The Defense Information Systems Agency’s lead for the department’s mobility portfolio stepped down as of May 13, according to a DISA spokeswoman.
Kim Rice, whose official title was program manager for the Defense Department mobility program management office, spent some 20 years at DISA according to her LinkedIn profile, but no reason was given for her exit. She is moving on to an unspecified position in the intelligence community, the spokeswoman said.
No replacement yet has been named, so in the interim Rice’s deputy, Jake Marcellus, will serve as acting mobility lead at DISA, according to Alana Johnson of DISA public affairs.
Under Rice’s tenure DISA underwent major developments in DoD mobility, increasing the number of commercial smart phone users to more than 40,000 on the unclassified side by early 2016. The mobility portfolio continues to grow – as does the demand for devices that allow DoD users to work from anywhere at any time, and for faster deployment of the latest technology.
Rice outlined DISA’s efforts to keep up with demand, technology, security and policy at a recent industry event outside Washington, DC.
“How do we get mobility services in place that will allow DoD to take advantage of innovations faster rather than the government instituting a new contract every time we need a new technology or service?” she said. “Our focus has been on the device; everyone wants the latest…[but] mobility is not necessary technology for the department. It’s going to be about the information and the data. How do we incorporate all that legacy data all our users need in order to get beyond email, contacts, calendar and texting? How do we get them all of the information across the security domain so they can do their job remotely, from anywhere they may be?”
