GCN's 2009 Executives of the Year
Connecting state and local government leaders
This year's honorees -- former Rep. Tom Davis, Martha Dorris, Rob Carey and Jim Lewis -- demonstrate the powerful role that IT innovations can play in improving the way government agencies accomplish their missions.
The GCN Awards also recognize a handful of individuals for their significant contributions to the use of technology in Government. This year we salute the GCN Hall of Fame Inductee, former Rep. Tom Davis, and GCN IT Executives of the Year Martha Dorris, Rob Carey and Jim Lewis. These individuals demonstrate once again the powerful role that IT innovations can play in improving the way government agencies accomplish their missions.
Tom Davis: Hall of Fame
During seven terms in Congress, Tom Davis led what became the Government Reform Committee and was widely known as the leading congressional expert on technology and procurement.
"FISMA is a little outdated today, but at least on the cyber side it brought together the fact that there was no coordination in the agencies, they weren’t accountable and there was no credit for people who were doing it right."
Full story: Davis made the connection between technology and reform
Martha Dorris: Civilian Executive of the Year
Martha Dorris has pushed for the use of leading-edge technologies at GSA, including Web 2.0 and social media tools, to connect with the government’s constituents.
"I want to work in an organization and run an organization where people like to come to work. So fun is a big part of it. It’s a work value."
Full story: Dorris propels GSA into a new-media age
Robert Carey: Defense Executive of the Year
Department of the Navy CIO Robert Carey is pushing to improve security across the department while promoting the use of Web 2.0 tools and open-source software.
"You can either be a strength, or you can be a vulnerability. If you do things wrong, you become a vulnerability."
Full story: Carey steers the Navy to its 'new normal'
Jim Lewis: Industry Executive of the Year
As senior fellow and director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Jim Lewis championed the Commission of Cybersecurity's establishment and politely rode herd on strong-willed members of the group.
"We thought, we don’t have a dog in this fight. Let’s just write what we think is best for the country."
Full story: Behind the scenes, Lewis helped bring cybersecurity to the fore
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