GovCast GovernmentCIO Media & Research

A U.S. Navy veteran, USDA Chief Data Officer Ted Kaouk was recently appointed chair of the newly created Chief Data Officer Council. He got his start at the agency working loans and grants for rural housing, broadband, utilities, and community facilities. Today he leads USDA's overall vision for using data as a strategic asset. Kaouk explains data's important role in government and how he sees the council tackling crucial priorities.

Karen Evans was newly appointed CIO at Department of Homeland Security. Her prior leadership stems from a start at the National Park Service and spans across many cybersecurity areas at Department of Energy and beyond. She discusses how she will tackle the initiatives ahead at the agency, including its data center consolidation, workforce upskilling and modernizing its network.

A U.S. Army veteran with a previous interest in the medical field and various successful initiatives throughout his career at DOD at large, Defense Health Agency CIO Pat Flanders has a personal approach to the systems he manages for the agency. Flanders provides a close look at how he's approaching IT oversight of the health care delivery systems that serve the 9.5 million beneficiaries around the world under the Military Health System. This episode is sponsored by Dell Technologies and CDW-Government.

USDA CIO Gary Washington's career began in the Air Force. He then served in IT roles at various agencies including the Department of the Treasury, HHS and FDA. Washington discusses USDA being the "lighthouse agency" for GSA's Centers of Excellence and how it's influencing government at large in data management modernization and in using emerging technologies across its oversight in rural areas. This episode is sponsored by Dell Technologies and Iron Bow Technologies.

Wanda Jones-Heath calls herself a "unicorn" at the Defense Department. That's because she sees her stature as CISO at the Air Force, among her 30-year career in government, as rare for women. She discusses progress the agency is making with bug bounties and how the pandemic has presented opportunities for further modernization. She discusses why thinking about the branch on an enterprise level spurs efficiency and innovation in cybersecurity across DOD, especially with organizations like Kessel Run.

Serving at the Department of Homeland Security since its inception (and even before), Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa is innovating how the department buys solutions to enable its national security mission. Correa's contracting background at the department plus elsewhere led to initiatives like the Procurement Innovation Lab to innovate government's purchasing processes.