structure.  Her primary responsibility was ensuring that the nation’s tax infrastructure was updated and in place for the processing of over 200 million tax returns annually.  Karen was also a champion for the IT Workforce Strategy to achieve delivery excellence by developing existing employees and attracting the next generation of talent. Her commitment and excellence in IT operations merited a 2017 Presidential Rank Award, which recognizes members of the SES for exceptional performance over an extended period.

 

Prior to her role as DCIO, Karen served as the Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for Enterprise Operations where she was a principal adviser to the CTO/CIO and managed a 1,800 person organization responsible for providing efficient, cost-effective, secure, and  reliable server and mainframe services for all IRS business entities and taxpayers. This included providing 24x7x365 operations support to both internal and external IRS customers.

 

Karen has over 20 years of information technology experience in progressively demanding positions with a successful track record in managing innovative, cost-effective programs that translate broad public missions into concrete results. She began her IRS career as an economist in the Statistics of Income Division. After moving into IT, she was an Area Director with responsibility for delivering information technology services to over 8,000 customers in Maryland, DC, and Virginia, including all facets of seat management, voice communication, local area networks, and customer support. Later, as the Director, Cybersecurity Policy and Programs, she ensured compliance with statutory, legislative and regulatory requirements regarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of IRS electronic systems, applications and data.

 

In addition to her IRS experience, Karen was a Deputy Director in Vice President Gore’s National Partnership for Reinventing Government Office where she led electronic government initiatives in support of the Administration’s efforts to create a government that works better, and costs less. Karen received accolades for her leadership of the Vice President’s Access America initiative – an initiative that improved electronic access to government services for Americans.

 

Karen is a graduate of the IRS’s 2005 Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. She also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of the IRS’s Artificial Intelligence Program.