Page 64 - Federal Computer Week, March/April 2019

2019 FEDERAL 100
David T. Nguyen
Founder and CEO
United Solutions
Blockchain pioneer. Last year, Nguyen and his company helped the Department of Health and Human Services achieve its goal of obtain-
ing the first authority to operate for a blockchain solution in the federal gov- ernment. Starting with a proof of con- cept, Nguyen guided the HHS Accel- erate team in using the distributed ledger technology to deliver real-time information for acquisition purposes. His success with HHS Accelerate has inspired other agencies — including the General Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to launch their own blockchain projects.
Daisy Olympia James
Project Manager, Passenger Systems Program Directorate, Office of Information and Technology, Enterprise Services, Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security
Travel transformation. To the delight of millions of travelers, James oversaw the process of moving CBP’s popular security prescreening pro- grams to the cloud and unified them under one portal as the Trusted Trav- eler Programs. It took her only nine months to streamline and transform one of DHS’ most important services, which was also CBP’s first effort to move a major application to the cloud and take advantage of the centralized Login.gov. The new system allows
users to create and manage their own accounts. Since it went online, the portal has seen 16 million logins, 26 million visits and zero downtime.
Kevin M. Phillips
President and CEO
ManTech
Backlog buster. Phillips decided
to tackle the government’s massive security clearance backlog, an issue with an impact across the market.
He testified before Congress on how the backlog affects contracts and the programs they support. He recom- mended that portable clearances be assigned to people instead of projects and advocated for continuous evalua- tion rather than periodic checks, then invested countless hours in behind- the-scenes implementation efforts. The result: The backlog dropped by 600,000 in 2018, and another 300,000 drop is expected in 2019. Meanwhile, Phillips also leads ManTech’s efforts to hire veterans, in part by offering educational and training opportunities through a partnership with Purdue University.
Nancy Potok
Chief Statistician of the United States and Chief, Statistical and Science Policy Branch
Office of Management and Budget
Driving data strategy. Potok has been instrumental in creating a data- driven government. She brought together diverse communities to improve federal statistics, emphasiz-
ing new techniques that combine
data from multiple sources. She has pushed the use of data as a strategic asset in her role as co-lead on the Federal Data Strategy, shaped how agencies gather and use data under the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act and been involved in the implementa- tion of the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, which promotes data sharing while protecting confidentiality. She has also helped keep planning for the 2020 census on track amid significant policy and program issues.
James J. Quinn
Senior Advisor (Cyber), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Department of Homeland Security
Thinking like the enemy. When
the .Gov Cybersecurity Architecture Review program launched in 2018, officials envisioned it as a one-time review of civilian agency network vulnerabilities to determine the strategic value of individual agen- cies’ investments. It quickly became apparent to Quinn and others that
the program had far broader applica- tions. By incorporating threat intel- ligence about specific adversaries, the program can produce a holistic view of an agency’s security gaps from the eyes of the enemy. Quinn is credited as the driving force behind a method that U.S. CIO Suzette Kent has said will set the direction for federal cyber- security efforts for years to come.
David T. Nguyen
Daisy Olympia Kevin M. Nancy Potok James J. Quinn James Phillips
64 March/April 2019
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