Page 92 - FCW, August 2021
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Stephen “Steve” Wallace
Systems Innovation Scientist, Emerging Technology Directorate, Defense Information Systems Agency
Defense Department
Innovation in motion. In 2020, Wallace operationalized critical DOD capabilities, often progressing from pilots to production at record speed. Notably for the remote work realities of the pandemic, he led a team that evaluated commercial capabilities for moving web browsing functions from endpoints to the cloud to significantly reduce the risk of malware-related incidents on government endpoints. The result is the Cloud-Based Internet Isolation program, which creates a gap between web-browsing activity and DOD networks. CBII is now being implemented across the department to improve cybersecurity and create other operational efficiencies.
Lt. Gen. Chris Weggeman
Deputy Commander, Air Combat Command
U.S. Air Force
Spectrum superiority. Originally
an F-16 pilot, Weggeman brings a warfighter mentality to the Air Force’s cyber efforts, and since 2018, he has been the Air Combat Command’s lead commander for cyber. In 2020, he
was instrumental in the development of the service’s new electromagnetic spectrum warfare wing (which offi- cially launched earlier this summer) and consistently pressed for new ways to ensure military superiority. In a culture too often slowed by bureau- cratic inertia, one DOD executive
said, “Weggeman is always pushing the bounds and encouraging folks to bust the red tape and fly forward faster.”
Lloyd “Colt” Whittall
Chief Experience Officer
Department of the Air Force
Reframing CX as essential. Whittall has used his extensive commercial knowledge to drive the Air Force to measure what matters, focus aggres- sively on the warfighter and target investments in that area. As the
first chief experience officer in the Defense Department, he has been instrumental in transforming the
Air Force’s attitude toward the user experience. His systematic approach to measuring user experience is criti- cal to the Air Force’s modernization and enterprise-as-a-service effort because it provides a baseline for see- ing improvements and allows systems to provide quantitative feedback on the user experience. Whittall also pioneered an online platform where users can submit written feedback on their experiences.
Sharon Woods
Executive Director, Cloud Computing Program Office, Defense Information Systems Agency
Defense Department
Cloud and the COVID-19 response.
Woods’ most significant achievement in 2020 was her leadership of the Commercial Virtual Remote deploy- ment. CVR transformed collabora- tion across DOD so it could maintain force readiness during the pandemic.
For the first time in DOD’s history, employees could instantaneously work together through chat, video and document collaboration, regard- less of their service or component. Woods implemented a unique project management style and used agile processes to deploy the platform in record time. Her team also applied an iterative approach to defining, build- ing and implementing new capabilities rapidly. Woods’ office deployed CVR to over 1.1 million DOD users, which was the largest Microsoft rollout ever.
Eliana Zavala
Management Analyst, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Office of Management and Budget
AI for acquisition. Zavala has sought to improve systems for rat-
ing contractor performance with the help of artificial intelligence. She led her office in joining forces with the Department of Homeland Security to launch an AI pilot project that makes past-performance information more accessible for contracting officers, simplifying some aspects of the pro- curement process. She then oversaw the Past Performance Moderniza-
tion project as it went into its second phase. It provides 36,000 government contracting officers with relevant and timely performance data to ensure that agencies can make informed decisions about contractors and to encourage vendors to perform at their highest levels.
2021 FEDERAL 100
Stephen “Steve” Lt. Gen. Chris Wallace Weggeman
Lloyd “Colt” Sharon Woods Eliana Zavala Whittall
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