Labor deputy CIO Tom Wiesner has worked in IT for more than 30 years in various federal agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Treasury Department and the Homeland Security Department’s Transportation Security Administration during its first year of existence.
At TSA, he also established an IT deployment coordination center for IT services and products for TSA locations at more than 400 airports.
At Treasury, he was director of information systems security and also led the governmentwide wireless e-gov SAFECOM initiative.
“A large majority of federal government employees really do want to make a difference—they just want a responsible job, and one they can be held accountable to—to prove they can make a difference,” he said.
Wiesner started his federal service with NSA because he was drawn to its mission.
Since then he has taken advantage of new opportunities for career development.
He joined Labor as deputy CIO in August 2003, working primarily on e-government, and contributed to Labor’s efforts on the President’s Management Agenda. The department received green ratings across the board in June from the Office of Management and Budget.
Wiesner received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. He spoke with GCN staff writer Mary Mosquera by phone.
GCN: Now that you’ve achieved all green on the President’s Management Agenda scorecard, how do you plan to stay there?
WIESNER: It’s true what they say, that getting to green is tough, but staying green is tougher. Our philosophy to stay green is basically how we got to green, and that is to stay focused on what is required and where we want to be at the end of 90 days every quarter.
We believe a good relationship and good communications with the Office of Management and Budget is essential, so there is clear understanding of what we’re trying to do and whether it meets their expectations and objectives. We’re continuing to engage the entire department and all the agencies as necessary. It’s definitely a team effort, and everyone’s program, cost schedule performance, security and enterprise architecture are all important.
GCN: On what will you base your performance goals since you have fulfilled OMB basic requirements?
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