiveness. “My typical workday includes finding ways to make things more efficient and effective and coming up with new innovative processes and programs,” says Kennedy-Edwards. The agency’s evaluation framework and process were revised to ensure an efficient process for conducting evaluations and sharing findings and recommendations. A new process was established and implemented to ensure that enterprise risk, tied to the FSIS Strategic Plan, is measured quantitatively. This helps the agency better track progress toward how FSIS mitigates enterprise risk associated with operations and functions within the strategic plan. As a result, the work ripples across the agency ensuring employees are in compliance with policy and regulations. Compliance means carrying out our overall mission to protect public health the best of our ability by preventing illness from meat, poultry and egg products.

Kennedy-Edwards’ assessment of her own talents is also her foundation for supporting her team in executing the work they do every day. Her ability to evaluate, devise and execute makes her a great fit for leading the annual plan effort, according to her supervisors. They said that she has a remarkably adaptive and agile leadership style that allows her to lead the team through a dynamic, data-driven environment that utilizes change. She treats change not as a hinderance, but as a method to rapidly promote growth of her team and the mission. They also say that Kennedy-Edwards has the ability to instill a strong sense of accountability by encouraging the team to take ownership while embodying a growth mind-set that fuels continuous improvement and innovation in OPARM and beyond.

Outside of Work

Kennedy-Edwards resides in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, with her husband. They have four adult children and are the proud grandparents of three grandchildren and a very spoiled canine baby. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in family activities and outreach. She also likes to cook and bake, finding them very therapeutic.

With a continuous forward-thinking mindset and compassion as her guiding light, Kennedy-Edwards hopes to have the opportunity to make a broader impact in the work that she does, and in the lives of the people she leads.

Photo courtesy of Yolanda Kennedy-Edwards.

Prepping meals for Thanksgiving dinner at the D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., in November 2022.

Pictured, from left: David Kennedy, Justin Anderson, Brenda Gray, Yolanda Kennedy-Edwards, Denise Kennedy.

Photo courtesy of Yolanda Kennedy-Edwards.