GSA's Harrison to retire

The General Services Administration is losing another longtime employee. Von Harrison, who runs the Information Technology Infrastructure Line of Business, announced Friday that she will retire Jan. 3, 2008. Harrison has been with in the government for 30 years and with GSA for about 12, and the Defense Department for 18. Harrison becomes the second longtime, high-ranking GSA official to announce their intention to leave the federal workforce from GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy in the past month. Mary Mitchell, GSA’s deputy associate administrator of the Office of Technology Strategy in OGP and the Financial Management Line of Business’ program manager and the Financial Systems Integration Office’s executive, announced Nov. 15 that she will retire after 32 years in government. Harrison said she will take some time off to travel and then decide what comes next. “I have really had some great experiences working in government, and have the utmost respect for federal civil servants,” she said in an e-mail message. “I have especially enjoyed my current position as the program manager for the IT LOB, and the many exceptional professionals with whom I have had the honor to work on this program. I have seen so much progress due to the dedication of so many people in government and industry, that I can say earnestly I have learned much and gained many new friends while engaging in very challenging work.” Harrison dismissed rumors that she is retiring for health reasons. She said it was just time to move on.