Women's History Month Q&A - Eben Kinney

In celebration of Women's History Month we are featuring members of our shipyard. Meet Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center Executive Director Eben Kinney through some Q & As.

When did you first enter federal civil service?

I entered civil service as a WG-1 as an apprentice in the painting and blasting trade at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.?After graduating from the apprentice program?after four years I became a WG-9.

What has your career progression looked like?

As an apprentice, I took an opportunity for a 6-month rotation at another code which helped me expand my network.?I also took advantage of as many training opportunities as possible including learning about SUBSAFE, manlifts, and asking for assignments to do nuclear work.?

I transitioned to Work Leader (WL) where I served in a variety of roles including work leader, apprentice instructor, and a non-nuclear work supervisor.?

As an apprentice instructor, I learned about writing lesson plans, teaching, and managing personnel qualifications.?

I was detailed to Code 240 to help write paper, then moved to Code 900T where I transitioned to the white collar (GS) field as a nuclear instructor.?

From there, I was promoted to the supervisor of the nuclear instructors. I then moved laterally to a resource management position for a few years where I gained experience in the business functions of the entire shipyard.?

I made another lateral move to Code 300N as a workforce development manager to build my personnel management skills.?While in Code 300N, I was promoted to GS-13 and gained exposure to NAVSEA Headquarters, Naval Reactors, and audits.?

I then transferred from 300N at Puget Sound Shipyard to become the Deputy Code 300N at Pearl Harbor Shipyard.?

After a few years at Code 300N I was promoted as a GS-14 Surface Ship Project Superintendent.?

I am now currenlty the Executive Director for HRMC.

What would you say helped you in your career?

The mentoring I received throughout my career helped me get to where I am now.?In addition, the training I volunteered for and the 6-month rotation during my apprenticeship opened doors for me by expanding my network.?The administrative and leadership skills I learned as an instructor gave me the experience I needed to transition to white collar (GS) positions.?My experience in resource management during my time in Code 300N was critical for setting me up for success as a project superintendent by giving me a broad perspective in resource management and project management.?

Can you expand on those mentors, how they influenced you or what they did to help you excel?

I never realized until later in my career...?but from the time I was a 1st?year apprentice until I became?a Zone Manager?there was at least one manager in the shop assigned to watch over me and was responsible for my job assignments/career?development. An example of this: one morning I showed up to my assigned duty, painting bilges, on the USS Houston and a GF from shop pulled me out of morning muster and said, "for the next few days you're?going to spray oil in a tank on the USS Michigan... sound good"? I was always "all in". This happened frequently my entire apprenticeship.?Once I became a Zone Manager and even to today, there has always?been senior managers involved in my growth/development.?

The mentoring came by the way of:?

- "Book clubs" - a leader would hand me a leadership book and every week I was to outbrief/discuss the chapters I read. These were long deep discussions and contain lots of good memories.

- Exposure to meetings that had nothing to do with me. My assignment was to NOT listen to any words. After the meeting the leader would ask me human questions, like "how was the temperature in the room, did you feel it shift when a specific topic came up, did you see Johns facial expressions - body movement, did people leave upset or happy, what would you have done differently based solely on human factors.

- Opportunities to represent leadership at very inopportune times like NAVSEA 08 audits.

- I was asked lots of questions... specifically, "Why". Leaders checked for my thought processes and challenged me with more questions when my thinking was not sound.

Was there someone that influenced you or had an impact on your life or career?

Biggest impacts on my life: There are many...

- Both Dan Cox (Code 900T Superintendent PSNS) and Mr. Troy Meuller (NAVSEA 08 Nuclear Reactors) have made the biggest impacts on my life - Their leadership styles are entirely human, and servant focused. I am better because of their influence.

Do you have a favorite quote?

My favorite quote right now is by James Baldwin:

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

I was first exposed to the quote when I was at a Motorcycle Rally at Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK. The quote was on the wall of the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center. It is important to me because James Balwin worked tirelessly to raise public awareness of racial and sexual oppression. To me the quote means you can't change anything by burying your head in the sand in hopes that the problem will go away.?You have to meet the problem in the arena, lean in, and have courage face it and put in work to make things better.

This Women’s History Month, we proudly celebrate the 1,044 women employed in various roles from the waterfront apprentices to senior leadership here at the shipyard. Thank you Eben, and all the women of the shipyard for your continuing contributions to keeping the Fleet Fit to Fight!