Data leveraging at the Defense Information Systems Agency: A conversation with Caroline Kuharske

As the Acting Director, Chief Data Officer, Ms. Kuharske leads with the focus on creating a culture that embraces a robust programmatic approach in data management and to identify, prioritize, and execute data and analytic initiatives that are aligned to the DISA enterprise strategies and business outcomes. Ms. Kuharske serves as a senior cross-functional change agent across the directorate and authoritative source of information for decision making managers and planners across the DoD for digital innovation, projects and initiatives at DISA.

Prior to this role, Ms. Kuharske was the DISA Deputy, Chief Data Officer. She led DISA in the direction of using data as a true asset for actionable decision making throughout the enterprise. Integrating a data centric mindset into the workforce to revolutionize how DISA shares data and with who is vital to the success of meeting the DoD CDO objectives.
Ms. Kuharske’s skills brought teams together for a common goal and quickly propeled DISA to expand the utilization and governance of data across the organization.

Also within DISA, Ms. Kuharske was a Senior Strategic Planner. She improved the effectiveness/efficiency of the organization’s mission and objectives. She also developed insight into a variety of aspects of DISA’s support for its Department of Defense (DoD) mission partners. She is an expert with experience in strategic planning, organizing/directing studies, improving the effectiveness/efficiency of an organization’s mission or objectives, as well as, providing alternative perspectives to problems and challenging solutions based on identified weaknesses.

Michael has two decades of experience with both the private and public sectors encompassing strategic planning, business process redesign, strategic communications and marketing, performance management, change management, executive and team coaching, and risk-financing.

Michael leads the IBM Center for The Business of Government's leadership research. As the Center’s Leadership Fellow, his work is at the nexus of the Center’s mission – connecting research to practice. My work at that the Center complements frontline experience of actual government executives with practical insights from thought leaders who produce Center reports – merging real-world experience with practical scholarship. The purpose is not to offer definitive solutions to the many management challenges facing executives, but to provide a resource from which to draw practical, actionable recommendations on how best to confront such issues. Michael also hosts and produces the IBM Center’s The Business of Government Hour. He has interviewed and profiled hundreds of senior government executives from all levels of government as well as recognized thought leaders focusing on a range of public management issues and trends. Over the last four years, Michael has expanded both the show’s format and reach – now broadcasting informational and educational conversations with dedicated public servants on two radio stations five times a week and anywhere at anytime over the web and at iTunes. Michael is also the managing editor of The Business of Government magazine, with a targeted audience of close to 14,000 government and non-government professionals. Additionally, he manages the Center’s bi-annual proposal review process that awards stipends to independent, third party researchers tackling a wide range of public management issues.

Prior to joining the Center, Michael worked as a senior managing consultant with IBM GBS (Global Business Services) and as a principle consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Washington Consulting Practice (WCP). He led projects in the private and federal civilian sectors including the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FEMA, and the Veterans Health Administration. Before entering consulting, he worked in the private sector as product development manager at a New York City based risk financing firm.

Since 2003, Mr. Keegan has been a reviewer for Association of Government Accountant’s Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR)© program, keeping abreast of the most recent developments in authoritative standards affecting federal accounting, financial reporting and performance measurement. He is also a member of APPAM, the NYU Alumni Association, and the Data Center & Cloud Talent, USA. He holds masters in public administration and management from New York University and was the founder of its DC alumni group as well as previous treasurer of the NYU graduate school’s alumni board.