Associate Director Tammy Meckley at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Immigration Records and Identity Services (IRIS) Directorate leads almost 1,000 federal employees, while managing an annual program budget of $375 million. She manages four divisions: Biometrics, Verification (E-Verify and SAVE Programs), Records, and the National Records Center. She challenges her team to think creatively about how IRIS can continuously enhance operational, customer, and employee efficiency and effectiveness. One of Meckley’s many accomplishments at USCIS includes implementing the SAVE Paperless Initiative, where she burned up the red tape and eliminated 171,000 paper Form G-845 verification requests.
Prior to this, Meckley was Assistant Director (Office of Professional Responsibility) at U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leading mission support and managing programs alongside a $132 million program budget. “Much of the government can function like a business and I challenge my team to think creatively about how IRIS can continuously enhance operational, customer, and employee efficiency and effectiveness,” Meckley says. “Change what drives you nuts!” This motto comes from her incredible drive to blur the lines between the private and public sectors, improve processes and achieve optimal performance.