The General Services Administration (GSA) today unveiled the roster of its new Technical Advisory Group (TAG) created to “help inform decision-making on the technical, strategic, and operational direction” of GSA’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) that evaluates and authorizes cloud products and services used by Federal government agencies.
The TAG is coming into play as GSA works to follow through on legislation approved by Congress in 2022 to codify the FedRAMP program into law and to help the program achieve a related list of service improvements mandated in the legislation.
GSA said today that the tech advisory group will complement the work of the existing Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee. It also will provide “advice and guidance as requested by the FedRAMP program and the FedRAMP Board, helping FedRAMP make decisions on processes, policies, and other areas where independent technical expertise can strengthen outcomes,” the agency said.
The advisory group’s initial lineup of Federal tech experts are:
- Laura Beaufort, technical lead at the Federal Election Commission;
- Michael Boyce, director of the AI Corps at the Department of Homeland Security;
- Grant Dasher, architecture branch chief in the Office of the Technical Director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency;
- Paul Hirsch, technical lead at GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) group;
- Elizabeth Schweinsberg, senior technical advisor at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services;
- Nicole Thompson, cybersecurity engineer at the Defense Department’s Defense Digital Service; and
- Brian Turnau, Cloud Authorization Program Manager at GSA.
“The TAG will empower FedRAMP to benefit from the strong technical expertise we have throughout the federal government,” commented Eric Mill, executive director for cloud strategy in the GSA TTS organization.
“This group will help make FedRAMP a smarter and more technology-forward operation that better meets its goal of making it safe and easy for federal agencies to take full advantage of cloud services,” Mill said.
“FedRAMP plays a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of secure cloud solutions into mission-critical operations,” added Laura Gerhardt, director of technology modernization and data at the Office of Management and Budget.
“With their deep understanding of the challenges and complexities faced by federal agencies, the TAG is well-positioned to provide valuable insights into streamlining processes, enhancing security postures, and adapting to novel technology implementations so that agencies can leverage the full potential of FedRAMP,” she said.
