Steffan Lyson
La’Naia Jones is one of the most distinguished national security leaders for the federal government. She is often invited as a speaker to share her expertise in enterprise IT infrastructure and multi-faceted technologies relevant to national security. One of her speaking engagements is for the Workloads at the Tactical Edge Forum on February 8, 2024.
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Meet the closing keynote for the Workloads at the Tactical Edge Forum, La’Naia Jones. She currently serves as the Chief Information Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency.
La’Naia Jones: Who is she?
La’Naia Jones has been with the federal sector since September 2002. She began her career in the National Security Agency as a Technology Expert. Over the years, she enriched her knowledge and expertise in several technology capacities in this role until August 2009. These experiences have earned her a promotion to the NSA’s Technical Director and IT Manager.
List of La’Naia Jones’ national security experience
- Deputy Chief Information Officer and Information Sharing & Safeguarding Executive at National Security Agency (October 2020–February 2022)
- Acting Chief Information Officer for the Intelligence Community at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (June 2020–October 2020)
- Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Intelligence Community at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (June 2018–June 2020)
- Chief of Enterprise Transformation & Service Transition at National Security Agency (May 2017–June 2018)
- Technical Director and IT Manager at National Security Agency (September 2009–May 2017)
- Chief of Utility Cloud Services at National Security Agency (April 2015–April 2016)
- Technology Expert at National Security Agency (September 2002–August 2009)
Outside of the national security bubble, La’Naia Jones also teaches the future generation of government leaders. In November 2018, Ms. Jones was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.
La’Naia Jones’s academic achievements include a Dual Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a Master of Science in Technology Management at the University of Maryland Global Campus.
La’Naia Jones to keynote the POC-hosted Workloads at the Tactical Edge Forum
La’Naia Jones is participating as the closing keynote for the Workloads at the Tactical Edge Forum. Hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on February 8, 2024, she is set to initiate a conversation about the constantly evolving digital battlefields, rising cyber-physical risks, and groundbreaking technologies enabled by her office.
The opening keynote for the forum is Dr. Mark Linderman, Chief Scientist of the Information Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory. Equally decorated executives also joining the forum are Brandon Gulla, Peter Tseronis, Bill Burnham, Paul Smith, Tricia Fitzmaurice, David Ellis, and Jason Hunter.
Register for the Potomac Officers Club’s Workloads at the Tactical Edge Forum. Learn more about the efforts of military leaders in risk mitigation, use of Kubernetes containerization technology, and tactical edge.
La’Naia Jones, Chief Information Officer at Central Intelligence Agency
La’Naia Jones joined the Central Intelligence Agency as the Chief Information Officer in February 2022. She is responsible for all IT-related systems development, personnel management, and global communications networks of the agency. At her helm, Ms. Jones provides leadership, technical expertise, and strategic partnerships.
Aside from assuming the role of the agency’s CIO, La’Naia Jones also serves as the Director of the Information Technology Enterprise.
Kickstarting La’Naia Jones’ national security career: 9/11 terrorist attacks
La’Naia Jones graduated in 2001 at a very crucial time when the United States was impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She felt compelled to serve the nation, particularly relating to national security, to prevent events such as these from happening again. It was also a determining period for improving information technology across the Intelligence Community.
Since day one in the national security landscape, Ms. Jones has been an important figure in spearheading technological developments and IT capabilities. Her firsthand experience includes the Intelligence Community’s transition from traditional communications and security channels to email, smartphones, and cloud computing.
“Technology enables us to break outside the mold and have access to data that wasn’t originally possible,” Ms. Jones noted.
Also read: Influential Figures Driving Homeland Security and Civilian Sectors
