Karen Evans is the Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute. She was the former Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Information Officer and United States Senate confirmed, Presidential Appointed executive, who served as the first Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Prior to being named Assistant Secretary at DOE, Ms. Evans was the national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a public-private partnership focused on building the cyber workforce.   Ms. Evans served as the Administrator for the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the George W. Bush administration. At OMB, she oversaw nearly $71 billion in annual IT funds, including implementation of IT throughout the federal government. Previously, she served as the CIO for DOE and at the director level with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Farmers Home Administration.