Eric Hysen to return to DHS as CIO

The Department of Homeland Security is awaiting word from the White House to announce Eric Hysen its new chief information officer, according to a source with knowledge of the hiring.

For now, Hysen holds the title of senior adviser at the department, a DHS spokesperson told FedScoop. His announcement as DHS CIO, a politically appointed position, is imminent, a separate source said.

The White House appointment will see Hysen — a member of the Biden-Harris transition team who focused on technology strategy and delivery — return to the department whose Digital Service he created as a wing of the larger U.S. Digital Service team.

Hysen fills the vacancy left by Karen Evans, who departed in January.

The role of DHS CIO sits inside the management directorate, overseeing IT coordination across the greater department and working with component agency CIOs, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration. The CIO is in charge of IT security for the department, separate from the work of DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, whose mission is to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyberthreats.

During Hysen’s last stint at DHS, from September 2015 to March 2017, his team of 35 IT experts improved the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program through data analytics and predictive modeling, launched an online application for citizenship, and developed tools to streamline airport security.

When he departed Hysen called his time at DHS his “first tour of duty,” adding he was “hooked” on the impact.

More recently Hysen served as senior fellow of policy design and implementation at the National Conference on Citizenship, where he worked with the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement to recommend innovations in refugee policy, process and systems.

Hysen’s pending appointment was first reported by Federal News Network.