The American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council, or ACT-IAC, has appointed Gary Washington, former chief information officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as chief strategy officer.
In a LinkedIn post, ACT-IAC said Washington will assume his new role at the nonprofit organization later in November.
“Gary Washington is an outstanding federal technology leader with keen insights and experience across government and the commercial sector,” said Dave Wennergren, CEO of ACT-IAC CEO and a two-time Wash100 awardee. “We are absolutely delighted to have Gary join the ACT-IAC leadership team and support our continuing mission to accelerate government mission outcomes through collaboration, leadership and education.”
Nextgov/FCW reported Monday that Washington transitioned to the newly created role of chief innovation officer at USDA after the department tapped Sam Berry, an associate from the Department of Government Efficiency, to serve as CIO in September.
Who Is Gary Washington?
Washington spent eight years as CIO of USDA. In this capacity, he oversaw the development of IT strategies, portfolio management, IT operations and information security. He helped establish five IT modernization centers of excellence and advanced cloud adoption, IT infrastructure optimization, service delivery analytics and customer experience.
He also served as acting secretary of USDA and the department’s acting deputy secretary.
Washington’s federal career spans multiple agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget, the Food and Drug Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. At FDA, he served as director of IT governance and deputy director of infrastructure.
The Strayer University graduate spent a decade in the U.S. Air Force as a computer operator and command control specialist.
Related Articles
Lt. Gen. Michele Bredenkamp assumed the role of director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency during a change of directorship ceremony at NGA headquarters. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Monday the event was attended by Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas and Bradley Hansell, under secretary of defense for intelligence and security. Who Is Bredenkamp Succeeding? The ceremony also recognized Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, the outgoing NGA director, with the George Washington Spymaster Award for his leadership across 30 years of public service. Whitworth, a four-time Wash100 awardee, noted that Bredenkamp is inheriting an agency
Tom Harker announced on LinkedIn Monday that he has been officially named deputy chief financial officer of the Department of Defense. According to Harker, he has been tasked with overseeing the department’s first-ever clean audit and will implement enhancements to business processes and systems to boost transparency, efficiency, effectiveness and audit readiness. Who Is Tom Harker? Harker is a seasoned executive and government leader with extensive experience in federal service, military operations and private-sector consulting. He currently serves as president of Harker Group, providing strategic guidance to corporations, partnerships and government entities while serving on boards of directors and advisory councils.
The U.S. Army plans to buy at least one million drones over the next two to three years as it prepares for future conflicts, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in an interview with Reuters. The service could later acquire anywhere from half a million to several million drones annually, a significant expansion from the roughly 50,000 the Army purchases each year. “It is a big lift,” the official admitted. “But it is a lift we’re very capable of doing.” Why Is the Army Accelerating Drone Procurement? He said the Army is drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, where small and