National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

Digital Transformation at NASA

IT Talk

Jan - Mar 2022 Volume 12 • Issue 1
IT Talk

Jan - Mar 2022 Volume 12 • Issue 1

Office of the CIO

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street SW

Washington, D.C. 20546

Chief Information Officer

Jeff Seaton

Editor & Publication Manager

Eldora Valentine

Graphic & Web Designer

Michael Porterfield

Copy Editor

Meredith Isaacs

Mia Roundtree

IT Talk is an official publication of the 

Office of the Chief Information Officer 

of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, Headquarters, 

Washington, D.C. It is published 

by the OCIO office for all NASA 

employees and external audiences.

For distribution questions or to 

suggest a story idea, email:

eldora.valentine-1@nasa.gov

To read IT Talk online visit:

www.nasa.gov/offices/ocio/ittalk

For more info on the OCIO:

v www.nasa.gov/offices/ocio

v nasa.sharepoint.com/sites/cio/

 (Internal NASA network only)

v www.nasa.gov/open/

www.facebook.com/NASAcio

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Message From 

the NASA CIO

Digital Transformation

at NASA and Why It 

Matters!

Rare Total Solar Eclipse 

from Antarctica

NASA’s Inaugural 

Bot-A-Thon

OCIO Stands By to 

Support Artemis I

In this Issue
The past year and nine months have certainly been challenging on many fronts, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. But I’ve been impressed with how the NASA 

Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) team has adjusted and is thriving at 

working together remotely and onsite in new and collaborative ways.

I’m proud of the productive and supportive IT environment we are creating to help 

the broader NASA family do difficult things to keep the agency’s mission moving 

forward. Our OCIO Transformation efforts are helping with this. Last year, we officially kicked off the pilot for our new operating model with Workplace and Collaboration Services and our Agency Level Offices. As we continue to move through this 

new year, we will set a high standard for providing NASA with secure, modern, and 

reliable IT services. Three efforts you will see a lot of in 2022 include our organizational changes and improvements, IT Systems Transformation, and Digital Transformation.

In this issue, we’ll explore how Digital Transformation will increasingly change the way NASA operates and will enable the 

agency’s missions to be completed more efficiently and effectively.

We will also look at how the new cybersecurity Executive Order is helping NASA enhance existing tools and processes 

and implement new capabilities.

And finally, we’ll provide a glimpse into the OCIO and its NASA Enterprise Automation Service (NEAS) team’s agencywide 

robotic process automation (RPA) competition. The five-week Bot-A-Thon introduced employees to RPA and automation 

technology and gave them hands-on experience in automating some of their own repetitive tasks.

This issue is filled with many terrific stories that I hope you’ll enjoy. Happy reading and happy new year!

Jeff Seaton

NASA Chief Information Officer

NASA OCIO IT Talk Jan - Mar 2022 3

Message from the NASA CIO 

Workplace and Collaboration Services (WCS) News and Updates

Check out the latest news from WCS (all links are internal to NASA):

• Get to Know Workplace and Collaboration Services (WCS) and 

the Products and Services it Provides

• Windows 10 Version 20H2 Availability

• Do Not Use Public Software to Self-Upgrade Your Computer

• Guidance for Connecting Your Computer to Public Wi-Fi

• Connecting Mobile Devices to the NASA Wireless Network

• Internet Explorer (IE) 11 Timeline for Retirement

• How to Avoid Missed Emails When Using Focused Inbox

• New Features in Firefox Now Available

• Teams Feature Updates

• Enterprise-Managed Product Updates

• See What’s New with ICAM
By Dylan Monroe, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Marshall Space Flight Center; Lilyan Parker, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Headquarters; and Chris Blakeley, Program Manager, NASA Enterprise Automation Service Office, Kennedy Space Center

The OCIO and its NASA Enterprise Automation Service (NEAS) 

team sponsored an agencywide 

robotic process automation (RPA) 

competition that recently concluded in early 

December. The idea behind the five-week 

“Bot-A-Thon” was to introduce employees to 

RPA and automation technology and to give 

them hands-on experience in automating some 

of their own mundane, rule-based, repetitive 

tasks. Benefits of incorporating RPA include 

time savings, improved accuracy, increased 

productivity, and, ultimately, reduced costs.

In addition to upskilling NASA employees and 

realizing the long-term benefits of RPA, the 

inaugural Bot-A-Thon objectives included complementing the agency’s digital transformation 

effort and working with developing RPA citizen 

developers to further the adoption and implementation of RPA in everyday work settings.

There was a high level of enthusiasm among 

the 110 participants to learn how to use UiPath’s low-code software to offload their tedious 

and monotonous tasks. Each week, participants 

could opt to attend training. A UiPath trainer 

would walk through examples of using different features of the RPA software. Additionally, 

participants could attend vendor office hours 

where they could receive one-on-one help to 

troubleshoot their automation projects.

Six winning Bot-A-Thon automations were 

selected from entries submitted by the 42 

individual participants and 18 teams (68 

team members). Awardees showcased their 

automations during a recognition ceremony 

hosted by members of NASA’s innovation 

leadership. Those honored were as follows:

• Best Business Impact (automation that 

demonstrates the most hours saved): The 

Red Team, composed of Sarah Tylka, Abiola 

Akanni, and Ali Nawab. Their automation 

pulled Jira tickets, exported the completed 

tasks, and e-mailed the individual team 

members a list of their completed tickets 

as part of a status reporting requirement. 

Cumulatively, the automation saves team 

members over 1,200 hours annually.

• Best Workforce Impact (most engaged employees as a result of the automation being 

implemented): David Long. David created 

his automation to reduce the number of 

manually performed funds transfer transactions within SAP software and subsequent 

processing time of the transactions. 

• Best Reusability (automation can be replicated in other Centers and offices across 

the agency): Preston Lamb, from the Plum 

Team. Preston automated an e-mail to 

remind team members to input tasks and 

hours worked into a SharePoint list for 

resource-loading purposes. 

• Best Automation Design (best code, strategy, and layout): Ember Krienke, from Team 

NERDS. Ember’s automation focused on 

ensuring consistent and accurate reporting 

across the agency for Continuous Monitoring Program (CMP) 9a.7a, which monitors 

available budget on reimbursable agreements that are expiring. 

• Most Exciting Automation (automation 

with the greatest “wow” factor): Stephanie 

Stout, from the Plum Team. Stephanie’s 

automation creates sub-sites within SharePoint On-Premise by extracting an assessment number from e-mail, modifying and 

adding App Parts, editing the Wiki page, 

and updating a master assessment list.

• Most Advanced Automation (automation 

that touches the most systems and/or 

incorporates intelligent automation components): Devon Webb, from Team NERDS. 

Devon automated the daily download of 

six reports and daily refresh of a Power BI 

dashboard.

In light of the Bot-A-Thon’s success and given 

the growing interest in automation, the OCIO 

and NEAS team will be hosting a second Bot-AThon in early 2022. The second Bot-A-Thon is 

set to use Microsoft’s Power Automate software. 

Showcasing various RPA tools will give employees a sense of the pros and cons of each 

software option, which will help them assess 

which tool to use for their automation projects. 

More information on the second Bot-A-Thon will 

be forthcoming. 

If you or your team have repetitive tasks that 

you would like to automate, or if you would like 

to learn more about automation options, please 

contact NEAS team members Dylan Monroe

and Lilyan Parker. You can also visit the NEAS 

website for more information (internal to NASA).

4 www.nasa.gov
COVID-19 Supply Chain Shortages Create 

Challenges for NASA’s Mission

By Cynthia Zhang, Enterprise Information Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk Management (ICT SCRM) 

Analyst, Goddard Space Flight Center 

Supply chains are inherently fragile 

and theoretically can be disrupted at 

any stage. Unfortunately, in September 

2021, this theory became a reality for 

NASA when we experienced a shortage of liquid oxygen due to labor shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liquid oxygen is a key ingredient in 

liquid rocket propellant, and the shortage delayed the launch of our Landsat 

9 mission. According to an article by 

Space Daily, this shortage was not due 

to a lack of available liquid oxygen, 

but rather an increased demand for 

medical liquid oxygen for COVID-19 

patients. During transportation, medical liquid oxygen is stored at -300 

degrees Fahrenheit and NASA recommends that it be stored around -297 

degrees Fahrenheit for its missions. 

Only specially designed trucks and 

trained drivers with the appropriate 

certifications are permitted to transport 

liquid oxygen at these temperatures. 

However, a lack of certified truck drivers caused a strain in the liquid oxygen 

supply chain. The shortage of qualified 

truck drivers can be attributed to issues with the trucking industry.

According to a Guardian article, truck 

drivers are leaving their jobs due to 

poor working conditions and low pay 

rates, causing some trucking companies to have turnover rates as high as 

100%. Unpaid work is an additional 

factor as most trucking companies 

pay drivers by mileage driven. Drivers are not compensated for loading 

their truck, waiting in traffic jams, or 

taking their mandatory rest breaks. 

Smart-Trucking.com points out that 

paying drivers per mile could cause 

safety concerns as drivers attempt to 

log more miles to avoid low pay. Truck 

drivers with a Duty Status Record are 

required to use an electronic logging 

device (ELD) to determine their driving 

and off-duty hours. While an ELD could 

prevent truck drivers from overexerting 

themselves, truck drivers who experience delays during their allotted driving 

time are not compensated.

A supply chain is not just about materials; it is also about the people involved. 

When NASA experienced a shortage of 

liquid oxygen this past September, the 

importance of supply chains became 

critical because it affected current 

missions. September 2021’s events 

show the importance of truck drivers 

in NASA’s supply chain. Although vital 

products and services are needed to 

fuel NASA’s missions, it is important 

to remember that without people and 

resources, none of what we do is possible.

ICT SCRM is a service provider of 

the Office of CyberSecurity Services 

(OCSS), supporting the Cybersecurity 

and Privacy Program (CSPP).

NASA OCIO IT Talk Jan - Mar 2022 5
Digital Transformation at NASA and

Why It Matters!

By Jill Marlowe, NASA Digital Transformation Officer, NASA Headquarters 

For decades, NASA has been at the 

forefront of discovery, exploration, 

and inspiration, extending the frontiers of human achievement in air and 

space. Now the Nation aspires to even 

bolder missions, but in an increasingly 

hyper-connected, technology-enabled, 

fast-paced, and competitive world.

In FY21, the agency launched the 

Enterprise Digital Transformation (DT) 

strategic initiative as a transformation 

catalyst by harnessing digital solutions across NASA to accelerate the 

modernization and transformation of 

our work, workforce, and workplace. 

In FY22, Enterprise DT leaders Jill 

Marlowe, Digital Transformation Officer, and Ron Thompson, Chief Data 

Officer, became part of the Office of 

the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) 

senior leadership team, creating new 

opportunities to synchronize DT with 

our IT strategy and services to provide a digital foundation for NASA’s 

transformation efforts. The timing for 

exploring transformation opportunities 

is ideal, as the OCIO Transformation 

is actively revising and optimizing the 

organization and IT operating model. 

So, what is digital transformation and 

why does it matter? Digital transformation is leveraging new digital 

technologies to change processes, 

products, or capabilities so dramatically that they are unrecognizable compared to their previous form. 

In our personal lives, an example of 

DT is our modern dependency on 

smartphones (the integration of many 

digital technologies), which have 

transformed the way we bank, shop, 

travel, play, dine, learn, work, manage 

our homes, and connect and record/

share memories with friends and family; we did all these same functions 

20 years ago, but in radically different 

ways. Similarly, in the business realm, 

a prime DT example is Uber, which 

essentially used digital technology to 

reinvent the traditional taxi service, 

all without owning a single vehicle.

What DT is not is just using digital 

technology to merely digitize or automate existing processes and products. 

Done right, DT calls companies to 

focus on the value and products that 

will be needed/possible in the future as 

the world changes and then reinvent 

their business processes, culture, and 

customer experiences to meet those 

changing business and marketplace 

requirements. Across the world, DT is 

transforming the way people live and 

businesses work, and it is only accelerating as the pace of digital discovery 

is increasing more and more every day. 

DT is poised to enable this same kind 

of exciting transformation at NASA—it 

can and will change the way NASA operates and accelerate our stepping into 

new roles as we team with a growing 

suite of partners (many of whom were 

born digital) to deliver increasingly bold 

and complex missions faster and more 

affordably than ever before. For our 

organizations, DT is a critical lever that 

can accelerate the implementation of 

their transformation and modernization 

strategies as they critically examine 

their work and processes, each doing their part to transform NASA.

For our employees, DT will ultimately enable: 

• A workplace with more efficient, 

effective, digitally optimized, 

and integrated processes using digital workflows with integrated data and models; 

6 www.nasa.gov
• More time and talent to be spent 

on research, analysis, and discovery instead of repetitive tasks; 

• A more connected, diverse, and 

digitally savvy workforce who work 

in hybrid on-/offsite teams, geographically distributed across the 

Nation (or even the world!); and 

• The potential to take on exciting new kinds of work opportunities as roles emerge, with 

NASA transforming to catalyze 

a new era of aerospace. 

To accelerate NASA’s digital transformation journey, Enterprise DT, as an 

agency strategic initiative, is focused 

on igniting DT efforts aligned with 

agency transformation goals and priorities, connecting organizations with 

similar DT interests and needs, integrating DT solutions through an architecture to create our connected future 

enterprise, and facilitating DT adoption 

through the promotion of and access to key digital enablers. As digital 

technologies evolve, new crosscutting 

digital enablers will emerge; however, 

our initial focus includes Data, Collaboration, Model-Based Anything 

(radical use of modeling across any/

all functions), Artificial Intelligence and 

Machine Learning, Process Transformation, and Culture and Workforce. 

After completing formulation in 

FY21, Enterprise DT launched five 

major pilot activities in FY22, each 

one being executed by multi-organizational teams with experts from 

across NASA, including the OCIO. 

• Enterprise Data Platform 

(EDP) Intelligent Search will 

revolutionize how NASA will 

find, integrate, and analyze data 

to speed up and improve decision making for our missions. 

• Modern and Inclusive Collaboration Spaces (MICS) will accelerate 

testing of on-/offsite hybrid team 

collaboration tools, new space 

utilization options, and teaming 

norms and behaviors to inform 

agency Future of Work plans.

• Smart Reviews will automate, 

streamline, and improve realtime, data-driven discussions 

for program/project reviews.

• NASA Digital Engineering Environment will create an initial interoperable framework to allow internal/external engineers to seamlessly team 

up on complex engineering design, 

analysis, and test workflows.

• Smart Centers will explore the integration of technologies like internet of things (IOT) sensors, autonomous surveillance, data platforms, 

and digital twins on our physical 

infrastructure to improve our facility sustainability and planning.

Looking to FY23 and beyond, Enterprise DT is working with senior leadership to establish focused priorities for 

additional organizational and enterprise 

DT efforts, based on their potential for 

immediate benefits, as well as strategic 

importance. Return on DT investments 

will be measured (and forecasted) 

looking not only at the potential for 

efficiencies (real-dollar savings by 

eliminating process steps, redundant systems, etc.) and effectiveness 

(achieving more results for the same 

investment, including cost avoidance), 

but also on their ability to accelerate 

new products/services aligned with 

NASA’s larger transformation goals 

(for example, open science data to 

enable interdisciplinary discovery).

As our DT journey progresses, Enterprise DT will measure both our transformation progress to ensure that our 

cross-agency efforts are focused on the 

right high-payoff outcomes, and also 

our collective digital maturity to assess 

our ability to do those things digitally 

“right” in a modern age. The OCIO 

team will play a key role in enabling 

NASA’s progress in this second dimension especially, and is already providing 

critical agency DT leadership to establish foundational enterprise capabilities 

in data/data science, collaboration, and 

artificial intelligence/machine learning. 

Digital transformation is a massive 

undertaking. When done right, it 

will produce an agency that is more 

aligned with public demands and resilient in the fast-moving digital future. 

Organizations and employees interested in learning more about DT solutions 

to transform NASA are invited to engage in our DT journey on the DT Nexus community site; participate in our 

weekly Transformation Tuesdays seminar series (these resources are internal 

to NASA); and/or contact Jill Marlowe, 

NASA Digital Transformation Officer. 

NASA OCIO IT Talk Jan - Mar 2022 7
NASA's Communications Program Enables 

1.4 Million Views of Rare Total Solar Eclipse 

from Antarctica

By Sylvester Placid, Communications Strategist, Communications Program, Marshall Space Flight Center

A total solar eclipse darkened the summer skies over Antarctica on December 

4, 2021, a rare event for the continent 

during a season when the Sun remains 

above the horizon for several months. 

The Moon cast a shadow over Antarctica, as seen in this NASA image 

from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging 

Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space 

Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) space 

weather station. Total solar eclipses in 

the polar regions are exceedingly rare, 

as they constitute only a small part of 

Earth’s land area—the last total solar 

eclipse in Antarctica was in November 

2003, and the next will not occur until 

December 2039.

Since so few can observe this event 

from Antarctica, the Communications 

Program’s (CP’s) Enterprise Video 

Content Delivery Network (EVCDN) 

solution enabled a live, two-hour video 

feed of the Antarctic eclipse on NASA’s 

YouTube channel. More than 1.4 million 

viewers watched the eclipse as it happened from the southern pole.

The video was delivered to viewers 

completely over the internet, without the 

use of a satellite feed. It was streamed 

from Union Glacier, Antarctica, by members of the JM Pasachoff Antarctic Expedition, who used the video as part of 

their data collection on electrical activity 

in the ionosphere during the eclipse.

Image courtesy of the NASA DSCOVR EPIC team

8 www.nasa.gov
A National Transformation of 

Cybersecurity

By Cody Scott, Chief Cyber Risk Officer, NASA Headquarters 

If you work with any of the agency’s IT staff, chances are you 

have heard the buzz phrase “cyber executive order” mentioned 

over the last seven months. But 

what is it? And what changes 

are happening as a result?

In response to mounting cyberattack campaigns against the 

public sector, the private sector, and the American people’s 

security and privacy, the Biden 

administration issued Executive 

Order 14028, “Improving the 

Nation’s Cybersecurity,” on May 

12, 2021, stating that the prevention, detection, assessment, and 

remediation of cyber incidents 

is a top priority and essential to 

national and economic security.

The order’s message is clear: 

the Federal Government must 

make bold changes and significant investments to defend 

itself; incremental improvements (as advocated in the 

past) will no longer suffice:

The Federal Government must 

bring to bear the full scope of 

its authorities and resources to 

protect and secure its computer systems, whether they are 

cloud-based, on-premises, or 

hybrid. The scope of protection and security must include 

systems that process data 

(information technology) and 

those that run the vital machinery that ensures our safety 

(operational technology).

The order outlines several 

cybersecurity measures and 

requirements intended to harden 

all Federal information systems, 

including protecting critical 

software and supply chains, 

implementing strong authentication and data encryption, 

maturing incident detection 

and response capabilities, and 

adopting a zero-trust access 

model to agency data. And 

these are only the first steps.

What does this mean for NASA? 

All systems owned, used, or 

operated by or on NASA’s behalf 

are in the order’s scope. Therefore, all systems—including 

those in development as well 

as in operation—must adopt 

these protections to reduce 

operational risk to NASA, the 

Federal Government, and our 

private-sector partners.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer established an 

Executive Order Working Group 

(EOWG) composed of representatives across key agency organizations. The EOWG coordinates 

all necessary actions and shares 

information. Through the Center 

Chief Information Officers and 

Center Chief Information Security Officers, the order’s requirements are coordinated with 

each Information System Owner 

(ISO) at each NASA facility. The 

ISO and the system’s Authorizing Officials are the primary 

responsible and accountable 

parties for ensuring that their 

systems conform to agency 

and Federal requirements.

For more information or 

questions about the order, please contact the 

EOWG Lead, Cody Scott.

The full text of the order is available here.

NASA OCIO IT Talk Jan - Mar 2022 9
OCIO Stands By to Support Artemis I

By Daniel Horton, Workplace & Collaboration Services Communications, Marshall Space Flight Center

It has been nearly 50 years since a human last walked on the Moon. Technology has progressed tremendously in 

this time—it is now commonplace to 

carry 100 times the computing power of 

an Apollo capsule in our pockets today.

After a decade of development on 

the new Space Launch System (SLS), 

the successor to Apollo is ready to 

launch in early 2022. Years of technical advances have contributed to the 

build-out of the new vehicle, equipping 

it to send more than 27 metric tons to 

the Moon and beyond.

In October 2021, the spacecraft for the 

first Artemis mission was fully stacked 

inside the Vehicle Assembly Building 

(VAB) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). 

Artemis I will send an uncrewed Orion 

capsule into a six-day retrograde 

orbit around the Moon. This mission, 

currently slated for February 2022, 

will certify Orion and the SLS for the 

next flight (Artemis II), which will take 

a crew of humans on the same ride. 

After that, American boots will return 

to the Moon with Artemis III.

The OCIO community is proud to stand 

by in support of the history-making 

Artemis mission. Preparations are 

also underway to ensure stability and 

continuity of operations for the launch 

of Artemis I, in addition to supplying 

many of the tools needed to return 

astronauts outside of low-Earth orbit.

One of the main ways to ensure stability is through a flight freeze. These 

freezes are a restriction of updates or 

changes in the production environment during launch activities. Postponing software updates during a 

launch window minimizes risk to computers that may be directly or indirectly 

involved in mission activities.

Lists of computers required to be frozen are collected and validated ahead 

of a launch, and a meeting is held with 

key personnel ahead of time to ensure 

that requirements are correct and in 

place. When it is time for a launch, the 

listed computers are frozen at T–48 

hours prior to a flight and can remain 

in place up to T+48 hours after launch.

In previous years, 

these freezes had a 

tendency to affect 

full Centers and, 

at times, the entire 

agency. To mitigate 

end-user impact, 

the shift to freezing 

targeted systems 

ensures that only 

those computers 

associated with the 

launch are frozen. 

Thanks to these 

targeted freezes, 

OCIO will help support both a continuity of operations for the mission 

window and a seamless experience for 

non–mission-essential customers.

As Artemis prepares for its first mission early in the new year, OCIO is 

proud to play a part in integrating with 

the rest of the agency to ensure a successful flight. As the road is paved to 

return astronauts to the Moon in coming years, we are thrilled to share this 

excitement with the rest of NASA.

Teammate Information Transfer

By Jaumarro A. Cuffee, COMIT Communications Strategist, Information Resources Directorate, Johnson Space Center

In our individual roles that support 

NASA missions, we use a variety of 

software applications to draft and edit 

documents, collect and analyze data, 

telework, learn new skills, communicate, and collaborate. As new features are added and existing features 

change, it is difficult to keep up with 

the application features that accommodate our needs. To help bridge 

knowledge gaps, Johnson Space 

Center’s Information Resources Directorate (IRD) invited the center community to share their favorite application 

features, tips, and tricks.

Six hundred people joined a Microsoft 

Teams meeting to educate and learn 

from each other. Attendees entered the 

meeting with microphones muted and 

cameras disabled, and the organizer orchestrated unmuting microphones and 

promoting individuals to the presenter 

role so they could share their screens 

to quickly demonstrate less obvious, 

timesaving features of desktop applications. Providing this visual fostered 

better understanding and prompted 

questions for variations and alternatives 

to the demonstrated feature. In the 

chat, attendees exchanged additional 

tips and shared links to internal NASA 

resources and vendor help sites. One 

person demonstrated the accessibility 

of desktop applications using shortcut keys and hot keys for mouse-free 

navigation, actions, and formatting. A 

form to register their tips before the 

meeting was provided to participants 

and received less than five responses, 

but more than 25 people chimed in by 

speaking up, demonstrating, or typing 

messages during the hosted event. Everyone who participated had a firsthand 

view of some challenges encountered 

when hosting a large meeting, but they 

all contributed to keeping the activity 

lively, orderly, and productive.

In addition to being edifying, the 

tech tip exchange allowed people to 

engage in a social manner while working remotely. Working from home has 

reduced the casual queries between 

officemates that can foster a similar 

exchange of information.

Based on feedback, people would like 

to see more of this type of engagement 

to enable them to interact with each 

other and broaden their knowledge. IRD 

plans to adopt the tech tip exchange as 

a regularly scheduled activity.

• More information about Teams and 

other helpful resources (internal to 

NASA).

• Upcoming Microsoft enhancements to Teams (internal to NASA).

10 www.nasa.gov
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Office of the Chief Information Officer

300 E Street SW

Washington, DC 20546

www.nasa.gov

CIO Randi Levin wins a 2021 ORBIE Award

By Whitney Haggins, IT Communication Strategist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute 

of Technology

JPL CIO and Director for 

Information and Technology 

Solutions Randi Levin has 

been selected as a 2021 

SoCalCIO of the Year ORBIE 

winner in the Large Corporate 

category. The announcement 

was made at a virtual award 

ceremony held November 12.

For more than 20 years, the 

ORBIE Awards have been 

given to CIOs around the 

country who are transforming 

their organizations through 

exceptional technical 

leadership. Since their 

inception in 1998, the ORBIE 

Awards have honored over 

1,800 CIOs as finalists and 

over 400 CIO of the Year 

winners. 

Leza Dabit, Executive 

Director of SoCalCIO, had 

this to say about the 2021 

winners: “The SoCalCIO 

ORBIE winners demonstrate 

the significance of strong 

technology leadership in these 

uncertain times. Over the 

past year, CIOs are leading 

in unprecedented ways and 

enabling the largest workfrom-home experiment in 

history.” Many CIOs hold 

the ORBIEs in such high 

regard largely because 

the judging process is 

handled by previous ORBIE 

recipients, who have an 

intimate understanding of 

what it means to be a CIO 

and the importance of great 

leadership. 

The rigorous judging and 

selection process, which 

lasted several rounds and 

featured an independent peer 

review led by prior ORBIE 

recipients, was based upon

• Leadership and 

management 

effectiveness,

• Business value created 

by technology innovation, 

and

• Engagement in industry 

and community 

endeavors.

The 2021 SoCalCIO ORBIE 

program competition included 

nominations from 236 CIOs 

from industries across 

Southern California, including 

private and public businesses; 

nonprofits; and finance, 

government, healthcare, 

education, technology, 

entertainment, and 

professional sports entities. 

The complete list of winners is 

available here.

IT Talk