Michael Rinker Email & Phone Number

Springfield, Virginia

Manage a program of IT Infrastructure projects at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad. Coordinates travel, schedule, cost and quality of those projects to ensure successful outcomes.

U.S. Department Of State

Develop and execute plans for re-vitalizing U.S. Department of State Regional Information Management Center technical operations throughout the world. Responsible for ensuring appropriate and predictable budget allocations for world-wide technical operations for those Regional Centers, coordinating appropriate service levels and the proper management of staffing for 150 professional technical staff positions in those centers.

Served as the Information Programs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom.Significant Accomplishments: Developed a robust support mechanism for the U.S. Consulates in Edinburgh, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Initiated and developed a cooperative effort with the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland. Modernized IT facilities and physical IT spaces in the aging U.S. Embassy and assisted in planning for a future New Embassy Complex in the London area. Participated and planned U.S. security efforts for the 2012 London Olympics.

Served as the Information Programs Officer in the largest Information Programs Center in the U.S. Foreign Service in Baghdad, Iraq in a war-time situation.Significant Accomplishments: Played a significant role in the planning and construction of numerous communications and IT facilities for the New Embassy Compound, a $750 Million, 104 acre complex, in Baghdad. Improved communications and IT cooperation between the Department of State in Iraq and the U.S. Military Authorities. Supported normalization of equipment inventory efforts, following a frenetic initial deployment of equipment into Iraq during the initial push into the country.

Served as the Information Programs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.Significant Achievements: Though the U.S. Embassy was in a new, very modern Chancery, in which the infrastructure worked almost flawlessly, our Embassy was responsible for six consulates, spread throughout Canada, in which things did not always work well. I improved the support for those consulates, including a unique remote classified computer system, housed in a consulate with no professional communications employees. We saw significant improvements in communications capabilities at all of the consulates during my tenure in Ottawa.

Chief of IT and Communications Operations at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala.Significant Accomplishments: Developed a service standard for Embassy IT operations and re-invigorated the service provision to Embassy sections, developed emergency radio networks, developed relationships with host-nation ministry officials and significantly improved response times for all communications-related services.

Springfield, Virginia

Served first as an intermediary between two Directorates within the Information Resource Management Bureau at the U.S. Department of State, then as a deployment manager on one $30 Million deployment project, then as an integration manager in a second $200 Million project. Supervised 36 contract employees and managed the projects to deploy new technology to over 200 Foreign Service posts abroad.Significant Accomplishments: Succeed in timely, on-budget deployment in both projects with very high quality outputs in a three-year timeframe.

I was the Information Programs Officer, running five IT sub-sections with 23 employees and managing communications for two separate U.S. Missions in Brussels (The U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Mission to the European Union).Significant Accomplishments: Sent to Brussels specifically to replace systems in the Embassy for a recalcitrant group of officers who needed, but did not want modern communications systems. With no funding, but with cast-off hardware and software from nearby U.S. Embassies, developed a small but viable computer system. Received $2.1 Million funding as a result of my team's efforts and then developed a first-class system, the first of it's kind in the Foreign Service. We also developed a training program, outfitted an office at the U.S. Mission to the EU and established a never-done-before presence in that mission, significantly contributing to the good will between the two missions.

Served as the Communications Programs Officer at the U.S. Embassy, a unique institution, located in a 15th century palace in the center of Prague.Significant Accomplishments: Entirely overhauled the communications operations in Prague, replacing communications computers with newest generation automated systems, then conceived and secured funding to plan for, procure, install and manage the Foreign Service's second (by a mere three weeks) Post-procured Classified Local Area Network. Upgraded and managed a large, new Mitel PBX system and developed safety systems, including an external service elevator system at the Chancery.

The Communications Programs Officer in Victoria, with peripheral duties as assistant Post Security Officer.Significant Accomplishments: Significantly improved the operation of the Communications unit at the Embassy, improving HVAC, Communications and Safety systems. Replaced an aging Radio Teletype system with a state-of-the-art system with considerable more capability and reliability, developed administrative process which had previously been lacking and increased collaboration with other sections in the Embassy, sometimes participating in political and security initiatives on their behalf.

A support communications officer at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra.Significant Accomplishments: Assisted with installation of a new and unique communications system at the Embassy. Also installed and managed the Embassy's first distributed classified computer system.

I served in a communications position at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, adding to my portfolio duties related to cooperation in communications matters with our other partners in NATO.Significant Accomplishments: Programmed, then managed the first Mitel digital telephone system in the Foreign Service, planning and executing cost savings into the sytem's call plans.

As a newly-hired Department of State Communications Officer, I provided a wide range of communications services to employees of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus.Significant Accomplishments: Developed maintenance techniques for a wide range of telecommunications equipment, specifically the Embassy's neglected telephone system. Assisted in the installation of a number of newer generation communications terminal computer systems and found a solution to a world-wide problem with one generation of communications equipment, then published it as a solution for use at Embassies around the world.

Geilenkirchen, Germany

I was a telecomm specialist, working as a cryptographic material specialist at a Field Artillery unit.Significant accomplishments: Developed a repair system for aging but vital cryptographic equipment at my home unit. Supported and ensured robust accounting and timely destruction methods for sensitive and classified material.