Lurita Doan became the first female to serve as the chief executive of the US General Services Administration (GSA) when she was sworn in May 31, 2006. Nominated by President George W. Bush on April 6, she was confirmed by the Senate on May 26. Doan earned the AB degree with honors in English in 1979 from Vassar. She received the master’s degree in renaissance literature from UT in 1983.
She worked as an adjunct professor at several colleges, worked four years with Unisys as a technician deploying Unix systems, then started her own firm. In 2004 she was one of the speakers at the Republican Convention. The GSA webpage indicated that she was “descended from three generations of African American entrepreneurs,” beginning with her great-grandmother who sold pralines on the streets of New Orleans after President Lincoln freed the slaves.
On April 29, 2008, Doan submitted her resignation in response to a request from the White House, which did not disclose the reason for the request. The resignation followed a recommendation by the United States Office of Special Counsel to discipline Doan for violating the Hatch Act, in addition to a period of internal GSA conflicts with the agency’s inspector general and a number of congressional and special counsel inquiries. In July 2008 Doan began her Leadership Matters commentaries on Federal News Radio in Washington, DC, discussing government contracting, federal budget issues, and government managerial practices. She is also a regular contributor to the Arena at Politico.com and to Biggovernment.com. She has occasionally published opinion editorials in several major US daily newspapers, such as USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. Doan has also appeared as a guest contributor on Fox News, CNN, and other cable networks with commentary on fiscal discipline, government contracting practices, the federal budget, and current affairs.