CIO shakeup moves Schlosser to OPM, Graves to OMB
The federal government is temporarily reshuffling some of its top IT officials to fill the vacant CIO position at the Office of Personnel Management.
Lisa Schlosser, the deputy federal chief information officer, will move to OPM on a temporary detail as a senior adviser and acting CIO. While there, she will support OPM’s work on cybersecurity as the agency looks for a permanent CIO.
Taking Schlosser’s position at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget will be Margie Graves, the principal deputy CIO for the Department of Homeland Security. Graves will serve as acting deputy administrator in OMB’s Office of E-Government and IT while Schlosser is away.
In a letter to OPM employees obtained by FedScoop, acting OPM Director Beth Cobert said Schlosser “brings a wealth of cross-government experience and a deep understanding of the challenges we face.”
“I worked with Lisa for two years while I was at OMB and can tell you from personal experience that she will bring incredible talent, leadership, and a commitment to public service that will serve this agency well,” she wrote.
Schlosser comes to OPM after Donna Seymour abruptly retired from the position last month. Seymour was essentially forced out by Congress in the wake of the catastrophic breaches of federal personnel and background check records.
Dave Vargas had been serving as acting CIO at OPM and will move back to his associate chief information officer post. Cobert, who told the House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Monday that Vargas was serving as interim CIO, praised his work in the letter.
“I want to thank Dave Vargas for stepping in as Acting CIO during this period of transition, and I am glad that he will continue to play a crucial role in OCIO as Associate Chief Information Officer,” Cobert wrote. “OPM’s CIO team has worked tirelessly and has made significant improvements to our information technology capabilities and security. I applaud their commitment and efforts and look forward to building on our progress in the future.”
Jeanne Etzel, currently the executive director of NextGen for DHS, will serve as interim principal deputy CIO for the agency.
The moves were first reported by Federal News Radio.
Billy Mitchell contributed to this report.
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