Guest speaker Julie Rushin, director at Internal Revenue Service’s strategy and finance division

(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Lean Six Sigma experts from around the world will gather at the 8th Annual American Society for Quality Lean Six Sigma Conference Feb. 11-12, 2008, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix. On tap at the 2008 conference are four of the most noted experts in the implementation of Six Sigma in government, health care, manufacturing, and the utilities industry. Attendees will discover how they, too, can grow their organization using lean Six Sigma.

Featured at the conference will be:

Monday, February 11

• Julie Rushin, director at Internal Revenue Service’s strategy and finance division
• Leslie A. Behnke, vice president of Six Sigma business excellence at CIGNA Healthcare

Tuesday, February 12

• Scott Gray, vice president of corporate quality at Eaton Corp.
• Mike Adams, vice president of quality at Allegheny Energy Inc.

“Finding Answers Through Lean Sustainable Growth Through Lean Six Sigma” is the main focus of this year’s conference. Breakout sessions are tailored from the novice level (Green Belts) to the very technical (Black Belts) and cover a wide variety of topics.

• "Application of Lean Six Sigma to Improve the Blood Administration Process," Donald Lighter, M.D. and Roger Noble
• "Challenges and Rewards of Lean Six Sigma in Mid-Size Business," Jack West, Ph.D., and Mike Paraszkiewicz
• "Lean Success in a Small Shop," Doug Anton
• "Getting Rid of the Clutter: A Successful 5S," Duane Allen

IRS executive to address conference attendees
Julie Rushin leads the strategy and finance division in the wage and investment division of the Internal Revenue Service. Her responsibilities include a $2.5 billion budget for a division that has more than 50,000 employees. The strategy and finance division also includes research, human capital office, strategic planning, performance improvement, and lean Six Sigma. Her leadership in strategy and finance provides support for the entire wage and investment division. Rushin has been with the IRS for 33 years and has spent the last 17 in management positions and the last seven in executive positions. She earned an MBA in business technology from Webster University.

Eaton Corp. executive will also present
Scott Gray is vice president of corporate quality at Eaton Corp. Gray joined Eaton as director of quality for the Automotive Group in March 2006. He has a leading role in Eaton’s business excellence program. Before joining Eaton, Gray was vice president of quality for Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership in Plymouth, Michigan. Prior to that, he held various assignments of increasing responsibility in the areas of quality and engineering. He has served as chair of the ASQ Huntsville, Alabama, Section 1503 and is a senior member in the ASQ.

For more information, visit www.asq.org/conferences/six-sigma/index.html