Michael H. Brody
Michael Brody has a unique ability to reconcile mission needs with privacy protections, which requires close collaboration with DHS' many independent-minded components.
As director for policy, architecture and governance at the Department of Homeland Security's Information Sharing Environment Office, Michael Brody is expected to be an expert on rules.
According to his managers, however, it's Brody's deft communication skills, management acumen, cross-boundary view and sense of humor that make him so effective. He was promoted to his current position after just one year at DHS, and his ability to reconcile mission needs with privacy considerations and protections has elevated his work.
He has a knack for bringing together officials with wildly disparate and often opposing views to make progress on common goals despite those differences. He led the effort to improve the processes and strategy for the Information Sharing and Safeguarding Governance Board -- no easy feat because it required close consultations with DHS' many independent-minded components.
He also rallied support for the Homeland Security Information Network, a collaborative platform for more than 40,000 state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement and emergency responders -- even though he was only supposed to provide policy expertise for HSIN's day-to-day operations and for managing security events and incidents.
Brody said that at its heart, his work has a much deeper purpose.
"Our work ensures the [Office of the CIO] delivers what mission operators need to save lives, protect property and secure the homeland," Brody said. "The DHS OCIO's Information Sharing Environment Office is the bridge between the information-sharing mission and information technology."