Page 28 - FCW, March/April 2018

2018 FEDERAL 100
Tony Bardo
Assistant Vice President, Government Solutions Hughes
VSATs ASAP. In response to the dev- astation caused by Hurricane Maria
in Puerto Rico, Bardo spearheaded an effort to get 1,200 portable satellite communications terminals to govern- ment agencies, hospitals, businesses and nonpro t organizations across the 3,400-square-mile island. He and his team worked seven days a week to overcome logistical challenges to deploy the terminals so people could communicate with the outside world. Authorities have used the terminals to place tens of thousands of voice-over- IP calls in support of relief and recov- ery efforts. Bardo led similar efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy.
Jack Bates
Director, Business Intelligence Service Line
Department of Veterans Affairs
Transparency provider. Bates and his team were actively updating
the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Access to Care app two hours before it went live on April 12, 2017. The online tool was a high priority for
VA Secretary David Shulkin because it allows veterans to review data on wait times for appointments and qual- ity of care at VA medical facilities.
The project represented a new level of transparency for the troubled agen- cy, and more than that, it required Bates and his ve-person team to move from prototype to production in 30 days to satisfy Shulkin’s demanding schedule.
David B. Bennett
Director of Operations and CIO
Defense Information Systems Agency
Straightforward strategist. Ben- nett directed the launch of several concurrent, innovative IT initiatives in 2017, including leading DISA’s implementation of software-de ned networking with the objective of dra- matically expanding its use across the enterprise. The bene ts include task automation, enhanced resilience and lower costs. He also led the reorgani- zation of DISA’s computing environ- ment into a single ecosystem as a necessary rst step toward consoli- dating operations into a single, end- to-end enterprise while overseeing an initiative that enhances the resiliency of the IT enterprise by using two con- tinually replicated, always-on comput- ing infrastructures to protect against operational disruption.
Maj. Tom Bereknyei
Lead Engineer
Defense Digital Service
Hands-on leader. Some projects require leaders to be more than visionaries and strategists — they have to get technical, too. That’s what Bereknyei did for Project Jyn, an ini- tiative by Army Cyber Command and Defense Digital Service that sought
to address challenges in identify-
ing, recruiting, training and retaining cyber professionals. Acting Defense Department CIO Essye Miller said Bereknyei’s technical contributions and leadership led Jyn’s rst cohort to “build a system capable of detecting and selectively defeating the targeted \\\[unmanned aerial vehicle systems\\\] through exploitation” without jam- ming communications, and it accom- plished that feat in a matter of weeks.
Diane L. Brewer
Program Manager, MilitaryChildCare. com, Commander Naval Installations Command
Department of the Navy
Real-world readiness. Finding child care is a crucial task for military par- ents, whether they are moving thou- sands of miles or simply looking for a new child care program. Brewer led an 18-month development and pilot- testing effort that gathered feedback from military families to bring the department’s practices into the 21st century by transitioning from a paper- based system to a new portal. She ultimately delivered a secure website that provides a single gateway for ser- vice members to nd comprehensive information on military-operated or military-approved child care programs worldwide.
Tony Bardo
Jack Bates
David B. Maj. Tom Diane L. Brewer Bennett Bereknyei
24 March/April 2018
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