Update 10/22/08: I heard back from DOI's Joan Moody yesterday responding to my question regarding how Karen Siderelis was selected. "Yes, that was an appointment because she had already been doing work for... um...through USGS on the geospatial so this will be an enlarged role for her and she'll working through the department."

Could it be the plan is simply to elevate Siderelis and FGDC up to Interior and remove it from its home in USGS? Recall that now "FGDC activities are administered through the FGDC Secretariat, hosted by the National Geospatial Programs Office (NGPO) of the U.S. Geological Survey. The NGPO oversees other geospatial programs of national importance including The National Map and the Geospatial One-Stop activity."

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Update 10/10/08: No word back from DOI Communications team on the process used to select Siderelis, though I did leave a message. Also, it's interesting to note that the appointment was shared with attendees at the MAPPS Washington Policy Forum Luncheon last month.

--- original post 10/8/08 ----

In a press release dated Monday the Department of Interior announced the appointment of Karen Siderelis as the first Geospatial Information Officer for the Dept. I found the release on the wire Tuesday afternoon, so perhaps there was a delay in distribution.

Recall that Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced the position to much excitement at the ESRI User Conference this past August. Rumors were afoot then but no one seemed to know how the job would be filled nor how long it would take. The fact that it wrapped up so fast suggests to me that they already had Ms. Siderelis in mind.

James Cason, associate deputy secretary of the Interior, offered his take: "Karen has a proven record of achievement establishing and managing geospatial programs. I am confident she will provide tremendous leadership in advancing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure through our national and international responsibilities and ensure coordination of GIS efforts in all nine Interior bureaus."

Siderelis' name most recently was associated with a consolidation effort at USGS that basically left two not one National Geospatial Technical Operations Center sites: Denver and Rolla.

I contacted the DOI for information on the selection process. I'll update this post once I hear back.