TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Karen S. Evans

​

For more than two decades, Karen S. Evans has been at the forefront of cybersecurity policy as she served Congressional- and Presidential-appointed positions at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Office of Management and Budget. Her previous roles included federal chief information officer, chief information officer for the DHS and DOE, assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy security and emergency response, and the national director for the U.S. cyber challenge.

 

In October 2021, Karen joined the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI), an initiative that convenes business leaders from across sectors and geographic regions to share resources and knowledge that inform the development of free cybersecurity tools for small- and medium-sized businesses. “If you look at global supply chains and economic drivers of every country, these are the companies that are the engines. Yet they don’t think about building redundancy and resiliency in their security because they think no one knows them, but then they get hit with ransomware,” Karen explains. As managing director, she’s a powerful convener in establishing and driving partnerships with multiple and diverse stakeholders, successfully delivering essential private/public cyber and technology solutions. As an individual, her drive to support CRI’s mission comes from a very personal place. “Knowing that I’m making a difference for my family today and going forward in the future, that’s why I do it. I want the world to be a better place for my kids and my grandkids,” she shares.

 

Karen is the recipient of a number of awards, including Baldrige Foundation Leadership Excellence in Cybersecurity, Leading Data Consultants in North America 2022, and Golden Gov:  Executive of the Year 2020.

 

Karen S. Evans

Managing Director — The Cyber Readiness Institute

Website: https://cyberreadinessinstitute.org/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-readiness-institute/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CyberReadinessInstitute/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/cyberreadinessinstitute/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyber_readiness