Linda Cureton literally is trying to move out of the back room and into the board room. As NASA Goddard’s chief information officer, Cureton’s office just went through a reorganization that will help her be more a of strategic player in the agency.

Cureton already has made significant progress by showing the value her office can bring to Goddard and understanding the center’s mission areas.

Part of the way Cureton also shows value is through her blog. She is one of a growing number of federal CIOs blogging.

She says the blog is one way for people to get to know her on a more personal level.

Bio: Ms. Linda Y. Cureton is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and leads the Information Technology and Communications Directorate. As the CIO, Ms. Cureton is responsible for ensuring that GSFC’s information assets are acquired and managed consistent with Agency and Federal Government policies. She is responsible for ensuring that the Center’s Information Technology strategy aligns with NASA’s vision, mission, and strategic goals. The CIO provides the information infrastructure and tools that effectively and securely support management, science, research, and technology programs; develops, implements, and operates specialized IT systems to support mission planning and operation; and provides systems that disseminate information to the public and that preserve NASA’s information assets.

Prior to her arrival at GSFC, Ms. Cureton was the Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and led the Office of Science and Technology as Deputy Assistant Director. The Office of Science and Technology is responsible for providing leadership in the innovative and efficient application of science and technology used to collect, clarify, and communicate information needed to reduce violent crime, collect revenue and protect the public. As the ATF Deputy CIO, she was responsible for ensuring that the use of Information Technology for the Bureau’s mission and business requirements fulfill customer and stakeholder needs.

Previously, Ms. Cureton served as Associate CIO, Acting Deputy CIO, and Acting CIO of the Department of Energy. There, she had a broad range of responsibilities including: strategic planning, network and information security, information architecture, capital planning and IT investment, network and telecommunications services, operational support of voice, data, video, LAN/WAN, and computer systems, and application development and maintenance for corporate systems.

Ms. Cureton also served the Department of Justice in the Justice Management Division and was responsible for managing the Department of Justice Data Centers, which supported mission critical computing requirements for the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Prisons, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

As a strong advocate for the practical application of technology, she serves as a member of organizations such as the Government Information Technology Investment Council, the American Council for Technology, and Women in Technology.

Ms. Cureton earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Howard University in 1980 graduating magna cum laude with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Latin. She also received a Master of Science Degree in Applied Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 1994, and a Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate in Applied Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 1996. She performed extensive research in numerical analysis and has been published in the “Journal of Sound and Vibration.”

She currently resides in Maryland with her husband and mother.

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