Strategies for Success: Driving Openness, Participation, and Collaboration in a Bureaucratic World

Lena Trudeau serves as Vice President at the National Academy of Public Administration. In this capacity, she leads the National Academy’s service delivery organization, supervises the conception and execution of strategic initiatives, opens new lines of business and drives organizational change. She has recently worked on studies for U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS Science & Technology Directorate, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of State.

In addition, Lena is a founder of the Collaboration Project, an independent forum of leaders committed to leveraging web 2.0 and the benefits of collaborative technology to solve government’s complex problems. In that role, she has led online interactive stakeholder dialogues for organizations including the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, the CIO Council, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, and the White House.

Lena brings over 15 years of consulting and management experience to the National Academy, leading multi-million dollar engagements for clients in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She received a Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Social Science in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Ottawa.

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Mr. David M. Wennergren serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology / Deputy Chief Information Officer, providing top-level advocacy in creating a unified information management and technology vision for the Department and ensuring the delivery of the capabilities required to achieve the Department’s transformation to net centric operations. In addition to his duties as Deputy CIO, Mr. Wennergren is the Vice Chair of the U.S. Government’s Federal CIO Council. He also serves as the Chair of the Department of Defense Identity Protection and Management Senior Coordinating Group, which provides senior oversight and coordination of biometric, smart card, and PKI initiatives across the Department of Defense.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Wennergren served for four years as the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer (DON CIO), where he was responsible for the development and use of information management / information technology (IM/IT) and creation of a unified IM/IT vision for the Navy – Marine Corps team. During that time he was also the Department of the Navy’s Critical Infrastructure Assurance Officer. Prior to becoming the DON CIO, he served for four years as the DON Deputy CIO for Enterprise Integration and Security. Prior to that assignment, he was the Head, Plans and Policy Branch within the Shore Installation Management Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Logistics), where he was responsible for shore installation strategic planning and policies, as well as the Navy’s shore restructuring efforts, regionalization, installation claimant consolidation, privatization, interservice support and interagency partnering efforts. Mr. Wennergren served as the Economic Support Team Leader on the Department of the Navy’s Base Structure Analysis Team (BSAT) during the Navy’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process for BRAC-93 and BRAC-95, responsible for developing and defending all DON return on investment, economic impact and community infrastructure impact analyses. Other past assignments included Commercial Activities Program planning and review in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Logistics), participating in the Navy’s BRAC-91 process, and working as a management analyst at both the Naval Industrial Resources Support Activity and the Naval Air Technical Services Facility in Philadelphia.

Mr. Wennergren received his B.A. in Communications/Public Relations from Mansfield State University. He was a recipient of a Secretary of the Navy Civilian Fellowship in Financial Management, culminating in a master’s degree in Public Sector Financial Management from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs. He has received the Department of the Navy Distinguished, Superior and Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award. Other honors include being selected as the Government Computer News 2005 Defense Executive of the Year, as well as receiving the 2006 John J. Franke Jr. Award from the American Council for Technology, the Federal Computer Week 2006 Eagle Award, three Federal Computer Week Fed 100 Awards and the Computerworld Premiere 100 Award. He is also honored to have worked in two organizations that were awarded the Department of the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Ms. Michele Weslander Quaid is a transformational leader and recognized champion for Innovative path-finding information sharing and collaboration initiatives in the national security community where she has served for 17 years. She has held numerous senior leadership positions at national agencies, and has recently returned to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Ms. Weslander Quaid previously served as the first NRO Chief Technology Officer and also the Deputy Chief Information Officer in the new office of the NRO CIO while on a two year detail from ODNI. Prior to her assignment at the NRO, she served as the first Principal Deputy Associate Director of National Intelligence and DeputyChief Information Officer for the Intelligence Community at the ODNI. Prior to ODNI, Ms. Weslander Quaid served as the first Deputy Technical Executiveat the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. She was appointed to the Senior Executive ranks in August 2002.

Before entering government service, Ms. Weslander Quaid spent over a decade as a systems engineering and technical assistance industry partner and consultant supporting the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community, working primarily with the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. Appointed a Chief Engineer at her company, her technical expertise includes image science, systems engineering, and operational prototyping and insertion of leading-edge technology to support operations. Ms. Weslander Quaid was selectively recruited directly from industry because of her renowned trailblazing achievements in promoting multi-discipline intelligence collaboration and information sharing among Intelligence Community agencies and the Department of Defense. A true ambassador for community collaboration, her efforts to transform culture, as well as technology, have led to unprecedented collaboration and cooperation between the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office and their Commonwealth partners.

Ms. Weslander Quaid received a Bachelor of Science degree in both Physics and Engineering Science, cum laude, from Seattle Pacific University in Washington, and a Master of Science degree in Optics from the University of Rochester in NewYork. In 2001, she was awarded the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation for her collaborative efforts on a multi-agency And military team, and in 2005 she was personally awarded the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. Ms. Weslander Quaid is a member of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CAPSTONE 2003-4 Fellows, and attended the program for Senior Managers in Government at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government in Massachusetts.

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Alan Cohn is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy (Strategic Plans) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He formerly was Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Policy in the DHS Office of Policy Development, and Counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. He is a Senior Fellow at the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute, and a Vice Chair of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Committee of the American Bar Association Section on State and Local Government Law. He is Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University. Mr. Cohn received his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Georgetown University.