Epidemic of FOIA Excitement at CDC-Atlanta

 

martha at cdcOGIS Deputy Director Martha Murphy and Mediation Team Lead Carrie McGuire visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia this week to participate in the Center’s third annual FOIA training summit. This special event brought together FOIA processors, FOIA coordinators, appeals staff and others to discuss FOIA issues of special interest. The FOIA fever was contagious!

Ms. Murphy delivered a powerful keynote that illustrated the summit’s theme, “FOIA Matters.” Her talk included examples of documents released through FOIA that have impacted policy decisions and changed the lives of individuals. Ms. McGuire participated in a panel discussion that explored the use of FOIA technology. In her comments, Ms. McGuire emphasized that good FOIA technology begins at the design stage with systems that are built to meet FOIA and records management requirements.

The training program continued with a discussion of FOIA Exemption 5 from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of General Counsel. CDC’s FOIA Director Roger Andoh closed the program by encouraging the attendees to consider the importance of their role in promoting government openness.

Whether your FOIA staff is large or you are part of a team that is small but mighty, we encourage you to set aside a day for training. OGIS staff is glad to participate in training summits or brainstorm on topics – please get in touch with us at ogis@nara.gov if you would like to discuss.