Deputy Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks became the acting public printer on January 3, 2012. President Barack Obama nominated her for the permanent position on May 9, 2013. The public printer runs the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), which produces U.S. passports, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register and other publications. GPO also provides public access to government information through the federal depository library system, as well as free online access. She is the first woman to lead the GPO. Like the Library of Congress and the Government Accountability Office, GPO is part of Congress, not the Executive Branch.
Born circa 1957, Vance-Cooks earned her B.A. at Tufts University and her MBA at Columbia.
Vance-Cooks spent most of her career in the health insurance industry. She was general manager of HTH Worldwide Insurance Services. Working for Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans, she was director of customer service and claims, director of membership and billing, and director of market research and product development. Her last private sector employer was NYLCare MidAtlantic Health Plan, where she was senior vice-president of operations and was responsible for a digital print work center for production of various data printing products.
Vance-Cooks joined GPO in 2004 and has held a succession of senior management positions. Starting as the deputy managing director of customer services, Vance-Cooks later became managing director of GPO’s Publications and Information Sales business unit. She was named chief of staff in January 2011, and was promoted to deputy public printer in December 2011 by Public Printer Bill Boarman, whose recess appointment expired at the end of 2011 when Senate Republicans blocked a vote on his nomination.
To Learn More:
The Woman Who Produces the Federal Budget (And Your Passport) (by Tom Fox, Huffington Post)
New Public Printer Continues Digital Direction (by Deanna Glick, AOL Government)
