Executive Assistant of the Week: Washington D.C
Stacey Cogar
Executive Assistant to Mission Area VPs
Noblis
Stacey has been an Executive Assistant supporting C-suite executives for over 25 years. She worked for Inova Health System, specifically Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, for 27 years supporting the COO and CFO, who were also executive-level VPs for the organization. In June of 2017, she left Inova and joined Noblis. Noblis is a nonprofit science, technology, and strategy organization dedicated to creating forward-thinking technical and advisory solutions in the public interest, “for the best of reasons.”
At Noblis, Stacey directly supports three vice presidents. She prides herself on being able to juggle these three individuals as seamlessly as possible. She learns everyone’s individual preferences and continuously monitors, deconflicts, and recommends ways to balance their work time and meeting time. Stacey is enjoying learning new things and making connections with new colleagues.
Stacey lives in Ashburn, VA with her husband, Carl, and the youngest of two sons, Seth. Her oldest son, Kyle, is in the military and will be marrying the girl of his dreams in March 2019. Stacey enjoys spending quality time with family, gardening, and making people laugh without even trying.
Stacey will be one of the distinguished contributors at the ELS Forum: Washington D.C on June 5-6, 2019.
What is your favorite part about being a strategic business partner to your executives?
One of my favorite parts about being a strategic business partner to my executives is “their” business partners from inside and outside the company treat me with the utmost respect. They treat me as if I am an extension of my executives. I collaborate directly with some very high-level officials, executives, etc., and they all genuinely treat me with the same human kindness regardless of level.
Tell us about a career accomplishment of which you’re particularly proud.
One of the things I was always nervous about, almost afraid of doing, was speaking in front of an audience. I co-chaired, along with my boss at Inova, an employee incentive committee. Being on this committee helped me grow and ultimately overcome my fear. My boss, being a busy executive, would often count on me to run the meetings and plan the events. By the time I left Inova, I was calling numbers twice a month at employee Bingos and presented to the management team of 200. I truly believe my boss purposefully put me in these situations to help me develop personally and professionally. I am proud to say I can now comfortably stand before an audience and present!
How do you unwind after a long day or week?
After a long day or week, one of the ways I unwind is to try and totally disconnect from work and enjoy my me time and time with my loved ones. After being an EA for over 25 years, I have finally been able to discipline myself and realize I can only get so much done in any given day or week. It will always be there the next day. A nice, hot bubbly bath also helps me unwind!
