Federal 100: Heidi E. Avery

Heidi E. Avery
Deputy Assistant to the President
for Homeland Security
Executive Office of the President

The work: Developing plans to address vulnerabilities in the government's systems for securing sensitive information.

The impact: Avery’s work culminated in an executive order that addresses the necessary oversight and actions to prevent future WikiLeaks-like data breaches.

The nuts and bolts: Avery brought together leaders from numerous agencies to develop the government’s response to WikiLeaks’ release of sensitive documents and communications. President Barack Obama signed the resulting executive order in October 2011. Avery continues her leadership on this issue by serving as co-chairwoman of the committee charged with carrying out the actions outlined in the president’s executive order.

Read more about the 2012 Federal 100 award winners.