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Former Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin Named White House Office of Public Engagement Director
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Former Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin Named White House Office of Public Engagement Director

Stephen Benjamin, the former mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, has been appointed by President Biden as senior adviser and director of White House Office of Public Engagement.

Benjamin, who served as mayor of Columbia from 2010 to 2021, will succeed Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is stepping down as head of the office after more than half a year of service in the Biden administration, the White House said Monday.

As head of the local government, Benjamin focused on economic development, job creation and development of a diverse law enforcement department, according to Biden.

“As a former President of both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association, Steve’s deep relationships with communities across the country will serve our Administration and the American public well,” the president said.

The Office of Public Engagement facilitates and coordinates direct dialogue between the Biden administration and local communities to inform the national government’s outreach and public events.

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CISA’s Jen Easterly on Sustainable Cybersecurity Model
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CISA’s Jen Easterly on Sustainable Cybersecurity Model

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, highlighted the need to adopt a new cybersecurity model where technology providers build in security from the start of the development process and “in which responsibility for technology safety is shared based upon an organization’s ability to bear the burden and where problems are fixed at the earliest possible stage.”

“In sum, we need a model of sustainable cybersecurity, one where incentives are realigned to favor long-term investments in the safety and resilience of our technology ecosystem, and where responsibility for defending that ecosystem is rebalanced to favor those most capable and best positioned to do so,” she said during a speech Monday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

To advance the sustainable cybersecurity model, Easterly, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said there are three core principles tech manufacturers should take to integrate product safety into their processes for designing, implementing and maintaining their products and one is taking ownership of security outcomes for their customers.

The CISA director noted that tech providers should adopt “radical transparency” to help better understand the challenges related to consumer safety and develop a roadmap that outlines the company’s plan for how tech offerings will be “developed and updated to be both secure-by-design and secure-by-default.”

Easterly stated that security-by-design calls for manufacturers to adopt secure coding practices, implement a transparent vulnerability disclosure policy and migrate to memory-safe languages.

DIA CIO Doug Cossa Shares Vision for the Future of Five Eye Information Sharing
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DIA CIO Doug Cossa Shares Vision for the Future of Five Eye Information Sharing

Global competition is heating up, and complex geopolitical developments have been a catalyst for United States government leaders to strengthen ties with allied nations and coalition partners.

Within the intelligence community, global partnerships have become a major area of focus. The U.S. is part of a global intelligence alliance called Five Eyes, which also comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

To get a glimpse into the future of working with partners like Five Eyes, Executive Mosaic spoke with Doug Cossa, chief information officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency, in a new video interview.

“Really since the beginning of time, when we think about our international systems, they were developed as separate and disparate from what we would use in our native environment,” he said, explaining the systems the IC has had in place for decades.

Today, the DIA is the community service provider for a capability called Stone Ghost, which is a separate system that the Five Eye partners use together. Though this customized system is important for global collaboration with allies, Cossa said he wants to move away from using a system that is “separate and distinct” and toward a system that’s more interconnected.

“As we move into the future, we want to get rid of point-to-point systems and work from our native environments, meaning the system we log in to the U.S. to do our day-to-day work seamlessly interfaces with the systems that other countries have — particularly the Five Eyes that we share intelligence with — in their native environment,” Cossa said.

The DIA currently has a group of employees testing out how to work on the same systems as global partners in a secure way, and Cossa said the agency is really focusing on data standards and data strategies for securely sharing information.

“The future looks like extending that to other partners, international partners,” Cossa explained.

Watch Doug Cossa’s full video interview here to learn more about his vision for the future of information sharing with partners.

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Executive Mosaic Highlights GDMS’ Chris Brady and NASA’s Pamela Melroy in Honor of 2023 Wash100 Wins
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Executive Mosaic Highlights GDMS’ Chris Brady and NASA’s Pamela Melroy in Honor of 2023 Wash100 Wins

General Dynamics Mission Systems’ Chris Brady and NASA’s Pamela Melroy – two of the strongest innovators in the government contracting industry – have been spotlighted by Executive Mosaic as 2023 Wash100 Award winners.

The annual Wash100 Award reached its 10th anniversary this year, continuing its tradition of honoring notable figures in GovCon with the most prestigious recognition in the community. During an intense selection process, Brady and Melroy’s dedicated leadership stood out from the competition and earned both executives a spot in the 2023 Wash100 class.

Brady’s win marks his fourth consecutive Wash100 Award. Since joining GDMS more than 20 years ago, Brady’s unparalleled commitment to emerging technology has driven the company forward. In his fourth year as president of GDMS, Brady continued to shine as his leadership landed the organization numerous contract wins in 2022. Click here to read Brady’s full profile.

Melroy’s dedication to cultivating the next generation of STEM leaders has served as a guiding light for her efforts in her current role. The NASA astronaut, who currently serves as the agency’s deputy administrator, won her first Wash100 Award for her work to encourage scientific innovation through multiple NASA initiatives.

Last year, these efforts included issuing new grants under the Innovative Advanced Concepts program and promoting the Acquisition Innovation Launchpad. To read Melroy’s full profile, click here.

As Executive Mosaic continues to highlight the 2023 Wash100 Award winners, you have a chance to choose your favorite executives in the annual Wash100 popular vote contest, a highly-anticipated and exciting race to the top for this year’s inductees. To participate, please visit Wash100.com.

GSA Requests Information on Proposed Small Business Tech Procurement Vehicle
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GSA Requests Information on Proposed Small Business Tech Procurement Vehicle

The General Services Administration’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center has begun market research on a proposed multiple award contract vehicle to use Small Business Innovation Research III authority to meet the government’s current and future requirements.

GSA requests small businesses working with the federal government through the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer programs to comment on the potential Research, Innovation, & Outcomes procurement effort, according to a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov.

SBIR/STTR awardees are asked to submit documentations, including contract award documents and standard forms, to help inform the agency’s plan.

In November 2022, Jim Ghiloni, a group manager at FedSIM, said the proposed ROI contract is expected to enable small businesses to market their SBIR products directly to agencies with requirements that match their capabilities.

Through the contract vehicle, agencies can issue a task order or make direct awards to companies that have completed Phase III of the SBIR program.

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DARPA Gears Up for AI Forward Initiative With Summer Workshops
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DARPA Gears Up for AI Forward Initiative With Summer Workshops

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has opened the application process for workshops that will launch its Artificial Intelligence Forward Initiative.

The endeavor will commence with one online and one in-person workshop to allow the exchange of ideas on applying trustworthy AI to national security, DARPA said Friday.

AI Forward was introduced in October as part of the agency’s continued efforts to advance automated technology. To achieve AI trustworthiness, DARPA experts say studies should be conducted on areas such as human-AI partnerships, AI engineering, and foundational theory to help set ethical and safety parameters in fields such as national security.

The agency has begun accepting applications for the summer workshops until March 20. The events will be held online from June 13 to 16 and in-person in Boston from July 31 to August 2.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Lays Out Semiconductor Investment Goals
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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Lays Out Semiconductor Investment Goals

Gina Raimondo, secretary of the Department of Commerce, has issued long-term goals and priorities to support the implementation of investments from the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry.

During her remarks at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Raimondo said the Commerce Department will incentivize domestic semiconductor manufacturers; provide funding to facilities focused on chips research, development and production; and invest $11 billion in building the semiconductor R&D ecosystem through the creation of a national center.

The planned National Semiconductor Technology Center will work as a public-private collaborative effort to bring together government and industry leaders to spur innovation in the semiconductor industry.

“I want the United States to be the only country in the world where every company capable of producing leading-edge chips will have a significant R&D and high-volume manufacturing presence,” the secretary said.

Raimondo said another priority is boosting hiring and training efforts across the U.S. semiconductor sector and urged companies to collaborate with academia to produce 100,000 new technicians over the next decade.

The announcement follows the appointment of leaders and staff who will serve in the CHIPS Program Office to help guide the implementation of semiconductor investments from the bipartisan law.

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Director Jen Easterly Announces Launch of New CISA Website
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Director Jen Easterly Announces Launch of New CISA Website

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has unveiled a new website that comes with a user-centric design to make it easier for users to find the resources and tools that they need.

“The new site is intuitively organized by service and tool, but there are also audience-based search capabilities, so individuals and key stakeholders have another way to find what they’re looking for,” CISA Director Jen Easterly wrote in a blog post published Friday.

Easterly, a 2023 Wash100 Award winner, said the updated website has a Spotlight section that covers the trending issues the agency is tracking, a News and Events page and Resources and Tools page with a filterable system.

“Additionally, we want to bring greater attention to the hiring opportunities at CISA and to focus on bringing more diversity and inclusivity into the work force,” she wrote.

According to Easterly, users do not have to visit multiple sites to view the alerts, advisories and other operational content since the former US-CERT website was integrated into the new CISA.gov website.

DOE to Fund ULTRAFAST Program for Improving US Power Grid Resilience; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE to Fund ULTRAFAST Program for Improving US Power Grid Resilience; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy will allocate $48 million to fund a program aimed at improving power grid reliability and resilience in the United States.

The new ULTRAFAST program will be managed by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and is part of the Biden administration’s goal of reaching 100 percent clean electricity by the year 2035, DOE said Friday.

“A reliable and resilient grid is the key to protecting our power supply from outside threats and expanding America’s clean energy and transportation options,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm commented.

ULTRAFAST stands for Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies. Projects under the program will conceptualize devices such as semiconductor technologies that are capable of faster switching at higher current and voltage levels.

The teams will also develop products that can boost electromagnetic interference immunity, as well as technologies that can improve grid systems’ thermal management.

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Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting on National Security Impacts in Space Domain
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Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting on National Security Impacts in Space Domain

Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Space Operations Command, highlighted the importance of advancing space technology and noted the space domain’s critical role in national security during a National Defense University Foundation briefing.

“Our national defense is dependent on space as well, in fact, our entire joint force is sized with the assumption that space will be available through all levels of conflict,” Whiting said.

The official also discussed the significance of partnerships between SpOC and the commercial industry to expand space capabilities for government applications.

Whiting also addressed concerns that space is becoming increasingly congested during his presentation. He said the number of trackable debris on orbit jumped 90 percent in the last three years partly due to launch of satellites forming mega constellations.

In December 2022, SpOC formally activated the Space Acquisition and Integration Office at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado to oversee the procurement and integration of new technologies and capabilities into space operations.

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