Cell: (703)371-6497

Home: (703) 430-2436 jtunnessen@outlook.com www.chiefdigitalme.com

109 M James E. Tunnessen

inor Road, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

CAREER SUMMARY:

c Accomplished and results-driven IT executive and military veteran with a proven track record of leading organizations in the

exreation of new products and services that increase profitability and expand customer base. Highly skilled in leading and

D ecuting complex international programs, resources, and staff. Department of Homeland Security Top Secret Clearance,

epartment of Defense Top Secret/SCI clearance.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

DEVOPS

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

STRATEGIC PLANNING

BUSINESS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Chief Technology Officer

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

2015 - Present

Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), Washington, DC

Leading the modernization and organizational change of the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s 120 federal personnel,

processes, practices, and technology for USDA-FSIS a regulatory public health organization of over 11,000 internal users (doctors,

lawyers, scientists, investigators, food inspectors, Codex, Food & Drug Administration, and the Center for Disease Control) and

millions of external users worldwide. Oversee an annual IT budget of over $60MM.

• Saved the agency $12MM annually within the first 3 months by stopping the work on the proposed plan for Whole

Genome Sequencing for our 3 geographically dispersed public health labs and transitioning it over to a cloud software,

network, and storage solution costing only 1% of proposed costs.

• Upgraded the Agency’s infrastructure of over 500 (EOL) Microsoft 2003 servers to current 2012.

• Upgraded the Agency’s SharePoint (hosting over 300 sites) from 2007 to 2013.

• Upgraded EOL 2005 SQL Servers to 2012 and moving to 2016.

• Upgraded from Exchange 2010 to 2013.

• Upgrading the entire network from end-of-life (EOL) software and hardware.

• Introduced Open Source technologies and agile development practices.

• Developed a plan to migrate and currently piloting the tablet and 2-in-1 personal computing solutions with Windows 10

for mass hardware refresh in March 2017.

• Wrote and presented a plan for full Office of the CIO transformation from Waterfall and legacy IT practices to DevOps

Agile Practices to numerous oversight boards and Management Council receiving approval for $10MM in funding.

• Introduced personal mobile satellite solutions for geographically disconnected users of the completing the connection of

the FSIS workforce.

• Acquired a Microsoft Azure IaaS solution to migrate current development and storage solutions over a three year time

frame including the Public Health Information System and all agency applications.

• Key advisor/leader to the USDA department-level transition from traditional Data Center to Cloud Infrastructure for 18

agencies.

• Advancing the development and project management methodologies from Waterfall to Agile.

• Removing internal siloes and implementing and organizing a DevOps culture and practices

• Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the 11,000+ member workforce through mobile hardware and software

technology

• Initiated the Mobile-First development initiative changing all applications to responsive web applications and a practice

of developing software once for multi-platform use with native hardware access.

• Instituting open source development technology and practices

• Architected the use of virtual reality to transform FSIS inspector training modernizing it to reduce attrition

• Instituting a Fail over and Continuous Operations infrastructure and plan

• Instituted the refactoring of monolithic applications to a suite of functional micro-services and office-based applications

• Architecting and releasing the continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipeline

• Enhancing the shared services program between other federal agencies and departments

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Chief, Digital Innovation and Development

C United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, DC

2013 - 2015

inreated and led the Digital Innovation and Development Group (DID(it)) at USCIS the most advanced innovative technology program

23, 2012). DID(it) has two a two prong mission: 1) Enhance USCIS's business (over 19,000 employees) and customer engagement

(millions worldwide) by rapidly producing responsive web applications using innovative technology and development processes. 2)

Enhance the USCIS Office of Information Technology's processes through research and application of emerging innovative

technologies and software development processes. Provides direction and oversight for strategic planning and modernization

initiatives with an annual budget of over $16MM.

• Created and released the USCIS (internal) App Store. A centralized location for all USCIS employees to go to review

available agency applications (similar to Apple’s App Store), but also a central hub for all IT (report issues, request

access, new devices...), and a place to provide ideas and requests for functionality and development.

the Federal government. I did this to align IT and software development practices to the Federal Digital Government Strategy (May

• Created, developed and initiated USCIS’s internal community sourced development initiative: training and allowing

users throughout the agency to develop cross-platform applications, submitting them to the USCIS App Store for

deployment. Wrote the USCIS’s policy on crowdsource development.

• Restructured six geographically dispersed local application development sections (50 highly skilled technical and

executive personnel) into a DevOps program consisting of 3 (120 highly skilled technical and executive personnel and

contractors) branches with all areas of the Office of Information Technology: security, operations, engineering, testing,

508 compliance, development, database management, IT project managers, cloud services with $15 million annual

budget.

• Implemented and chaired the Agency’s Executive Steering Committee for New Development which is comprised of

executives across the agency in order to instill a culture of enterprise architecture and remove/stop redundant

development/investment efforts in accordance to the Federal Enterprise Architecture Program (2007).

• Created Consult(it), a DID(it) Consulting Group, to accelerate the turn-around of critical projects gone astray and

transition the development practices and management processes through a sustainable Agile and DevOps culture change.

• Created Innovate(it), a DID(it) Innovation Lab, to experiment with current bleeding edge technologies to ensure that we

use the right tool for the job.

• Create Code(it), a DID(it) Code School, to teach programming and development skills through all of USCIS and enhance

the skill set of USCIS Office of Information Technology. Teaches – Ruby, Python, and additional courses.

• Initiated and created the Salesforce.com pilot program. Provide expert guidance on Salesforce implementation and the

agency road-map. Consolidating redundant CRM systems, Case Management Systems and other enterprise systems into

the Salesforce.com solution. Redesigning call center operations to use Salesforce.com service cloud.

• Initiated and led the infrastructure move from traditional data centers to the Amazon Web Services commercial cloud.

• Introduced and set the standard for mobile-first development throughout the agency allowing applications to respond and

work seamlessly across mobile and desktop devices. Wrote USCIS's mobile strategy.

• Created an application/document library that reduces USCIS's paper processing by over 50% with only 1% of users

using the application.

• Created and released a peer-to-peer employee recognition application where USCIS employees can reward each other for

innovation, communication, leadership, collaboration, and other business traits.

• Created a method to provide on-demand software enhancement support across multiple applications on as needed basis

saving the agency millions of dollars annually and providing constant support to business operations. This changed cycle

time from months to minutes for Operations, Maintenance, Enhancements and new development from months to weeks.

refugee asylum and international operations, service center operations, field operations, customer service and public

engagement, management directorate.

upporting finance, human resources, case management, operations and security, fraud detection and national security,

• Created the continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline in order to support over 100 applications ranging in

s complexity and size from small local applications to large enterprise applications built in various technology stacks

• Changed the program's information system security posture to an Ongoing Authorization program that shifts the focus

from compliance-based security to risk-based security. This facilitates continuous evaluation of the system risk and

timely identification of vulnerabilities.

• DID(it) teams have won Director's and CIO's awards every quarter for the last 6 quarters out of an overall OIT staff of

1,000 for Excellence in Agile Development, Innovation, Processes, Most Effective Applications

evelopment.

Business Analyst/Solution Architect

U.S. General Services Administration, Arlington, VA

2

2011 - 2013

• Set up and hosted the first Federal Government Hackathon. The 2-day hackathon was hosted nationwide and resulted in

d the development of 7 new applications for USCIS. Since then have hosted 2 additional hackathons focused on API

Led world-wide geographically dispersed teams of IT personnel, contractors, and business process owners to fulfill requirements and

initiatives for mission-critical business applications. Instituted big data analytic research for Customer Accounts and Research systems

and Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) systems to derive information that provided the Federal Acquisition Service with actionable

business intelligence and predictive analytics.

• Created and maintained the Salesforce.com CRM System Roadmap and managed the development backlog for GSA's

CRM system users (over 12,000) which resulted in an increase of application user adoption by 116% in FY12.

• Led a nationwide executive team in the successful redesign of the agency's lead management process (for the $40 billion

sales pipeline) and implemented it into the Salesforce.com CRM System for GSA

I took control of the project and work as an intermediary between the two divisions and completed the project in 3

months.

• Developed the Marketing Information Management System for the National Marketing and Communications Division

f (NMCD) in the Salesforce enterprise platform. This was a project that had been attempted by other members of GSA and

ailed. The Business Owner (NMCD) and the CIO development team were unwilling to work together after a falling out.

• Piloted the use of Radian6, Salesforce.com's Social Media Studio, became Radian6 Super User and Champion

• Redesigned call center operations to use Salesforce.com service cloud.

• Created and taught the GSA Salesforce.com CRM System Training to the Federal Acquisition Service

• Created and taught the Enterprise Social Network Training to the Federal Acquisition Service

CORPORATE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Regional Manager

D Gold’s Gym International, Inc., Northern, VA

2005 – 2007

resources, marketing, corporate sales, customer service, facility maintenance, personal training, and retail while providing multi - unit

a leadership to 25 corporate facilities and over 700 employees and hundreds of franchise facilities. Managed largest revenue generating

irected overall operations of the East Coast market including regional corporate departments: information technology, human

rea of over $50 million with full P&L, budget and pricing responsibilities.

• Developed annual complex budget and sales forecast for the east coast region covering 1, 3, and 5 years out (with over

25 offices and 700 employees) which included considerations for travel, training, salaries, capital expenditures

m (CAPEX), company acquisitions, greenfield ventures, vendor contracts for the company's largest revenue generating

• Worked with the SVP of Human Resources and 3rd party vendor on automating the HCM system (human capital

management system) to include the application and resume submittal process (online) and integrating an online

behavioral analysis system in order to identify the best candidates for available positions

arket.

• Developed the east coast performance metrics aligning them to the company's national strategy and holding the

pe departments accountable for their performance in order to close the gap between national expectations and regional

• Piloted a fully integrated industry leading CRM business system utilizing Salesforce.com.

• Developed data gathering requirements for market analysis teams. Created dashboards monitoring regional performance,

market share analysis, marketing effectiveness, and competition benchmark. Used these tools to analyze regional

performance and make executive decisions to lead operations into a more effective operating environment.

rformance. Result: led the East Coast to number 1 performing region.

• Reconstructed corporate management infrastructure for east coast region, improving alignment of human capital with

strategic goals set forth by new C-level management team during acquisition. Result: Removed redundant positions,

saving company millions of dollars annually.

• Researched and presented greater sales opportunity by adding on-line sales feature to company’s website. Result:

Reduced payroll and commission costs, while increasing company’s revenue and membership base.

MILITARY EXPERIENCE:

Chief, IT & Telecommunication Process and Policy

onorably Discharged Engineer Officer

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revenue per square foot by rearranging less profitable clubs to create leasable space for third party companies, which

provided constant recurring revenue stream.

• Oversaw construction of Clarendon, Rockville, and Fairfax facilities, working directly with project manager, Director of

Real Estate and Director of Construction, keeping costs appropriately recorded and reporting to COO and CEO weekly.

• Performed competitive analysis and conducted extensive vendor research, selection and negotiation. Result:

Increased

H United States Army Reserve/ Virginia Army National Guard

2008 – 2014

• Oversaw Information Technology governance. Analyzed and interpreted government-wide laws and regulations

governing IT management; provided guidance for the development and implementation of policies, procedures and

o standards necessary to ensure compliance with applicable statutes and Federal policies, executive orders, regulations and

• Performed a financial analysis of the entire Virginia Army National Guard IT and Telecommunications branch's

operations, contracts, and vendors which resulted in the development of a third – party billing system for mobilizing and

training units requiring access in order to offset VNG's IT & Telecommunications expenses.

ther mandates.

• Created job descriptions and the employee field manual for all field technicians in the Virginia Army National Guard.

• Oversaw Help Desk and End User Services support.

• Established policies, standard operating procedures, procedures, and guidelines

• Oversaw the development, implementation, and acquisition of hardware, software, telecommunications, and integration

services required to support temporary offices for training and mobilizing units.

• Wrote the Virginia National Guard's Wireless Policy which was adopted by four other states.

• Led the adoption of SharePoint across the Division in order to reduce the use of paper and streamline business processes.

• Set up Division's Local Area Network and implemented the Command Post of the Future (CPOF).

Infantry Platoon Sergeant

H United States Marine Corps

1995 - 2002

onorably Discharged Sergeant

• Assistant Director and Chief Instructor of Corporal School, Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, SC

• Led NATO team, providing humanitarian assistance by mass care sheltering and feeding of thousands of refugees in

Macedonia during Kosovo Conflict.

• Provided security and humanitarian aid to Cuban and Haitian refugee camps in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

C Master of Business Administration, 2008

Goncentration: Information System Technology, Corporate Finance, & Marketing

eorge Washington University, Washington, D.C.

B Bachelor of Arts in Communication, 2004

Cachelor of Arts in French, 2004

P gile Alliance

Northern Virginia Technology Council

Military Officers Association of America

ython Software Foundation

Design, Telecommunication and Enterprise Networks, Human Computer Interaction, Information System and Information Technology

Security, JAVA Programming, Executive Decision Making.

Information Systems and Information Technology Strategy, Information Systems Management, Information Systems Analysis and

Information Systems Technology & Federal Executive Training:

George Washington University:

Implementing an IT Strategy, Integrated Technology Services, Scheduling and Cost Control, Organizational Budget Activities and the

Master Budget, Understanding Organizational Power and Politics, Federal Budgeting Process, Accessibility and Section 508

Awareness.

Business and Information Technology Strategy Alignment, Federal Enterprise Architecture, Creating an IT Strategy Plan,

Chief Information Officer 2.0, Enterprise Architecture for Leaders, Strategic Performance and Budget Management.

Federal Executive Training

National Defense University:

Additional Coursework & Certifications:

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ollege of Charleston, Charleston, SC

A Organizations:

Certified ITIL Foundations v2011, CMMI, Effective Practices & Federal Challenges in Applying Agile Methods, Agile Testing,

Kanban Training, Agile Methodologies, Scrum Development Process, Agile Project Management Essentials, Moving Business

Services to the Cloud, Composite Risk Management Course, Salesforce.com Solution Architect Certification, Salesforce.com

Administrator Certification, Salesforce.com Developer Certification, Automating Your Service Cloud, Data Management,

Implementing the Sales Cloud, Implementing CRM Essentials, Analytics as a Service

P TECHNOLOGY SKILLS:

roficient in Ruby, Rails, Python, Flask, Tkinter, Django, JAVA, Android Studio, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Node.js, Ember.js,

M Express.js, Angular.js, JSON, Bootstrap 3, Responsive Web Design, CouchDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL Database, MySQL Database,

ActionScript 3, JQuery, AJAX, XML, Jenkins CI, Mobile Application Development, PhoneGap, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop,

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Flash, Windows, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Git, Github, Gitlab, Bitbucket, JIRA,

Confluence.

icrosoft SQL Databases, IIS, Linux, Amazon Web Services, Heroku, Digital Ocean, WordPress, SalesForce.com, Apex,

N PUBLICLY RELEASED OR OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT:

Laaked Jellyfish Game – Mobile game available on the Amazon App Store, Microsoft App Store, Apple App Store

M serFish, Game – Mobile game available on the Amazon App Store and the Barnes and Noble Nook Store

B ilitary Trivia: US Marines Edition – Mobile trivia app available on the Amazon App Store

Footstrap_jt – Ruby gem, adds Twitter Bootstrap3 Responsive Design Framework to Rails applications

Ooundation_front_end – Ruby gem, adds Zurb Foundation 5 Responsive Framework to Rails applications

ther work can be found on Github: https://github.com/JTunnessen

HONORS, AWARDS, ARTICLES, AND SPEAKING INVITATIONS:

• FedTech: DevOps is Here, and It’s Going to Change Your Agency’s Culture (2016)

• Government Information Technology Executive Committee 2016 Summit: DevOps from Idea to Continuous

Improvement, Speaking (2016)

• GovLoop Book: Your Guide to DevOps in Government (2016)

• GovLooop Article: Modernizing Your IT Infrastructure (2016)

• ModernGov: Accept the Challenge: Modernize Your IT Infrastructure (2016)

• GovLoop Webinar Course: Modernizing Your IT Infrastructure, Speaking (2016)

• FedScoop TV Interview: USDA’s Jim Tunnessen on how open source is winning in government, Speaking (2015)

• Federal News Radio/WTOP: How Citizen Services can be transformed by software analytics, Radio Interview (2015)

• ATARC Redefining Federal IT Conference: Using Hybrid Cloud for Enhancing Mission Capabilities, Speaking (2015)

• Red Hat Government Symposium: Keynote on Innovation, Speaking (2015)

• Red Hat Government Symposium: Accelerating Application Delivery, Speaking (2015)

• ATARC Federal Cloud Computing Summit: DevOps and Automation in the Cloud, Speaking (2015)

• USCIS: DevOps, OpenSource, and Kanban for Software Development, Speaking (2015)

• Lean Agile Innovation Award, DHS USCIS CIO's Award (2015)

• CFPB: Operating with OpenSource and DevOps, Speaking (2014)

• First Federal Hackathon, DHS USCIS CIO’s Award (2014)

• Article in FCW Magazine- At USCIS, they DID(it), http://bit.ly/digitalinnovationanddevelopment (2014)

• GSA: Enterprise Social Networks, the New Reality, Speaking (2012)

• Army Commendation Medal (for leadership), U. S. Army (2009)

• Leadership Excellence Award, Association of the U. S. Army (2009)

• Best Health Clubs Reader’s Choice Award, Washington Post (2005, 2006, and 2007)

• Navy Achievement Medal (for leadership), U. S. Marine Corps (2002)

• Military Excellence Award (for leadership), Non-Commissioned Officers Association (2000)

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