Meet GPO’s New Secure Credential Assistant Production
Manager: Etsegenet Lemma
Etsegenet Lemma
began working at the U.S.
Government Publishing Ofce
(GPO) in 2018 as a Quality
Contract Specialist in Security
and Intelligent Documents
(SID). As a contractor, she
worked with both the Passport
and Melzer Operations and
also served as the subject
matter expert for the Next
Generation Passport. In April
2020, Lemma was selected as
GPO’s new Secure Credential
Assistant Production Manager
overseeing Card Production
and the Melzer Operations in
our DC ofce.
“Coming on board at this
unprecedented time was both
exciting and challenging as
a new leader at GPO,” says
Lemma who began her new
position shortly after the start
of the COVID pandemic. “But
I always believe challenging
times are sometimes the
best time to be creative and
innovative. I love learning new
things and guring out new
ways to do a better-quality
product.” Lemma, who has
been on site every day since
June of last year, not only
oversees the startup of the
full-time Melzer production,
she is also responsible for the
quality of the products over
multiple shifts. In addition,
she manages our DC Card
operations with revenues
exceeding $30 million dollars.
In her new role, Lemma
brings both education and
technical experience from the
private sector to GPO.
“I have a pretty good
passion for operations and
leadership in the technical
eld,” says Lemma who grew
up in Ohio and received her
Bachelor of Science degree in
Chemical Engineering from
Cleveland State University’s
Fenn College of Engineering.
As a senior, she was recruited
on campus to work for both
L’Oreal and Sherwin-Williams.
At the time, Sherwin-Williams
did not have the position
she was looking for. She
then began working as a
process engineer at L’Oreal’s
manufacturing site. Soon
after, a position was created
for her at Sherwin-Williams as
a polymer synthesis process
engineer; where she worked
for two years before moving to
Maryland. It was during this
time that Lemma was trying
to decide between medical
school and engineering.
“I had a passion for
science and wanted to go
to medical school and be
a neurosurgeon, but I also
wanted to be an engineer in
undergrad,” says Lemma.
“So, I was trying to gure
out what I wanted to do.”
Lemma, whose passion was
science, considered going
to medical school if she
didn’t nd a job right away
in engineering. However,
within 5 days of posting her
resume on Monster.com, she
landed a great job in Havre
De Grace, Maryland with
Cytec Aerospace Engineering
where she worked for
eight years as the lead
engineer overseeing 50%
of its operation. “I started
as an entry level process
engineer and by the time I left
there I was lead engineer,”
says Lemma. “I grew my
operations and knowledge of
manufacturing technology
and also became a part of the
union negotiation team and
the new leaders’ development
team.” Lemma then worked at
the Rust-Oleum Corporation
as a manufacturing lead
operations engineer for two
and a half years.
GPO’s New Secure Credential Assistant Production Manager,
Etsegenet Lemma.
Secure Credential Assistant Production Manager, Etsegenet Lemma,
stands on the production oor inspecting a component for quality control.
Now with 13 years of
manufacturing experience,
Lemma was open to new
opportunities in her eld. It
was at this time that a head
hunter called her about a
two-year contracting job in
the Federal Government,
which led to the position
she has today in SID. As a
manufacturing leader at
GPO, Lemma’s goals are to
improve operations, reduce
waste, and create team-
building activities to empower
and engage the operation
and production teams for
better performance. One of
Lemma’s achievements in
the last six months has been
tremendous waste reduction
in the Melzer production for
the Next Generation Passport.
“I have a passion for the
leadership platform, which
means that every position
has its own responsibility
for leadership,” says Lemma
who is currently pursuing
her Master of Science in
Leadership. "I try to have that
understanding between the
oor and management and
that everyone has a job to do.
We have a great team here at
GPO.”
