2007 Rising Star award winners, Ch-Ha

: General Services Administration : Information technology program manager : Chao works in the Governmentwide Acquisition Contract Program Office where he supports the operations and management of the GWAC program. He has been in his current job for three years and in the government IT community for five years. : On his own initiative, he sought to understand, at a fundamental level, the way in which data about GSA GWACs is gathered, processed and reported within the agency. In the past year, he made a significant contribution to the federal IT community by leading the GWAC Management Information Systems Initiative. That initiative will enable GSA to track GWAC task orders and know exactly how many hours and what rate it is paying for particular IT labor categories. Senior GSA officials said having that data will greatly enhance the government’s ability to create realistic cost estimates for IT projects. : Spadac : Vice president of engineering : Dalton leads a team of engineers who develop software technologies for the Special Forces and Marine Expeditionary Forces. : He has been in his current job for two years and in the government IT community for seven years. : Dalton developed the company’s research and development capability from that of one person — himself — to more than 30 scientists and software developers. His team developed a life-saving method for computing the threat signatures of terrorist and irregular- warfare activities. That method is now used to aid decision-makers in the Special Forces and Marine Expeditionary Forces. Dalton chose to postpone the completion of his doctoral program to develop the method to a point where operational analytical cells within the Defense and Homeland Security departments could use it. : Acquisition Solutions: Senior acquisition specialist : A graduate of Arizona State University, Dimpsey is site manager of the company’s consulting contracts with the State Department. He is responsible for the quality and on-time delivery of those consulting services. Dimpsey has been in his current job for six years and in the government IT community for 10 years. : Senior company officials said his attitude that success will come from challenges makes him a great asset in various capacities within the company. His supervisors credit his leadership and understanding of performance-based contracting for the success of State’s Diplomatic Pouch and Mail contract. Supervisors said Dimspey helped State officials understand the concept of performance- based contracting and has since been asked by the department to help them award a performance-based contract for operations, maintenance and development of a Web-based i ntegrated logistics management system. : Environmental Protection Agency : Program analyst : Fagan is a member of EPA’s Web Infrastructure Team, which provides analytical and programmatic support for agency managers and Web information managers. : She has been in her current job for 20 months, but she has been part of the government IT community for 10 years. : EPA has almost 800,000 pages on its Web site. Officials said Fagan used creative leadership to develop a Web information architecture for organizing EPA’s Web content, including a taxonomy. Senior leaders said Fagan’s work on EPA’s Information Architecture and Web Content Management System will bring the agency into a new era of enhanced Web communications. : Defense Department : Director of deployment services : Goodge works at the Tri- Service Infrastructure Management Program Office (TIMPO), where he manages the worldwide information infrastructure that supports the Military Health System. The complex infrastructure supports about 477 direct- care facilities. : He has been in his current position about a year. Goodge became a civilian employee in 2003 after serving 10 years in the Navy. : In the past year, he led the installation of network protection suites to ensure the privacy of medical information. A year ago, he worked at the National Naval Medical Center, where he developed a reputation for making smart decisions. It was no surprise to his coworkers that his reputation brought him to TIMPO, where his skills could benefit a much larger organization. He now works with all military branches and several federal agencies on efforts to improve connectivity through the use of standardized support procedures. : Transportation Security Administration : Deployment operations supervisor : Hall supervises deployment operations-related activities at more than 100 airports and other venues. : He has been at his current job for four years and has been in the government IT community for four years. Hall was a commissioned military officer who served in the Air Force and Army before joining TSA. : Under Hall’s leadership, TSA’s National Deployment Office has established standard operating procedures, a centralized employee and deployment database, and a collaborative work environment that makes use of Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration software. He has brought greater communications, efficiency and productivity to the organization, and his work has enabled TSA to respond quickly to special events and emergencies.