2007 Federal 100 winners -- From K

2007 Federal 100 winners -- From K – P

Mar 26, 2007

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Michel Kareis
General Services Administration

When the General Services Administration anticipated one of the largest orders of last year — delivering secure smart cards under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 — the agency trusted Michel Kareis to get the job done right.

Kareis helped establish and became program manager for the HSPD-12 Managed Service Office at GSA. She gathered her team in July 2006, opened the office a month later and delivered compliant smart cards to 40 client agencies by the deadline of late October 2006, for HSPD-12 implementation.

Steven Kempf, acting deputy assistant commissioner for integrated technology services at GSA's Federal Acquisitions Service, praised her abilities to coordinate a team of experts drawn from the public and private sectors.

Philip Kiviat
Guerra Kiviat

Philip Kiviat, president of AFCEA International's Bethesda chapter in 2006, is recognized for mentoring Young AFCEANs, an organization of early-career government and industry information technology employees. Kiviat, a partner at consulting firm Guerra Kiviat, created a niche within AFCEA's Bethesda chapter for the group to flourish and bring their ideas into the spotlight.

"He's been a great mentor for the Young AFCEANs," said Steven Krauss, director of enterprise computing solutions at GTSI and the first chairman of the Young AFCEANs.

Krauss said he is especially impressed with Kiviat's hands-off style of leadership. "He never tells you that you can't do something. He just asks questions and sets you on the right path."

Lt. Cmdr. Frank Klucznik
Coast Guard

A Coast Guard staff officer and information technology manager, Frank Klucznik led the development of two Web-based data collection projects that produced groundbreaking results.

One project involves collecting data throughout the Coast Guard to gauge the level of maritime security. The other project analyzes data on the deployment of small boat units to see what other resources the units may need.

"He's worked in the field and knows the practical as well as the theoretical," said Vice Adm. Brian Peterman, the Coast Guard's Atlantic area commander. "We allowed him to run with this, even though he's not in an IT billet, because we feel he can bring something to the operational side of things that perhaps others can't."

Michael Krieger
Defense Department

Michael Krieger, director of information policy, was a driving force behind the Defense Department's efforts to develop a data strategy. With DOD embracing network-centric operations, Krieger sought to make data visible, meaningful and accessible.

Krieger led a pioneering effort in information sharing "so that everybody gets smarter," said retired Lt. Gen. Bruce Brown.

Within the Net-Centric Enterprise Services program, Krieger made a case for using service-oriented architecture and related technology for sharing information among the services.

"The fundamental issue about this data strategy is that it isn't about technology. It's about changing the culture," said Margaret Myers, principal director for DOD's deputy chief information officer. Krieger "convinces others to do the things they should do."

Frank Lalley
Federal Emergency Management Agency

Government retirees are supposed to kick back and take things easy, but Lalley doesn't seem to have gotten the message.

Not only did Lalley return to work at the Homeland Security Department under a government plan that allows the rehiring of skilled retirees for certain programs, he also volunteered to help rebuild communications in the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.

As FEMA's senior disaster operations coordinator in the Gulf Coast, Lalley managed a program that established interoperable communications for federal, state and local emergency workers before the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season. He brought abundant experience in tactical communications and planning to the task, said Gil Jamieson, FEMA's deputy director. But a major reason for Lalley's successes was the diplomacy he practiced.

"He had the skill sets, but he was also known and respected already throughout the communications community," Jamieson said. "He had the standing to do this."

Brig. Gen. Susan Lawrence
Central Command

Brig. Gen. Susan Lawrence may have one of the toughest command, control, communications and computer jobs in the Defense Department because she supports a command engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She earned her jump wings early in her career and then served in and commanded Army tactical signal units. She took what she learned from those professional challenges with her into her battle with cancer two years ago.

Forged by that experience, Lawrence moved to Central Command, where she pushed the development of battlefield and long-haul communications. Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Shea, former C4 director of the Joint Staff, said she has "an uncanny ability to take people with divergent views and opinions and mold them into a team that is collectively focused on the right issues."

Joseph Lee Jr.
Army

Joseph Lee Jr., the Army's deputy principal director for governance, acquisition and chief knowledge officer, brought strong management know-how to an array of programs and led the service in its transformation to a knowledge-based force.

Lee created a governance structure for information technology portfolio management and reduced redundant and noninteroperable systems. The Army expects to eliminate 80 percent of those systems by the end of fiscal 2007.

Lee also was a leader in supporting Army Knowledge Online and its transition to the Defense Department's Defense Knowledge Online portal.

"Mr. Lee's accomplishments led to additional empowerment of the chief information officer within the Army to accelerate transformation initiatives" said Dennis Lucey, vice president at TKC Integration Services.

Michael Lee
American Systems

A former military executive at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Michael Lee knows the value of intelligence data on the battlefield. As executive director and vice president of American Systems" Special Services Division, Lee made it his business to make data readily accessible for real-time digital imagery and mapping.

During the preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Lee was deployed to the field to set up a system that enabled warfighters "to reach back into the reservoir of data holdings of NGA to provide geospatial intelligence," said Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper (ret.), chief operating officer of DFI International Government Services.

Knowing the real needs and requirements of people in the field, Lee exhibited a "dynamic, energetic inexhaustible commitment to getting the mission done," Clapper said. "He set the standard for combat agency support during a combat phase."

Ramon Llanos
Army

Ramon Llanos is chief of the Radio Frequency Countermeasures Branch of the Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate. His team develops systems and techniques for countering improvised explosive device attacks in Iraq, the single largest cause of U.S. casualties there. The radio frequency counter-measure systems he and his team make are saving lives on the battlefield today.

"His technical capabilities, insights to the problem and innovative solutions implemented by his team have been extraordinary and very successful in dealing with the problem," said Stephen Makrinos, vice president and chief scientist at CACI Technologies.

Llanos' team's task is never-ending. Terrorists adjust their tactics, causing the military to adapt its techniques.

Rashaad Logan
Lockheed Martin

Rashaad Logan, a database developer at Lockheed Martin, created a Web database that the Federal Aviation Administration uses to manage its transition to the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI). The database gives agency and contracting staff members a real-time view of all activities related to implementing 20,000 telecom services at more than 5,000 facilities.

"It's actually being used for a lot more than it was originally intended," said Jeffrey McCoy, team leader for national telecommunications networks operations at the FAA. "From a field perspective, it has become the primary field management tool for the FTI transition."

Using commercial tools, Logan developed the database in less than two months. He had little to work with other than a few whiteboard briefings from FAA staff members.

"As federal contractors go, we really lucked out by getting him," McCoy said.

John Lussier
Navy Department

John Lussier, acting Navy chief information officer, guided the development of Navy policies for telecommunications, spectrum management, wireless communications and enterprise software initiatives. He initiated a telecom cost-recovery audit that identified cases of contract noncompliance, double billing and recoverable taxes.

"Year after year, it seemed, we were being pushed into corners," said Dan Porter, executive vice president of CACI International. "One man got into the game and decided what needed to be done."

Nick Macchione
San Diego County

Nick Macchione, deputy director of San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency, led a Mobile Remote Workforce business process re-engineering project. It provided support services to nurses working in the field with at-risk families. Macchione automated the system for referring the agency's clients, which established a secure Web page and eliminated the need for faxes, telephone calls and e-mails that often were incomplete or inaccurate.

"Nick really did an outstanding job of implementing [the project] by being very inclusive," said Jerry Coleman, group IT manager for San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency.

The results from a first-year evaluation of the changes showed a 75 percent reduction in referral times and a 25 percent sustained increase in nurses' productivity.

William MacGregor
National Institute of Standards and Technology

The personal identity verification card will become the federal government's most reliable means of identifying federal employees and contractors. Its creation owes much to the technical leadership of William MacGregor, program manager for the PIV program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

MacGregor led a team that established 14 standards for the PIV card that federal employees and contractors are required to carry to comply with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. MacGregor's team produced publications that defined the standards and specifications for the cardsâ topography, biometric interfaces, middleware and management systems.

John Marshall
CGI Federal

John Marshall, vice president of CGI Federal, helped advance the Office of Management and Budget's financial management line of business through his leadership.

"Look at his experience," said Mark Forman, a partner at KPMG. "OMB, a couple of federal agencies, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Booz Allen Hamilton, McManus, IBM and CGI. He's had blue chip experiences in industry and government."

OMB's lines of business initiatives are difficult to implement because they require officials from different organizations, with different interests, to collaborate. Marshall held a series of executive forums in which federal chief financial officers and chief information officers could discuss the practical ways they might begin transitioning to shared service providers.

"The first public-private competition…between government suppliers of shared services for financial management and commercial [providers] was just completed a couple of weeks ago," Forman said. "This is a dramatic change in the way government buys financial management systems."

Dick Martin
Tibco Software

Dick Martin's commitment to America's troops goes beyond his roots in the information technology business. The vice president and general manager of Tibco's public-sector business is a member of the USO Metropolitan Washington area's board of directors. Martin worked many hours with USO leaders, sponsors, donors and dignitaries and used his contacts in the federal IT community to further USO's mission in 2006. He personally helped raise more than $400,000 through fundraisers.

"His goal was to raise the most money he could so we could provide the programs and services we do," said Elaine Rogers, president for the USO Metropolitan Washington area. "He loves the USO, and he loves our service personnel."

Col. Gary McAlum
Strategic Command

Col. Gary McAlum, director of operations for the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations at the Strategic Command, used his influence to achieve an 83 percent deployment of the Defense Department's Common Access Card and public-key infrastructure. In the face of increased threats to DOD networks, McAlum also influenced major financial decisions that made network security an investment priority in 2006.

"Telling people to do something and having them do it is two different things," said Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. McAlum "tracks them with metrics. He issues no orders without the ability to follow through and track progress."

McAlum's job "is to direct the operations of the global information grid," Croom said. "He does that because of great leadership, tremendous technical knowledge and the ability to stand up in front and say, 'Follow me.' "

Deborah McCray
General Services Administration

After Lenovo's U.S. division bought IBM's PC business in 2005, Deborah McCray, senior contract specialist at the General Services Administration, spent 2006 helping GSA steer through some tricky waters.

IBM's PC group was a supplier to numerous agencies, including the Defense Department, but its new ownership raised questions about potential violations of the Trade Agreement Act and other rules and regulations. Lenovo was owned by a business based in China.

"In brokering these actions, McCray ultimately secured nearly $1 billion in annual business for the Multiple Award Schedule 70 solicitation, thereby preventing loss of revenue to the open market arena," said Warren Blankenship, division director for Acquisition Division E in GSA's Information Technology Acquisition Center.

Philip McKinney
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

The U.S. Courts is a single agency, but it is comprised of nearly a hundred different courts nationwide. It made perfect sense that the courts could save money and buy better back-office solutions if they took a shared services approach. However, the courts also had a well-earned reputation for being independent-minded, which made such an approach difficult to implement.

"It was all manual," said George Schafer, chief financial officer of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, of the disparate financial systems in place some time ago.

Never mind the technical challenges associated with bringing enterprise resource planning systems into the back office. Philip McKinney's real accomplishment was to be a change leader.

John McManus
Commerce Department

Migrating an agency's information technology infrastructure to IPv6 equipment is not simple. Thanks to the efforts of John McManus, deputy chief information officer and chief technical officer at Commerce, agencies may have an easier time doing that. McManus established working groups to help agencies officials understand the highly technical aspects of IPv6.

"John has fostered an environment in which the civilian and defense sectors of the federal government are moving forward together in sync, sharing information, best practices and lessons learned," said Carol Bales, policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget.

Rubens Medina
Law Library of Congress

Rubens Medina guided the 2006 release of the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), which gave legal researchers access to nearly 130,000 laws and related legal materials from nations across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. All of it is searchable in any one of 13 languages.

The system reflects Medina's belief that giving citizens and nations a means of accessing laws is fundamental to the rule of law. In developing the project, Medina fostered relationships with a global network of countries dedicated to the same belief and willing to form a multinational venture.

Sarah Holterhoff, president of the American Association of Law Libraries, said Medina a "trailblazer in exploring the potential of digital libraries, especially in developing GLIN.

"It is especially notable that under Dr. Medina's leadership, most of the resources in GLIN are available to the public at no charge," she added.

Frank Moss
State Department

Frank Moss' work has transformed the way Americans travel in and out of the country. As deputy assistant secretary of State for passport services, Moss led the agency's e-passport program and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Both the e-passport and the WHTI PASS card contain radio frequency identification chips and digital signatures to identify holders.

In 2006, Moss oversaw the final production of the e-passports, which contain 600 security features and are aligned with international standards by including an integrated circuit chip.

He also oversaw the issuance of e-passports to diplomats in March 2006 and later to citizens.

"This passport, already considered by many [to be] the most secure form of identification on the planet, was substantially transformed under Frank's leadership," said Jim Williams, commissioner of the General Service Administration's Federal Acquisition Service. Williams described the new passport as a work of art.

Col. Davette Murray
Army

Col. Davette Murray spearheaded the development of the information systems infrastructure that is the backbone of the Defense Department's Military Health System (MHS) Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) electronic health record system. It serves more than 9 million active-duty and retired military personnel and family members.

That infrastructure project entailed the deployment of local-area networks at military treatment facilities worldwide, and the establishment and operation of the AHLTA clinical data repository at a mainframe processing center operated by the Defense Information Systems Agency.

Murray and her team also provided support for AHLTA through a network operations center and help desk.

Margaret Myers
Defense Department

Information technology portfolio management in an organization as large and diverse as the Defense Department is not a front-burner issue. The reason so many people have now signed onto it is almost solely because of Margaret Myers' tenacity, her colleagues say. Myers is principal director in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology.

"The CIO organizations [within DOD] tried to push portfolio management in the late 1990s, but were unsuccessful," said Priscilla Guthrie, who was Myers' boss as DOD's deputy chief information officer until late last year. "Then we had the opportunity to resell the idea when the various business units went through some trials and tribulations."

Myers met with every person who had objections and overcame them, said Guthrie, who is now director of the Institute for Defense Analyses' Information Technology and Systems Division. "She did it with relentless, professional logic," Guthrie said. "It was a huge victory."

Teresa Nasif
General Services Administration

The Internet and e-mail have made communications easier, but the telephone is still the technology of choice for many people. That's why
the General Services Administration's USA Services is necessary. It coordinates those modes of communication.

In 2006, Teresa Nasif, USA Services' executive sponsor, proved that a multifaceted communications strategy is manageable and advantageous.

"Teresa Nasif has applied her wealth of experience at GSA's Federal Citizen Information Center to developing USA Services into the citizen's 'go-to' place for government information," said Martha Dorris, deputy associate administrator at GSA.

Glenn Norton
Homeland Security Department

Glenn Norton, mission operations chief of data management for the US-Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT), has an old-fashioned regard for the value of good data.

His project to cross reference US-VISIT data with data produced by other systems culminated in that program's successful tracking and arrest of illegal immigrants.

"It can validate the identity of people who have overstayed their visas but are still in the country with a high degree of confidence," said Jim Williams, commissioner of the General Services Administration's Federal Acquisition Service. "Before, illegal immigrants were usually apprehended as a side product of some other kind of enforcement action."

The low-key Norton "glorifies data," and he has persuaded other people to think about data in that way, Williams said.

Mary Parks
General Services Administration

Mary Parks, director of GSA's Small Business Governmentwide Acquisition Contract Center, waged what turned out to be a drawn-out campaign against great odds, including numerous protests, to the award of the Veterans Technology Services contact.

"There was tremendous pressure to award this contract in a timely fashion and to make it available to as many as possible without watering down the integrity of the contract," said Steve Triplett, acting chief operating officer of GSA's Heartland Federal Acquisition Service.

"She tried to communicate as much information as she could, as often as possible," Triplett said.

Kshemendra Paul
Justice Department

The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), which aims to improve the flow of data throughout the nation's law enforcement community, was sputtering until Kshemendra Paul, chief enterprise architect at the Justice Department, kicked it into a high gear.

Paul provided structure to the program management office, said Paul Garrett, special assistant to the Justice's chief information officer. Paul was its advocate among industry leaders and worked to get the Homeland Security Department more actively involved.

Garrett said it's always harder when you are working on something out of the norm, such as NIEM, which is an open-source project. But, he added, the "very gung-ho" Paul built momentum to deliver the first version of NIEM in October 2006.

Michael Payne
U.S. Coast Guard

By steering a trusted Linux platform through the security certification and accreditation process, Michael Payne received the first authority to operate at a top secret level a cross-domain system running on a mainstream version of Linux.

Payne, chief of the Office of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at the Coast Guard, broke down barriers in the process of getting the authority that could prove his most important achievement.

"Up to now we've had to work with three different networks operating in three different environments," said Rear Adm. Ronald Hewitt, the Coast Guard's chief information officer. "Now we have a methodology we can use elsewhere."

Jerry Pender
FBI

Jerry Pender, deputy assistant director of operations for the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services, showed what is needed to share information between different agency systems, a critical need after the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

He shepherded two such projects to successful conclusions. One involved an exchange of 10-fingerprint biometric data with State Department consulates overseas. The other required sharing information between the Homeland Security Department, the State Department, the Office of Personnel Management, the State of Texas and the city of Boston.

It's a complex business, said Kathy Dillaman, associate director of the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Investigative Services. You need strong technical skills and the ability to organize workflow, which require a good vision of how people work together.

Pender succeeded, Dillaman said, partly because he "listens as much as he directs."

Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.)
House

Rep. Todd Platts, former chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Government Management, Finance and Accountability Subcommittee, stood apart in his efforts to improve federal financial management and oversee the Office of Management and Budget's Financial Management Line of Business initiative.

Platts called on OMB to clarify the role of agencies and companies as shared services centers.

"I believe he deserves a great deal of credit for being one of the few members of Congress of either party who has taken a serious interest in important government management issues and initiatives," said Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council.

"He has played a real leadership role in Congress in not only reviewing the initiatives but also asking tough yet constructive questions," Soloway said.

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