DON CIO Awards Recognize Information Management and Information Technology Excellence
By Navy News Service - Published, April 20, 2016
Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer (DON CIO) Robert Foster recognized more than 10 individuals and teams for transforming the Navy and Marine Corps through information technology during a ceremony at the Washington E. Walter Convention Center April 20.
"DON IT professionals do great work every day and innovative ideas come from people at all levels," said Foster to the awardees. "For over 10 years, the DON CIO has honored the best performers with the Information Management (IM)/ Information Technology (IT) Excellence Awards and, in 2016, we have another large and varied group of award winners. I am very pleased to present this year's awards to such talented and dedicated professionals."
The awards are presented annually at both the DON IT West Conference and at the DON IT East Conference. The following 23 individuals and teams were selected as the 2016 winners.
DON IM/IT Excellence Award Winners
The DON IM/IT Excellence Awards recognize IM/IT teams and individuals who have transformed the Navy and Marine Corps through information technology. Winners were selected for their superior leadership skills and innovative use of IM/IT to significantly improve the effectiveness of the organization in delivering its mission.
DON IM/IT Excellence Award Individual Winners
CWO-4 Timothy Aldrich, chief technical officer, Marine Corps Network Operations and Security Center (MCNOSC) for superior leadership, technical acumen, and forward-thinking ingenuity in advancing IT initiatives on a broad scope, all with substantial enterprise impacts.
Joseph Andrew, program manager, Tactical C4ISR, U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command for seamless management of the battle space by interconnecting deployed Special Operations Forces (SOF) elements with interoperable networks.
1stLt Amanda McIntosh, SharePoint Implementation and Optimization, HQMC C4 for optimizing SharePoint usage across the Department, thereby driving efficiency and effectiveness into a workforce of 250 Marines, Civilian Marines, and contractors, and improving collaboration across the C4 Department.
Capt. William McNeal, program manager, CANES for bringing the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) program from concept to reality, guiding it through its first installations to full at sea operations on 25 ships, supporting the Navy's mission.
DON IM/IT Excellence Award Team Winners
Deployable MCEN Team, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) for executing a Limited Objective Experiment that will enable Marine operating forces to seamlessly transition from garrison to a tactical environment while maintaining a single user account and computer workstation.
Free-Space Optical Communications, ONR and NRL Team for leading the advancement and maturation of free space optics (FSO) technology to enable robust communications in a degraded or contested radio-frequency (RF) environment, resulting in the Tactical Line-of-sight Optical Network (TALON) to augment existing Marine Corps line-of-sight radio frequency communication links during Marine Air-Ground Task Force operations.
Periodic Review Secretariat IT Team for developing flexible, technical solutions and providing essential support in executing Presidential Executive Order 13567 related to Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.
U.S. Coast Guard, C3 Engineering Center, Navy Type - Electronics Asset Line Team for developing metrics and using logistical trend analysis to identify system availability improvements while reducing annual costs.
U.S. Fleet Forces Command, IT Policy and Investments Team for implementing the CNO's IT procurement approval and oversight process, portfolio management and Fleet-wide IT policy, lauded as a "Best Practice" by the Navy IG.
DON IM/IT Innovative Solution Award Winners
The DON IM/IT Innovative Solution Awards recognize teams and individuals that have applied imaginative concepts and challenged conventional thinking, which resulted in the improved use of DON information.
Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information systems (PEO EIS), PMW 240 Mobility Team for working across multiple disciplines to develop mobile apps that leverage Sailors' personal devices and delivering a prototype solution called eDIVO in seven months.
Denise Roberts, contracts and acquisitions management director, NAVIDFOR for driving the implementation of the Contracts Collections Analysis and Management Module and providing the technology to link and standardize approximately 64 major commands within the Navy Information Dominance Forces.
MSgt Travis Ronzio, senior cyber security technician, II Marine Expeditionary Brigade for superior performance of duties as the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade's senior Cyber Security Technician that revolutionized the United States Marine Corps' ability to command and control a Combined Joint Task Force and defend deployed communication networks from cyber threat.
Michael Yearsley, team lead, Marine Corps IA Red Team Counter-Phishing, User Training and Inoculation Program for the development and implementation of the Counter-phishing User Training and Inoculation Program (CUTIP), which provides the Marine Corps with the capability to measure enterprise-level susceptibility to phishing attacks and provides training on the dangers associated with email.
DON Cyberspace/IT Person of the Year and Rising Star Award Winners
The DON Cyberspace/IT Person of the Year and Rising Star of the Year Awards acknowledge individuals GS-13/04/W-1/E-7 and above and GS-12/03/E-6 and below, who display visionary thinking, innovation, and superior leadership skills in delivering IT to support the DON's mission.
DON Cyberspace/IT Person of the Year Award Winner
Maj Nicholas Webb, officer in charge, MCEN Operations Branch, MCNOSC for leading the establishment of a Marine Corps Enterprise Network Integration Branch, resulting in a task organized team to transition new technologies into production with minimal cost and disruption to existing services.
DON IM/IT Rising Star Award Winners
Capt. Robert Rivera, operations officer, Defensive Cyber Operations, Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) Operations Branch for demonstrating visionary thinking, implementing innovative practices and displaying superlative leadership, making direct and substantial contributions to Defensive Cyber Operations at the service-level.
IT1 Kenji White, Navy Information Operations Command for his force-multiplying cyber knowledge and operational application throughout the Pacific Fleet Area of Responsibility.
DON Information System Security Manager (ISSM)/Information System Security Officer (ISSO) of the Year Award Winners
The DON Information System Security Manager (ISSM)/Information System Security Officer (ISSO) of the Year Award is presented to individuals who have contributed to security efforts that have resulted in significant improvements in cyber hygiene.
Duane Robertson, cyber security manager, PMW 240, PEO EIS, SPAWAR for making a huge impact on the Navy by keeping over 60 Defense Business Systems used across the Navy by all its Sailors and civilians safe, secure, and operational.
Richard Walter, IA/cybersecurity branch head, G-6 Division, Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM) for supporting Marine Corps training and education and developing a Command Cybersecurity Program to meet all IA requirements and address evolving cybersecurity threats.
DON Privacy Program Excellence Award Winners
The Privacy Program Excellence Award is presented to an individual and a team that demonstrates commitment to privacy and advancing the effectiveness of a command privacy program.
BUPERS Privacy Cadre for significantly improving the Bureau's ability to safeguard Sailor's personally identifiable information (PII), and continuing to seek ways to reduce the mishandling of sensitive PII and continually improve the effectiveness of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) Privacy Program.
Judy Kosaka, information resources manager/deputy knowledge manager, COMPACFLT for superior leadership, personal dedication, and invaluable expertise in resolving issues and streamlining processes to improve the protection of Personally Identifiable Information, which benefits the U.S. Navy and its Sailors.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program Excellence Award Winner
The DON Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program Excellence Award is presented to an individual who exhibited superior leadership performance and commitment to freedom of information.
Irina Tsiklik, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), FOIA Program for implementing reforms within the course of the year that led to improvements in software, hardware and practices, including procedures aimed at resolving backlogged cases and unperfected requests that resulted in the largest FOIA backlog reduction in the history of NHHC.
John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Leadership Award Winner
The John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Award is presented to an individual who demonstrates superior achievement in DON Electromagnetic Spectrum management and use.
Capt. Seamus Carey, Marine Corps lead engineer, Advanced Wireless Systems, MARCORSYSCOM for superior performance of his duties as the Marine Corps Lead Engineer for multiple Advanced Wireless Systems (AWS) 1 Radio Frequency (RF) testing events.