Stempfley leaving DHS for private sector position

Technology

Stempfley leaving DHS for private sector position

Bobbie Stempfley is heading to the private sector after five years at the Homeland Security Department. She worked in a variety of senior executive cyber positi...

Jason Miller@jmillerWFED

January 29, 2015 4:43 pm

2 min read

The Homeland Security Department is losing one of its longest serving cyber executives. Bobbie Stempfley is heading to the private sector.

An email obtained by Federal News Radio from Andy Ozment, the DHS assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications (CS&C), said Stempfley, the deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity strategy and emergency communications, will leave DHS after five years on Feb. 13.

“Bobbie’s influence on and contributions to CS&C cannot be overstated,” Ozment wrote. “She joined CS&C as director of the National Cyber Security Division in 2010, quickly became deputy assistant secretary of CS&C, and served as CS&C’s acting assistant secretary twice, the most recent from January 2013 to April 2014 prior to taking her current position.”

Ozment said Rick Harris will serve as acting deputy director in the short term. He said a new director has been selected, but “is still undergoing the on-boarding and clearance process. We will announce the new SECIR Director at an appropriate time.”

Stempfley said she will be the director of cyber strategy implementation for the Mitre Corp.

Before coming to DHS in 2010, Stempfley worked as the deputy chief information officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

“From my vantage point at the White House during those four years, I watched CS&C grow dramatically in size and capability. Bobbie deserves much of the credit for that evolution: she shepherded CS&C through numerous reorganizations, defended and expanded CS&C’s role in the federal cyber mission, strengthened CS&C’s emergency communications mission capability, and successfully advocated for an increased budget for CS&C each year despite the austere budget environment,” Ozment wrote referring to his tenure in the White House’s cybersecurity office. “I have leaned heavily on Bobbie over the last months, and I will be sorry to see her go. She has amazing strategic vision, enormous patience, and an incredible passion for our mission and our people. Indeed, Bobbie’s leadership, vision, wisdom, and tenacity will be sorely missed by all of us at CS&C and all of our stakeholders with whom she has so successfully engaged.”

Stempfley was the one consistent figure within DHS over the last five years as cyber executives came and went, sometimes in droves.

Anytime DHS needed someone to step up in an interim role, Stempfley seemed to be the first name mentioned.

During her time at DHS, when she was acting in someone else’s role, Stempfley worked on a variety of issues, including helping the government move toward continuous monitoring of its networks, and was part of DHS team to ensure HealthCare.gov was not compromised.

Lawmakers raise cybersecurity concerns about HealthCare.gov