Raylene Yung, GSA executive who led TMF windfall in pandemic era, stepping down

A top technology executive in charge of one of the biggest financial drivers of IT modernization across the federal government is stepping down from her role.

Raylene Yung, executive director of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) program management office at the General Services Administration, is leaving her position.  Friday is her last day on the job.

The TMF has supported agency projects to improve customer experience, enable zero trust and support broader cybersecurity modernization efforts across government.

Jessie Posilkin, the customer experience portfolio manager director on the TMF PMO team, will serve as the acting TMF PMO executive director until GSA finds a permanent replacement.

Yung said in a statement Friday that Posilkin temporarily serving in her recent role will ensure a “smooth transition,” and ensure that the TMF continues to help “agencies make systems and services work better, faster and more seamlessly across the federal sector.”

“While it is difficult to leave the TMF and all the amazing colleagues and government technology leaders who have partnered with me over the past two years to transform it, I am very pleased to know that I am leaving the role in the hands of someone as capable as Jessie, with an incredible portfolio of investments that are already delivering meaningful results,” Yung said.

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a statement Friday that Yung “has been instrumental in building the Technology Modernization Fund into the in-demand resource it is for federal agencies looking to modernize their IT systems.”

“We know that the fund will continue to be a smart way we can make investments that deliver greater security, efficiency, and accessibility to the American people,” Carnahan said.

Since Yung took office in September 2021, the TMF program management office has managed more than $1.2 billion in funding.

Congress gave the TMF an unprecedented $1 billion in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, to accelerate IT modernization projects made more urgent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The windfall of TMF funds helped agencies support many federal employees working from home, and enabled them to shift more of their public-facing services online.

The TMF Board, so far, has awarded $770 million to 27 agencies to accelerate progress on 47 tech modernization projects.

The awards have generally gone to agencies that can demonstrate a strong return on investment through their project proposals, and are expected to pay the award back over time.

The American Rescue Plan, however, gave TMF award recipients greater flexibility on repayment.

The TMF Board has used those emergency pandemic funds to invest in projects that are expected to fully pay back the funds, as well as projects that will provide “partial repayment” or “minimal repayment.”

The TMF Board has seen a higher demand for TMF funding from agencies since the American Rescue Plan gave agencies more flexible repayment options.

The TMF Board expects to award more than $400 million across 2023 and 2024 to agencies’ modernization projects.

In its fiscal 2024 request to Congress, GSA told Congress it estimates the fund would have about $401 million in unobligated funds in 2024, down from $879 million by the end of 2023.

A member of the TMF Board recently encouraged agencies to lean into artificial intelligence and automation projects, especially those that have a “customer experience” angle.

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