b'Insightsdata centric. This will really help us all to understand theWould you tell us more about yourself and your true lifecycle of data into knowledge and how we can helpcareer path? manage that entire lifecycle.Ive been with DISA for about fifteen years working in What are some of the key challenges tovarious areas of the agency. I started in DISA Oklahoma City transforming the DISA culture towards a moreproviding office, mobility and operations support. My family data-centric one that looks at data as a strategicand I moved to Fort Meade about five years ago, when I asset, but makes sure that its discoverable,began learning the business side of the agency. Ive always accessible, and decision-enabling?asked why? about everything and that has helped me in my advancement. I am always trying to push for people to A key challenge that I always come back to is walking thatcollaborate more and share data more. It has also given me line of risk and innovation. As DISA and our workforcethe opportunity to learn a little about all the different services matures with how we are changing some of the businessand areas of the agency. strategies used for our capabilities, we will take risks to achieve innovation. We need to carefully craft and weighDISA is a very important supporter of the DoD mission, and these risks to ensure our investments and missions areI couldnt be happier to be part of that. My career path is to supported and to enhance our day-to-day decision-making.continue solving problems and providing value where I can. I do have the desire to advance but continue focusing on where Changes to procedures and operation procedures can also beI can best provide value for the DoD. challenging. I had the privilege to work with a woman who has been a pioneer in the data world. She advised to not useWhat has surprised you most since taking your role? the word change but use the word evolve or mature, because humans are nervous about change. Which is true! If weThere have been surprises around every corner. The buy-in were to begin talking about all the changes to our businessfrom leadership and the workforce has been a very pleasant operations or our defensive cyber postures, we would be metsurprise. It was that collective desire to assist in building this with total apprehension.office and the willingness to provide needed resources when we didnt have any. This really proves the importance of One other key challenge is time. We are focusing onhaving a single data management component in the agency to achieving small wins to provide that proof of value topull efforts together.leadership and the workforce that data management and knowledge management will drive efficiencies. Getting to a data maturity level where we can be trusted as an influencerTo learn more about the Defense Information Systems Agency,will take time and lots of foundation work that isnt as fast orgo to disa.mil. flashy as some other efforts.To hear the interviews from The Business of Government Hour, go to businessofgovernment.org/interviews.To download the show as a podcast, go to PodcastOne or iTunes and search for The Business of Government Hour.https://youtu.be/9LyLFkKXQl82022 IBM Center for The Business of Government 55'