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Top 3 Reasons to Participate in 2023 Wash100 Popular Vote Race
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Top 3 Reasons to Participate in 2023 Wash100 Popular Vote Race

The 2023 Wash100 popular vote competition is coming to an end, and in just one week, Executive Mosaic will announce this year’s new first place winner and the top ten. Have you cast your votes yet?

If not, watch Executive Mosaic’s new video and read below to find out why you should:

Show support for your company & colleagues

Over 70 different companies and federal agencies are represented on this year’s Wash100 list. Your colleagues, peers, mentors and role models are likely Wash100 winners, and the best way to show support for them is to vote for them in the popular vote race!

Make your voice heard

Only our readers can decide who takes the crown as the winner of GovCon’s most exciting race, so YOU have the power to sway the outcome! Do you have a favorite GovCon leader? Do you resonate with a particular government official’s mission? Are there aspects of an industry executive’s leadership style that you emulate in your own career? Propel them to the top by casting a vote for them!

Expand your knowledge of GovCon leadership

If you’re not convinced yet, you should at least scroll through this year’s list of Wash100 winners to familiarize yourself with the movers and shakers of today’s GovCon industry. Wash100 recipients are well-positioned to shape the GovCon narrative, and many of them will be speaking at upcoming Executive Mosaic events throughout the year.

Congratulating these elite executives on their Wash100 recognition is a great way to get the conversation started as you pursue opportunities for your professional growth and your business. Visit ExecutiveMosaic.com to view our speaker lineup and our calendar of upcoming events.

Cast your ten votes today at Wash100.com and stay tuned next week for the winner announcement!

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DARPA to Host Proposers Day for Quantum Augmented Network Program
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DARPA to Host Proposers Day for Quantum Augmented Network Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold a proposers day on May 11 in Arlington, Virginia, to provide potential offerors information on a broad agency announcement for a program that seeks to develop network infrastructure that integrates the use of quantum communications on classical networks.

The Quantum Augmented Network program intends to create a hybrid quantum-classical communication network architecture to facilitate quantum enhancements to security, according to a special notice published Thursday.

“The QuANET program seeks to augment existing software infrastructure and network protocols with quantum properties to mitigate some of the attack vectors that are pervasive on classical (non-quantum) networks” and create a configurable network interface card that connects classical computing nodes to quantum links, the DARPA notice reads.

Through the event, DARPA will provide details on the program’s technical goals and challenges and discuss its interest in quantum communications, classical networking, sensing and metrology, among other areas.

Registration for the event will run through May 5.

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FCC Institutes Spectrum Sharing Rules for Space-Based Systems
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FCC Institutes Spectrum Sharing Rules for Space-Based Systems

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules to coordinate spectrum use among non-geostationary satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service systems authorized through different processing rounds.

FCC said Thursday the new rules clarify that certain spectrum-sharing mechanisms are limited to systems licensed in the same processing round and require broadband communications satellites approved in later rounds to demonstrate protections for earlier-round systems.

The new rules also provide additional parameters for inter-round sharing and establish that interference protection granted to an NGSO FSS system will sunset after a period of time.

In March, the FCC proposed a new rule to connect satellites with mobile devices to enable 5G communications in remote and underserved areas.

DHS Releases Third Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Document; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted
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DHS Releases Third Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Document; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security has released the latest update to its capstone strategy document that assesses a range of threats and challenges facing the nation, from human trafficking and domestic violent extremism to climate change, infectious diseases and organized crime.

DHS said the third Quadrennial Homeland Security Review adds a homeland security mission to combat and protect victims of crimes of exploitation, including human trafficking and child and labor exploitation.

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of DHS, said the department will use emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, modernize its operations and equip its workforce with the necessary tools to deliver on the new mission.

“Through updated policies, targeted operations, and by leveraging cutting-edge technology, we are targeting those who seek to exploit the vulnerable and identifying and rescuing victims,” the previous Wash100 awardee said.

The document also reaffirms the five enduring missions outlined in the first and second QHSRs, which are to prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure and manage borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard the cyberspace and critical infrastructure sector and build a resilient nation and respond to incidents.

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Treasury Department Committee Convenes Meeting on Cybersecurity
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Treasury Department Committee Convenes Meeting on Cybersecurity

The Department of the Treasury’s Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee held a meeting to review developments as part of its initiatives to fortify cybersecurity in the U.S. financial system.

The meeting was held on Tuesday and led by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, who cited information sharing as a critical element in detecting malicious Internet-based activities in financial entities.

FBIIC includes 18 member organizations, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board. The committee created a Cloud Working Group, which provided an update on its incident response plans and other strategies during the meeting.

Adeyemo highlighted member agencies’ efforts to protect the country’s financial infrastructure, particularly when threats emerged amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that FBIIC needs to ramp up its cybersecurity measures in order to protect the industry from elevated threat levels.

The Treasury Department is one of the public sector entities feeling the impact of cyber in their operations. Issues like these will be discussed at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Cyber Summit, which will be held on June 8. Register to participate in the event.

POC - 2023 Cyber Summit
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Brig. Gen. Jason Cothern on Space Systems Command’s Rebranded Commercial Space Office
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Brig. Gen. Jason Cothern on Space Systems Command’s Rebranded Commercial Space Office

Space Systems Command, the U.S. Space Force’s acquisition arm, has rebranded its Commercial Services Office as the Commercial Space Office as part of efforts to expand access to industry capabilities, Breaking Defense reported on Thursday.

“We’ve realized we need to reimagine our Commercial Services Office. Because that had ‘services’ in it, that really focused people only in the services realm and so, the boss, Gen. [Michael] Guetlein, has has decided to reimagine that office to become the Commercial Space Office,” Brig. Gen. Jason Cothern, deputy commander of SSC, said at a symposium on Wednesday.

Col. Rich Kniseley will lead the rebranded office, which will serve as a higher-level group with oversight of several contracting units and outreach efforts.

In an interview with the publication, Kniseley called the rebranding an important move because the command is not only interested in services but also in end-user items and other capabilities.

“At the end of the day, I want to be a customer in the commercial market,” he added.

SAP NS2’s Hunter Downey Talks Career History, Core Values & Passion for Government Support
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SAP NS2’s Hunter Downey Talks Career History, Core Values & Passion for Government Support

Throughout his 20-year career, Hunter Downey has held roles at Accenture, Unisys and SAP’s commercial arm. Now, as national vice president of product launch and architecture at SAP NS2, he leads multiple teams dedicated to cloud infrastructure, cloud product management and architecture-focused work.

Recently, Downey revealed the values behind his leadership approach and shared his career background in an engaging interview with the Potomac Officers Club.

In this excerpt from the interview, Downey discusses the driving force behind his commitment to supporting the federal government:

“I have always had a passion for supporting the US federal government. I am a big believer in service and supporting our country is a duty that I take very seriously. I believe that everyone can deliver value and contribute to our country in a multitude of ways. What drives me is a sense of purpose and contribution. In terms of other goals, there is an ongoing list. I want to help the government with innovation and adoption to make it easier for them to focus on the mission and their people. This is not a destination-driven task. It is a partnership where we can listen, grow together and offer solutions that create a positive outcome.”

To learn more about Downey’s background and leadership style, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

The Potomac Officers Club offers each of its members the opportunity to participate in their very own Executive Spotlight interview! To learn more about membership options and benefits, click here.

DOD Provides Tailor-Made Climate Assessment Tool to 6 Allied Countries
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DOD Provides Tailor-Made Climate Assessment Tool to 6 Allied Countries

The U.S. Department of Defense has made customized versions of the Climate Assessment Tool available to the governments of Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

On Thursday, DOD Offices of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment and Energy Resilience, and for Arctic and Global Resilience, held a ceremony to formally hand over the platform to embassy representatives of the allies.

The agency’s climate assessment platform is a common access card-enabled collection of climate data that can be used for research, analysis and the identification of regions that need environment-related studies.

DCAT systems were promised to the allied nations two years ago by the Biden administration, as part of a cooperative agreement on climate resilience and national security interoperability. Military departments can use the tool to pinpoint and analyze facilities needing strategies for climate exposure risk reduction.

Defense department leaders can also be guided by DCAT to compare climate and disaster risk levels in their agency’s components, DOD said.

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Peraton Secures $399M NOAA Contract for Joint Polar Satellite System Support; Roger Mason Quoted
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Peraton Secures $399M NOAA Contract for Joint Polar Satellite System Support; Roger Mason Quoted

Peraton has booked an eight-year, potential $399.3 million contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to maintain and support the agency’s Joint Polar Satellite System Common Ground Service.

Services to be delivered by Peraton include the engineering and operation of the JPSS common ground system, which provides communications links for satellites operated by NOAA and its U.S. government and global partners, the Reston, Virginia-based company announced on Friday.

“At Peraton, we continue to push the efficiency envelope through the modernization and advancement of cloud computing system architectures, advanced weather data processing, and support of NOAA’s weather infrastructure,” said Roger Mason, president of Peraton’s space and intelligence sector and a four-time Wash100 Award winner.

“We are honored NOAA has entrusted Peraton to help advance its mission of understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans, coasts and space,” he said.

Under the contract, Peraton’s OS/COMET offering will be implemented as a common platform for NOAA missions. The system offers space orbital analysis capabilities, advanced automation and a cyber-hardened architecture to maintain and safeguard critical space assets.

This transition away from legacy platforms is expected to diminish acquisition and lifecycle costs across the NOAA ground enterprise by establishing open architecture systems and cloud capabilities. 

Peraton’s work will help guide NOAA in its shift to an agile and scalable low Earth orbit ground system to open opportunities for future consolidated systems’ architecture. These technology developments are expected to translate to new NOAA LEO missions, other agency program needs and enhancements in cloud readiness applications to satellite constellations as well as Air Force weather programs. 

For over two decades, Peraton has worked on numerous long-term NOAA projects.

Currently, Peraton employees operate and maintain NOAA’s primary archiving system for environmental data, sustain the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s main operations control center and perform a variety of services for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R Series initiative.

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Cara Abercrombie Nominated as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
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Cara Abercrombie Nominated as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition

Cara Abercrombie, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for defense policy and arms control at the National Security Council, has received a nomination from President Biden to serve as assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, the White House announced Thursday.

If confirmed, Abercrombie will replace Tanya Skeen, who has served in the role on an acting basis since March 2022, and oversee the acquisition and development of new warfighting capabilities.

Abercrombie previously served as acting deputy director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, where she helped align a diverse portfolio of DSCA programs with foreign policy and national security objectives.

She has held various leadership positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since 2003, including deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia and principal director for East Asia.

Abercrombie also served as special assistant to former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

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