Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, state, local and tribal government agencies will have access to $1 billion over the next four years to strengthen their cybersecurity.
The question is, what could, or better yet, should agencies spend that money on first? Mitigating ransomware attack risks, implementing best practices for backup and recovery, multi-factor authentication, data encryption; the possibilities are endless.
This week our guests share what exactly your agency can use these grants for and how to set priorities in what should come first.
Listen to the full conversation here, or on your favorite Podcast Platform.
To view this webinar: States: Make Plans for Federal Cybersecurity Grants.
Featured Speakers:
Zhenzhen Sun
Chief Information Officer
Zhenzhen Sun currently serves as the Assistant Commissioner and the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Boarding (THECB). Ms. Sun’s vision is for the Agency to move towards value-centric IT management, where benefits from IT investments are well quantified and communicated, and outcomes are measured. Her job responsibilities include working closely with the Agency leadership and the key business stakeholders on building an effective IT governance structure, integrating quality, accessibility, security, efficiency, and accountability into all IT activities, building strategic partnership with the higher education institutions and other state agencies, and setting ambitious yet practical milestones to support the Agency in fully implementing the state’s higher education strategic plan, Building a Talent Strong Texas.
Ms. Sun has over 15 years’ experience in successfully implementing IT solutions in both private and public sector organizations. She holds a master’s degree in Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s a member of the Department of Information Resources Advisory Committee that guided the 2022 – 2026 State Strategic Plan for Information Resources Management, and a graduate from the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.
Asst. Comm. & CIO, IS & Services, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Rita Reynolds
Chief Information Officer
Rita serves as NACo’s chief information officer. In this capacity, she oversees the internal technology operations of NACo, and leads NACo’s technology programs and initiatives for counties. She is responsible for the NACo technology blueprint, which includes managing the development and delivering of technology programming on initiatives such as cyber security, technology infrastructure and cloud computing. Rita brings with her responsibility for serving on multiple boards and workgroups over the years including the PA Digital Advisory Board, the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center, and the NASCIO Cyber Security Workgroup. Rita also serves as the staff liaison to the NACo Technology Standing Committee and the GIS Subcommittee.
Before joining NACo, Rita served as the CIO for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, where she spent 20 years mainly focused on similar initiatives for CCAP and with counties in Pennsylvania. Prior to that Rita was an independent fiscal and computer consultant where she worked with numerous children and youth agencies in Pennsylvania and designed fiscal and data reporting applications, including a statewide AFCARS solution. Rita holds a B.A. in business administration with a minor in political science from Messiah College in Pennsylvania. Rita has been the recipient of numerous awards over the years, including the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania’s 2019 Moxie Award, Government Technology’s 2017 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers, and State Tech’s “30 State and Local Government IT Influencers” for 2020.
Chief Information Officer,
NACo
Marisol Cruz Cain
Director, Information & Cybersecurity
Marisol Cruz Cain is a Director in GAO’s Information and Cybersecurity team. She oversees work on federal cybersecurity and privacy issues, including specific agencies’ ability to protect privacy, sensitive data, and the computing infrastructure. In addition, she is a Diversity Champion participating in efforts to increase diversity at GAO and facilitating multiple Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion courses in the Learning Center.
Marisol joined GAO in 2005. She has led audits on government-wide cybersecurity, privacy, and information management issues, including reviews of the efficiency of federal privacy programs, the implementation of cybersecurity risk management practices, and the transition to electronic records. She has also led reviews of cybersecurity and IT management/operations at specific agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Federal Student Aid.
Marisol earned a master’s degree in public administration from University at Albany. Marisol has earned a master’s degree in information security from University of Maryland Global Campus. Marisol earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Director, IT & CS Team,
U.S.GAO
Hong Sae
Chief Information Officer
MISAC President – Municipal Information Systems Association of California, and Member of Greater Sacramento CIO/CTO Forum. Past CIO of City of Irving / Farmers Branch-TX, TXMHMR and NME. Certified Government CIO (Honor) w/Rutgers University, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt w/Texas A&M University. Awarded Top 10 Digital Cities (10 of last 12 Yrs), MISAC Excellence Award (last 6 yrs), and Fed. Govt Customer Service Excellence Award.
Chief Information Officer,
City of Roseville
Trent Frazier
Deputy Assistant Director, SED
Trent Frazier is the Deputy Assistant Director of the Stakeholder Engagement Division (SED) in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). As the Deputy Assistant Director for Stakeholder Engagement, Mr. Frazier leads, in coordination with the Assistant Director, CISA’s strategy to build, promote and sustain strategic partnerships across industry, public sectors and institutions, and the international community. He also oversees partner coordination and information sharing to support the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against hazards to include terrorism, natural disasters and cyber-attacks. In addition to directing a large and diverse team of professionals, Mr. Frazier represents CISA on behalf of the Assistant Director in engagements with senior department leadership, the administration and before Congress.
Prior to joining CISA, Mr. Frazier served as the Executive Director for Office of Campaigns and Academic Engagement at DHS where he led the planning and implementation of three national education and public awareness campaigns focused on combating human trafficking, promoting suspicious activity reporting, and fostering resiliency and emergency preparedness across colleges and universities. In his role, Mr. Frazier represented the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and agency leadership to create and maintain dialog with interagency partners, private sector and non-governmental entities, and leadership for institutions of higher education to generate awareness on key national security issues.
Prior to this role, Mr. Frazier has served in a variety of positions across the Department focused on border infrastructure, workforce management, and acquisition and program management. Through his efforts, Mr. Frazier has received the Secretary’s Award for Excellence and multiple leadership awards across the Department.
He has a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He began his federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow, and has since been a fellow in the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows Program.
Deputy Assistant Director for Stakeholder Engagement, CISA
Elizabeth “Bess” Mitchell
Grant Operations Branch Chief
Beginning in May 2022, Bess Mitchell has served as the Grant Operations Branch Chief with the Stakeholder Engagement Division (SED) of CISA, responsible for the development and implementation of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP). Ms. Mitchell initially joined CISA in January 2014 as a member of the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC), now ECD, where she led grants policy efforts for 8 years.
Prior to joining CISA, she served in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate for 11 years, overseeing the grants management processes, developing grants policy and guidance, and administering grants data management systems. Bess also spent 3.5 years as a management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting the initial development of the Homeland Security Grant Program.
Grant Operations Branch Chief, CISA
Laine Cavazos
National State, Local & Education Practice Manager
Laine Cavazos is Rubrik’s National State, Local and Education Practice Manager, supporting Rubrik’s Public Sector customers across the US. In this role, Laine is responsible for Rubrik’s Public Sector contracts, state and local government relations, and grant initiatives. She particularly enjoys helping Rubrik’s state and local customers leverage new sources of funding, such as the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan.
Prior to joining Rubrik, Laine spent her entire 20-year career in public sector IT with companies such as Northrop Grumman, Hewlett Packard, and VMware, working on some of the largest government IT outsourcing programs with the DOD, Federal and State and Local governments. Outside of work, she is an active member of the Colorado State University Extension Advisory Board. Laine holds a B.A. from Penn State and an MBA from Virginia Tech. Laine lives in Colorado with her husband and two daughters.
National SLED Practice Manager,
Rubrik Public Sector
Jane Norris
Contributing Editor
Jane Norris a contributing editor to FedInsider, is committed to advancing government communications and putting people first in every regard.
Jane brings a lifetime career in media and government to her role. She has held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As a consultant and public relations lead, she worked to execute priority issues for two powerhouse government contracting firms creating successful communications strategies for issues like, technology modernization, AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, customer experience, human centered design, health and economic policy, the government workforce and employee engagement.
Jane’s private sector career also includes on-air work with multiple radio and television stations, most recently as a daily drive-time host on Federal News Radio/WTOP in Washington DC.
Moderator & Contributing Editor, FedInsider
