Ken Blount, OEHRM Testing Manager of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Ken Blount, OEHRM Testing Manager of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Ken Blount possesses over three decades of comprehensive experience in the defense sector. He boasts skills related to information technology, information assurance, network security, and project management. Since March 2020, Mr. Blount has served as the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization Testing Manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

 

On December 6, 2023, Mr. Blount is scheduled to be one of the panelists at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit. He is set to share his command to the ever-changing needs, emerging technologies, and current market evolution of the healthcare sector, particularly for the veterans communities across the United States,

 

Register for the 2023 Healthcare Summit and learn more about important topics and developments in the healthcare sector, such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and user experience.

Hurry and secure a slot now!

 

Meet Ken Blount

 

Ken Blount
Image from LinkedIn

Kenneth Blount, known to his colleagues as Ken, has mastered various facets of the information networks of the Department of Defense. Equipped with his deep understanding of defense systems in mid to senior-level leadership, he has led a team of contractors and government personnel for different program offices under the Defense Department.

 

Aside from his current role as the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization (OEHRM) Testing Manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Blount also holds the position of Infrastructure Project Lead at the Program Executive Office Defense Healthcare Management Systems. He has served in this capacity since October 2012.

 

Ken Blount’s experiences

 

  • OEHRM Testing Manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs (2020–Present)
  • Infrastructure Project Lead at Program Executive Office Defense Healthcare Management Systems (2012–Present)
  • Director of Theater Medical Logistics DHSS at the Department of Defense (2010–2012)
  • Director of System Service Support at the OSD TMA Defense Health Information Management System (2008–2010)

 

*Some of Ken Blount’s earliest experiences also include two-year stints for the 18th Medical Command and the United States Army. 

 

Mr. Blount’s educational attainment 

 

  • Bachelor of Science in Finance at the Hampton University (1980–1984)
  • Officer Basic Course at the USAMEDD Center and School (1985)
  • Medical Logistics Management Course at the USAMEDD Center and School (1985)
  • Officer Advance Course at the USAMEDD Center and School (1989)
  • Health Services Materiel Officer Course at the US Army Medical Materiel Agency (1990)

 

Doubling down on his knowledge and capabilities in the federal sector, Ken Blount completed several trainings, where he acquired certifications such as DAWIA Level I Certified in Information Technology, Level III Program Management from the Defense Acquisition University, and ITIL V3 certified and Security+.

 

Ken Blount’s demonstrated work and accomplishments in the healthcare industry

 

Ken Blount's demonstrated work and accomplishments in the healthcare industry
Photo by PopTika/Shutterstock

Ken Blount is a highly acclaimed professional in the federal healthcare sector. He extensively studied the health services and functions, which he applied throughout his demonstrated work for the federal healthcare industry. Furthermore, Mr. Blount’s IT competencies have boosted his reputation as a premier healthcare leader.

In the same year that Mr. Blount became the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization Testing Manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he was included in the list of awardees for championing innovation in Health IT. Awarded by FedHealthIT on November 17, 2020, he was recognized for his accomplishments in the medical innovation and research field.

 

Ken Blount, Panelist for the 2023 Healthcare Summit

 

2023 Healthcare Summit

 

Ken Blout has been named as one of the panelist speakers for the 2023 Healthcare Summit, organized by the Potomac Officers Club. Happening on December 6, 2023, he joins other leading healthcare decision-makers, leaders, and professionals to delve into healthcare innovation amid the fast-evolving landscape.

 

Learn more about the 2023 Healthcare Summit

 

  • Organizer: Potomac Officers Club
  • Date: December 6, 2023 (7:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. – ET)
  • Location: Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park, 3111 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042
  • Sponsors: LMI, SAIC, Noblis, LCG, and netskope

 

The 2023 Healthcare Summit, organized by the Potomac Officers Club, explores the changes brought about by the onset of the global pandemic. The annual summit discusses the shifting patient needs, the rise of new technologies, and the emergence of threats. All in all, the 2023 Healthcare Summit analyzes the undergoing revolution in the healthcare market.

 

Join top executives in a deep dive into the current and future developments of public and private healthcare markets at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit.

Follow this link to learn more.

 

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NASA Installs Key Component of SLS Rocket to Power Artemis III
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NASA Installs Key Component of SLS Rocket to Power Artemis III

NASA has installed the frangible joint assembly onto the launch vehicle stage adapter of the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket to be used for the Artemis III lunar mission.

The frangible joint assembly sits atop the adapter, which connects the SLS core stage to the rest of the vehicle, including the Orion spacecraft that will house the crew, NASA said Monday.

During the mission, the assembly will work to break on command, allowing the upper stages of SLS to separate from the core and the launch vehicle stage adapter, a.k.a. LVSA.

The SLS LVSA is manufactured by lead contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering. In 2020, the Teledyne Technologies division received an $85 million NASA contract modification for the production of additional adapters.

The LVSA for Artemis III, however, is expected to be the last of its kind because future SLS configurations will require a different adapter.

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New Alliance Seeks to Drive Open Innovation, Responsible AI Development
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New Alliance Seeks to Drive Open Innovation, Responsible AI Development

IBM and Meta have launched a new international alliance focused on advancing open science and innovation and driving safe and responsible artificial intelligence development.

The AI Alliance will bring together companies, academic institutions, scientists and other innovators to build and deploy tools, benchmarks and evaluation standards and other resources that facilitate the responsible development and use of AI technologies, IBM said Tuesday.

The alliance plans to advance the ecosystem of open foundation models with diverse modalities; promote an AI hardware accelerator ecosystem by strengthening the adoption of essential software technology; support global AI skill-building and exploratory research; and unveil initiatives that foster open AI development.

The international group will also create a governing board and technical oversight committee focused on developing project standards and guidelines.

“IBM is proud to partner with like-minded organizations through the AI Alliance to ensure this open ecosystem drives an innovative AI agenda underpinned by safety, accountability and scientific rigor,” said IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna.

The AI Alliance’s other founding members and collaborators include:

  • Agency for Science, Technology and Research or A*STAR
  • Aitomatic
  • AMD
  • Anyscale
  • Cerebras
  • CERN
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth
  • Dell Technologies
  • Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
  • ETH Zurich
  • Fast.ai
  • Fenrir
  • FPT Software
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Hugging Face
  • Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
  • Imperial College London
  • Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
  • Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
  • Intel
  • Keio University
  • LangChain
  • LlamaIndex
  • Linux Foundation
  • Mass Open Cloud Alliance, operated by Boston University and Harvard
  • Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
  • MLCommons
  • NASA
  • National Science Foundation
  • New York University
  • NumFOCUS
  • OpenTeams
  • Oracle
  • Partnership on AI
  • Quansight
  • Red Hat
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Roadzen
  • Sakana AI
  • SB Intuitions
  • ServiceNow
  • Silo AI
  • Simons Foundation
  • Sony Group
  • Stability AI
  • Together AI
  • TU Munich
  • UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • The University of Notre Dame
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • The University of Tokyo
  • Yale University
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Army Requests Information on New Enterprise Data Analytics Platform Development
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Army Requests Information on New Enterprise Data Analytics Platform Development

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems has begun seeking information on the development of a new enterprise-wide data analytics platform that will ingest, analyze and manage data across the service branch.

Information gathered during the market research will be used to inform the Army’s acquisition approach for the Army Data Platform 2.0, which will replace the Vantage data analytics and decision-making platform, according to a notice posted Thursday on SAM.gov.

ADP 2.0 will enable Army decision-makers to create, manage and publish data products and give them access to enterprise data ecosystem mesh services to ensure data governance and interoperability.

The Army will continue maintaining the current Army Vantage, powered by Palantir-built software, to enable capability availability and assist in a seamless transition to ADP 2.0.

Responses to the request for information are due Jan. 24.

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PSC Offers Comments on OMB’s Draft AI Governance, Risk Management Guidance
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PSC Offers Comments on OMB’s Draft AI Governance, Risk Management Guidance

The Professional Services Council has commented on the Office of Management and Budget’s draft memo on how federal agencies should adopt, use and manage artificial intelligence technologies.

PSC offered to facilitate future engagement among OMB stakeholders to help them understand AI’s potential opportunities and limitations and provided comments on specific questions related to the draft memo, titled “Advancing Governance, Innovation, and Risk Management for Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence,” the national trade association said Monday.

The draft guidance outlines a set of requirements for strengthening the U.S. government’s AI governance and risk management practices and policies, including designating a chief AI officer at each agency.

OMB also directs agencies to establish an AI governance body, apply context-specific risk mitigation measures for generative AI and build an AI use case inventory to foster innovation.

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Sterling Thomas Appointed GAO Chief Scientist
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Sterling Thomas Appointed GAO Chief Scientist

Sterling Thomas, a research scientist with decades of experience across the government, industry and academia, has taken on the chief scientist role at the Government Accountability Office.

In his new role, Thomas will oversee the GAO’s science and technology work, including the programs managed by the science, technology assessment and analytics team, which assesses the applications of emerging technologies in government missions, the GAO said Monday.

“Sterling brings a wealth of knowledge and experience across these fields that will add great value to our accelerating body of science and technology related work,” said Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the U.S. and head of the GAO.

Before joining the GAO, Thomas was chief scientist and deputy chief technology officer at nonprofit research corporation Noblis, where he also served as principal investigator overseeing research funded by the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.

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DOD Inspector General’s Office Reveals Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Controlled Unclassified Information Contracting; Robert Storch Quoted
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DOD Inspector General’s Office Reveals Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Controlled Unclassified Information Contracting; Robert Storch Quoted

The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General released a special report that includes 24 open recommendations to address cybersecurity weaknesses in controlled unclassified information, or CUI, management by the agency’s contractors.

DOD on Monday published a document summarizing OIG’s five audits from 2018 to 2023, which found inadequate implementation of multifactor authentication among DOD contractors, as well as weak passwords.

Some companies hired by the agency to process, store and share CUI did not undergo proper vetting to check their compliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity requirements, according to the new report. Others also lacked electronic authentication tools to prevent data breaches.

“Protecting sensitive government information in cyberspace is crucial,” Inspector General Robert Storch commented. “For that reason, strengthening the DoD’s cybersecurity capabilities has been among our Top DoD Management and Performance Challenges for more than a decade, and it will continue to be one of our top oversight priorities.”

Peraton’s Andrew Hallman on Intelligence Channels, Need to Maintain Intel Collection Capabilities
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Peraton’s Andrew Hallman on Intelligence Channels, Need to Maintain Intel Collection Capabilities

Andrew Hallman, vice president of national security strategy and integration at Peraton and a previous Wash100 awardee, recently spoke about the importance of intelligence channels in light of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Intelligence channels have proven to be an effective means of negotiation because they tend to offer enduring, lasting trusted channels that tend to be more resilient to shifting political winds,” he said in an interview on CNN.

Peraton's Andrew Hallman on Intelligence Channels, Need to Maintain Intel Collection Capabilities

He also shared his thoughts on the role of the CIA and the credibility that William Burns, the agency’s director and two-time Wash100 Award recipient, brings as a professional diplomat in light of the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group.

Hallman, former principal executive at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said the U.S. Intelligence Community will face increasing pressure from the current administration and Congress to develop independent intelligence streams as well as help Israelis learn from the conflict, retraining them and offering assistance to help them restore their intelligence capabilities.

According to Hallman, the Intelligence Community should keep its eye on long-term strategic threats from China and be cognizant of the need to maintain its intelligence collection capabilities.

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OMB Provides Guidance for Agencies to Meet 2024 FISMA Reporting Goals
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OMB Provides Guidance for Agencies to Meet 2024 FISMA Reporting Goals

The Office of Management and Budget issued guidelines to help federal agencies comply with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, also known as FISMA, for fiscal year 2024.

The guidance includes requirements and deadlines for submitting FISMA reports to OMB and the Department of Homeland Security, OMB announced Monday.

The Budget Office emphasized the importance of FY 2024 in laying the foundation to meet the Biden administration’s goals under the executive order on improving national cybersecurity. Objectives such as zero trust implementation measurement in 2024 are also critical in achieving OMB’s pledge to transition the government toward zero trust principles.

One of the recommendations in the new memo is the identification and inventory of Internet of Things devices, prioritizing those that are critical to agencies operations. OMB also noted that the Federal Chief Information Security Officer Council will create a working group tasked to develop best practices for IoT and operational technology security.

Under FISMA, all agencies are required to submit their annual Chief Information Officer and Senior Agency Official for Privacy metrics as well as annual reports from their respective inspectors general by Oct. 31, 2024.

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Guidehouse to Support DAF Workforce Development Under New Contract; John Saad Quoted
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Guidehouse to Support DAF Workforce Development Under New Contract; John Saad Quoted

Guidehouse has booked a two-year task order to help the assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management and comptroller, or SAF/FM, carry out workforce development activities.

Under the contract, Guidehouse will provide a variety of services to assist the SAF/FM Directorate of Workforce Management and Executive Services with workforce transformation initiatives, the firm announced from Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

“We are extremely honored to work with SAF/FM to deliver people-driven support to their members and continue further engagement of the financial management workforce,” said John Saad, partner and defense and security segment lead at Guidehouse.

He said the company is “excited to have the opportunity to help shape the future” of the Department of the Air Force’s financial management workforce, which is made up of 13,000 military and civilian employees globally.

Guidehouse’s contracting responsibilities will support strategic planning and workforce analysis, training program development, performance management and data analytics as well as strategic communications and public outreach for the directorate, which oversees an array of strategic and tactical level workforce management and development resources for the DAF.

This task order follows two contract wins for Guidehouse in November, both of which came from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Under one of these contracts, Guidehouse is expected to provide organizational assessments, strategic planning, change management and data analytics support for the agency’s human resources division. The second award focuses on information technology operations, processes and systems.

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