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Karen Evans

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Karen S. Evans
OccupationFormer Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response at the U.S. Department of Energy
Known forFormer Federal Chief Information Officer of the United States, previously known as the Administrator of the Office of E-Government and Information Technology (E-Gov)

Karen S. Evans is a former United States Senate confirmed, Presidential Appointed executive, who served as the first Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the U.S. Department of Energy. An executive who served in four Presidential Appointed positions in three Administrations.[1] She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Education

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Evans holds a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Arts Public History certificate, and a Bachelor of science in Chemistry from West Virginia University.[2][3]

Career

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Early career

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Over 20 years in the U.S. government beginning in 1983, Evans worked at the National Park Service, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Department of Agriculture. She was director of the Information Resources Management Division at the Department of Justice before becoming the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Energy Department.[4]

In September 2003, Evans was named Administrator of e-government and information technology at the Office of Management and Budget, a post created by the E-Government Act of 2002 and functioning as the de facto Chief information officer of the United States, replacing Mark Forman. In naming Evans a "Power Player" in 2007, NextGov cited Evans' responsibility for a large IT budget and ability to influence government IT for years in the future.[5][6]

Starting in 2003 she served as the Chief Information Officer for the Department of Energy, and at the director level with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Farmers Home Administration.[7][8][9]

First Trump Administration

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In June 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Evans to be the first Assistant Secretary for Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) at the Department of Energy. The U.S. Senate approved her nomination by voice vote on August 29.[10] She took up her post in September and served in the role until February 2020, when Secretary Dan Brouillette replaced her with Alexander Gates. Several months later she was named the CIO of the Department of Homeland Security, overseeing the largest civilian IT budget of more than $7 billion.[11]

Evans formerly served as the first Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).[12] After being confirmed by the United States Senate,[13] she was sworn in on August 28, 2018, and provided strategic direction, leadership and management to address emerging threats while improving energy infrastructure security and supporting the DOE national security mission.[14] From March 2020 - January 20, 2021, Evans served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.[15][16]

Prior to being named Assistant Secretary at DOE, Evans was the national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a public-private partnership focused on building the cyber workforce.[17] She served on the Trump Transition and Landing Teams to develop the management agenda addressing technology initiatives government wide.[18][19][20]

Evans served as the Administrator for the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the George W. Bush administration.[21][22][23][24] At OMB, she oversaw nearly $71 billion in annual IT funds, including implementation of IT throughout the federal government.

As of 2012, Evans was a co-founder of SafeGov, which advised United States government entities on cloud computing.[25]

Evans previously served as the Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute.[26][27]

Second Trump Administration

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After the election of Donald Trump in 2024, Evans was mentioned in the press as a candidate for an under-secretary role at the Department of Homeland Security in the Second Trump administration.[28][29]

Honors and awards

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Evans is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.[30]

In 2012 Evans was named a distinguished alumni by West Virginia University.[31] In 2024, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business by the same university.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Biography of Karen S. Evans". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  2. ^ "2019 Program | Department of Chemistry | West Virginia University". www.chemistry.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  3. ^ "Alumni US | West Virginia University, Greater Pittsburgh Area". alumnius.net. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. ^ "Technology Briefing | People: Information Technology Chief Named". The New York Times. 2003-09-04. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  5. ^ "Power Players: 2 - Karen Evans". NextGov. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  6. ^ "New Fed CIO Will Hold Second Job in OMB". GovInfo Security. 2009-03-06. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Karen S. Evans, National Director, U.S. Cyber Challenge". CxOTalk. 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  8. ^ "Karen Evans Takes Over as CIO at Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Today". 5 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  9. ^ "Karen Evans Retires from Office of Management and Budget". www.govtech.com. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  10. ^ Curran, John (2018-08-29). "Senate Confirms Evans to DoE Security Post". MeriTalk. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  11. ^ Miller, Jason (2020-05-28). "DHS to hire a familiar face as its new CIO". Federal News Network. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  12. ^ House, Arthur E. (Oct 17, 2018). "We'd be crippled by a cyber attack on our utilities". The Messenger. Madisonville, Kentucky. (The Washington Post). p. A5. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  13. ^ Curran, John (August 29, 2018). "Senate Confirms Evans to DoE Security Post". www.meritalk.com. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  14. ^ "Karen S Evans, United States Department of Energy: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  15. ^ "Karen S. Evans | Homeland Security". www.dhs.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  16. ^ Delaney, Melissa (17 Feb 2021). "After Months of Remote Work, Agencies Begin Planning Ways to Bring Back Employees". FedTech. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  17. ^ "Delaware Technical students win national cybersecurity competition". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. Aug 6, 2017. p. A13. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Karen S. Evans". Department of Homeland Security. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  19. ^ Rockwell, Mark (February 13, 2020). "Evans out at Energy Department -". FCW. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  20. ^ "Karen Evans Sworn in as DOE Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  21. ^ Harris, Shane (September 15, 2005). "It's Just Business". Government Executive ; Washington. Vol. 37, no. 16 – via Proquest.
  22. ^ Ourviews (Feb 25, 2008). "Identity theft. Federal agencies fail to meet standards". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. p. 15. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  23. ^ "Progressions". Signal: 10. November 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  24. ^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (4 Sep 2006). "White House Seeks Fresh Info on Smart-Card Efforts". Computerworld. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  25. ^ O’Brien, Kevin J. (2012-11-20). "European Governments Staying Out of the Cloud". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  26. ^ "Meet the Leadership Behind".
  27. ^ "Karen Evans named Managing Director at the Cyber Readiness Institute". Security Magazine. October 27, 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  28. ^ McCann, Kristian (2024-11-08). "Who Stands to Fill Top Cyber Posts in Trump Administration?". Cyber Magazine. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  29. ^ "Here's who could fill top cyber policy roles for Trump". Politico. 2024-11-07. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  30. ^ "National Academy of Public Administration". National Academy of Public Administration. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  31. ^ "Previous Inductees". business.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  32. ^ "Karen S. Evans | Honorary Degrees | West Virginia University". honorarydegrees.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
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