Kiran Ahuja serves as the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). After more than two decades in public service and executive nonprofit work, she was nominated by President Joe Biden for her current role before being confirmed by the United States Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Director Ahuja is the first South Asian American and first Asian American woman to lead OPM.
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Jessica Berry is a native Vermonter with more than 21 years’ experience in the U.S. Senate in several roles, including the last 6 years as senior Committee staff for Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
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Kristen Best is the Director (A), Illicit Trade, Travel, Finance at the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Strategy, Policy, & Plans. Full Bio

Ms. Julie Brewer assumed her current role as the Executive Director of the Office of Innovation and Collaboration (OIC) in January 2022. OIC is located within the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and provides DHS Components and the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) with access to cutting-edge technology and high-impact solutions through partnerships. Full Bio

Valerie Mattison Brown serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and was appointed to this role April 26, 2020. Ms. Mattison Brown is accountable for the integration and synchronization of health system efficiency within the
VHA and serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary for Health on all matters related to enterprise-wide strategic direction to facilitate decision-making and guide transformative healthcare for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Full Bio

C. Michelle Bryan is the Deputy Director for Resource Management at the Federal Protective Service (FPS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She provides strategic leadership and executive oversight of the following programs in support of the FPS law enforcement and security mission: budget and finance, human resources, acquisition, personnel security, procurement, diversity and inclusion, ethics, project management, labor relations and the organizations program analysis and evaluation efforts. Full Bio

Ms. Atisha Burks is the Assistant Director for Resource Management (CFO) with the Federal Protective Service. She is the Senior Executive responsible for leading actions to sustain and improve accounting and finance operations to meet FPS’ goals. Full Bio

Kelli Ann Burriesci is the Deputy Under Secretary for Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.
Serving in this capacity, she is responsible for the development, coordination, and implementation of DHS strategies and policies to advance the mission in the following areas: Counterterrorism, Threat Prevention and Law Enforcement; Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Risk, and Resilience; International Affairs; Border and Immigration; and Trade and Economic Security. Full Bio

In August of 2020, Ms. Cave became the Deputy Associate Commissioner for the Office of Regulatory Affairs at the Food and Drug Administration. Previously she was the Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Enforcement and Import Operations and has the responsibility for providing direction and oversight of the Food and Drug Administration’s field import operations. Full Bio

Liz Tunick Cedar is the Manager of Global Cultural Programs in the Office of International Relations at the Smithsonian Institution, where she is responsible for leading new partnership development and overseeing the strategic planning and execution of global projects in art and culture. She works with national governments and foreign museums on preserving, developing, and designing cultural institutions, training museum professionals, and enhancing public engagement. Full Bio

Patty Cogswell joined Guidehouse in September 2020 as a senior strategic advisor, working in the areas of innovation, organization and mission transformation and redesign across the national security sector. Full Bio

Michelle Davis is a federal executive who serves as the chair for the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Federal Interagency Working Group and SCD portfolio lead. Full Bio

The leadership skill executives most often say they wish their leaders possessed is the skill of holding people accountable. But, if we were to hold people accountable, then our people are not being accountable. Full Bio

Carla Gammon will lead the Logistics Management Directorate as the Acting Assistant Administrator upon Mr. Dorko’s move. Ms. Gammon has served as FEMA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Logistics Management Directorate since 2013. Before coming to FEMA, Ms. Gammon led organizations in human capital, base mission support, and operations support areas as an officer in the Air Force. Full Bio

Margaret (Margie) H. Graves is the IBM Partner for Digital Modernization Strategy and Fellow for the IBM Center for the Business of Government providing strategic advisory services to corporations and government. She is the former Federal Deputy CIO for the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. Full Bio

Jamie Holt is currently the Acting Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for the St. Paul office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the principal investigative component of the Department of Homeland Security. Full Bio

Hillary Batjer Johnson is a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Deputy Coordinator for Homeland Security, Screening, and Designations in the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State. Full Bio

Kelly Lay is the NCUA’s Director of the Office of Examination and Insurance. In this role, Ms. Lay oversees the NCUA’s examination and supervision program, which ensures the safety and soundness of the credit unions system and manages risk to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. Full Bio

Ms. Leben began her professional career at the U.S. Secret Service, Office of Investigations in 1990 as a fingerprint specialist in forensic science, served for the past 17 years in senior leadership positions and was OPM certified for the Senior Executive Service. Full Bio

Ms. McClain is Vice President for InterVISTAS Consulting Inc., having joined the company in 2019 after completing a three-year term as a Special Assistant and rehired annuitant with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, returning to the agency where she began her government career more than three decades ago. Full Bio

Tara Caroselli McFeely is a senior national security executive with extensive intelligence and defense policy, legislative, and budget leadership experience. She is the inbound Deputy Staff Director for the Minority on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). She most recently was a Vice President with Beacon Global Strategies, where she leveraged her significant intelligence, budget, and technology policy expertise across the National Security and Technology Practice. Full Bio

Jennifer L. Miller, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force Director of Staff, Headquarters Department of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this capacity, she provides advice and assistance directly to the Secretary, Under Secretary, and Department of the Air Force Secretariat while managing the day-to-day administration and integration of the Department of the Air Force. Full Bio

Kathryn Coulter Mitchell was appointed the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T) on May 5, 2021. As the science advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary, Ms. Coulter Mitchell heads the research, development, innovation and testing and evaluation activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operational Components and first responders across the nation. Full Bio

Ms. Christy Monaco serves as the Vice President of Programs at the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. USGIF is the leading non-profit educational foundation for advancing the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) tradecraft to address global security challenges. Full Bio

Ms. Nahrwold is an Associate Director at the National Credit Union Administration
(NCUA) in its Office of Examination and Insurance (E&I). E&I is responsible for
instilling public confidence in credit unions by providing leadership and collaborating
with other agency offices and regions on the establishment of sound policy, direction, and
quality control over the examination, surveillance, and problem resolution programs for
federally insured credit unions. Full Bio

Sasha Cohen O’Connell, PhD is an Executive in Residence in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology, School of Public Affairs (SPA), American University where she currently teaches cyber policy at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Full Bio

Jalina Porter was sworn in as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State on January 20, 2021. A seasoned communications professional, Ms. Porter previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives as Communications Director for former Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana. Full Bio

Ms. Love Rutledge, currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Readiness. Outside of work hours, she hosts the FedUpward Podcast (fedupwardcoaching.com/podcast) and coaches federal employees. Full Bio

Ms. Shapiro currently serves as the Section Chief of the Talent Acquisition and Placement Section (TAPS) where she has responsibility for talent acquisition, human capital planning, and workforce staffing strategy. Full Bio

Chris Schiavone leads the Partnership’s executive coaching strategy, including designing and delivering coaching engagements for federal agencies and scaling the implementation of the Public Service Leadership 360 assessment. Full Bio

Ms. Rhonda C. Shaffer has more than 25 years of senior leadership experience in the federal government and the private sector. She currently serves in the Senior Executive Service corps as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Budget Officer with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Full Bio

Claire Stapleton is currently the Privacy Program Manager at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In that role, Claire has helped to establish the Privacy Continuous Monitoring program. Prior to joining the FDIC, Claire served as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s first Chief Privacy Officer and Senior Agency Official for Privacy. Full Bio

Sunayna Tuteja brings 10+ years of global experience leading change and innovation at the nexus of finance, technology and policy. Most recently, Sunayna was the Global Head of Emerging Tech & Strategic Partnerships at TD Ameritrade. Full Bio

Kimberly Walton is the former Executive Assistant Administrator for Enterprise Support at the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In that role, she was responsible for implementing processes that strengthen enterprise support services across TSA’s human resources, acquisition and procurement, training, logistics, and other critical enterprise support functions. Full Bio

Kamela joined the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security in August 2019, and became the Clerk of the Subcommittee in September 2021. Prior to joining the subcommittee, Kamela spent 17 years at the Office of Management Budget (OMB), serving as the budget examiner for CBP and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services along with NASA Mission Support, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Full Bio

Recently retired Cynthia Whittenburg was appointed Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade, in 2016, charged with overseeing one of the most important aspects of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) complex mission: facilitating lawful trade while protecting our supply chain to support our nation’s economic growth and security. Full Bio

Connie LaRossa has worked a variety of different national security roles for more than two decades. She led legislative engagement for the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DoD), and the Intelligence Community, as well as for private sector clients. She currently serves as the Senior Policy Manager on the Google Government Affairs & Public Policy team where she is responsible for national security policy. Full Bio