Gary Washington

CIO, Department of Agriculture

Washington became the chief information officer for the USDA in February 2018, having previously been the CIO for the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. He believes in taking an interest in employee career goals and seeking diversity of thought during recruitment. “The federal government can develop more top leaders by continuing to support current leadership programs and continuing to implement programs that are more relevant to managing the new millennial workforce,” Washington said. “I think developing leaders to manage in new environments, where the business and business of information technology are becoming more integrated, is important.”