Letting the Sun Shine on the FOIA

By Dep’t of the Interior, Blog, Mar. 15, 2021

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In the below Q&A, Deputy Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer Rachel Spector . . . discusses how FOIA works and why accountability matters.

Q: Happy Sunshine Week! Tell us what you do as a Deputy Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer (DCFO) for Interior.

A: In my role as DCFO, I run the Departmental FOIA Office (DFO), which was recently established to provide central governance and support to the FOIA offices in the Department’s component Bureaus/Offices. The DFO works with the FOIA Officers, who oversee the FOIA programs in their Bureaus/Offices, to develop effective policies and efficient best practices for FOIA request processing and engages with the FOIA Officers in collective problem-solving to identify, prioritize, and address the challenges they face. The DFO also works with Bureau/Office leadership to ensure that FOIA offices are sufficiently resourced. In addition, the DFO oversees the deployment of modern technology to facilitate efficient FOIA request tracking, case management, and processing, and provides targeted operational support to address large backlogs or complex issues.

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