Virginia Kinakin is a native of Vancouver, Wash. In 1977, she graduated from Trenton State College, N.J., with a bachelor’s degree in public administration, majoring in accounting. In 1985, she earned a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California – Los Angeles and attended the Senior Officials in National Security Program at the JFK School of Government, Harvard University, in 1994.
Her federal career began in 1967 as a military pay clerk with the finance and accounting office at Fort Dix, N.J. In 1979, she was assigned to the U.S. Army Japan/IX Corps in Japan, where she served as a disbursing officer, a supervisory operating accountant and a central accounting officer.
In 1985, she became the deputy finance and accounting officer at the 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord, Calif. In 1986, she was assigned to the U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center, Indianapolis, where she served as a supervisory systems accountant with both the finance network quality directorate and several accounting policy directorates.
With the activation of the Defense and Finance and Accounting Service in 1991, she became chief of the network operations division, plans and management deputate, responsible for providing staff support for technical oversight, support and enhancements to DoD finance and accounting activities, both CONUS and OCONUS.
In 1992, Virginia became the program manager for the defense business management system, responsible for pay, accounting and reporting for approximately 22,000 civilian and military employees. She then became the director of the operational review and measurement proponency office, which was responsible for determining the “health” of all finance and accounting network levels. In 1994, she became the program manager for Operation Mongoose, a fraud detection and deterrent program initiated by the Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller).
Serving on several high-visibility programs throughout her career, she was chosen as an Army representative to the DoD corporate information management financial operations initiative in 1990. During this project, she was often called upon to speak before many chapters of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and the Association of Government Accountants. She also participated in a corporate information management workshop presentation at the 1991 ASMC Professional Development Institute in San Francisco, CA.
She was detailed to the Defense Management Review Decision 910 task force in 1991, responsible for developing the concept for consolidating finance and accounting operations, which was approved by the Deputy Secretary of Defense in 1991. Her responsibilities included coordinating a DoD-wide symposium held in Indianapolis in 1992.
Mrs. Kinakin was selected as the principal deputy director for the Seaside Operating Location in 1995. She assisted the director in the direction, control and management of the DFAS mission.
Mrs. Kinakin has been an active member of several professional organizations, including becoming a charter member of the Japan chapter of the Association of Government Accountants; serving two terms as chapter treasurer and one term as president-elect; the American Society of Military Comptrollers; and the Association of the United States Army, serving as chapter treasurer for the Japan chapter. Her involvement with AUSA continues in retirement, serving as chapter treasurer since 2001. She was awarded the 6th region president’s medal in 2005.
Mrs. Kinakin is a Certified Government Financial Manager and is currently a public administration doctoral candidate at Golden Gate University, San Francisco Calif. She retired from Federal service in 1999, and now resides in Olympia, Washington.
