(ISC)² has announced the finalists for the 14th annual US Government Information Security Leadership Awards (GISLA) program.

Sponsored by the (ISC)2 U.S. Government Advisory Council (USGAC), the GISLA program was established in 2004 to recognize government information security leaders (individuals or teams) whose commitment to excellence is advancing the nation’s cybersecurity program in six areas: Workforce, technology, process/policy, community awareness, industry partners and cybersecurity up-and-comers. Each year, a judging committee of senior information security experts from the (ISC)² USGAC and industry reviews the nominees and recommends finalists based upon selection criteria and eligibility requirements.

The U.S. Cyber Challenge’s National Director, Karen Evans, will be the keynote speaker at the award ceremony and gala dinner on May 10, 2017, at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C.

“The GISLA Gala is the one night of the year when we can shift our focus from what is going wrong in cybersecurity to what is going right,” said Dan Waddell, managing director, North America Region, director of US government affairs, (ISC)² and chair of the (ISC)2 USGAC. “This year’s GISLA finalists went above and beyond to stabilize the government’s cybersecurity efforts and to continue its advancement during an inherently challenging presidential election and transition.”

The 2017 GISLA finalists are as follows:

Technology Improvement – Individual Category

Daniel Holmes, senior information technician operations engineer, US Army. Initiative: US Army Microwave Line-of-Site Cyber-operations.

Rob Karas, director, National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Initiative: DHS National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services (NCATS).

Process/Policy Improvement – Individual Category

Brian O'Reilly, lead, Cloud Data Analytics Framework, US Department of Defense. Initiative: Cloud Data Analytics Framework/

Matt Shabat, director of performance management, DHS. Initiative: Cybersecurity Insurance.

Workforce Improvement – Individual Category

Ellen Ambrosini, director, Information Security Compliance, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Initiative: CMS Cybersecurity Risk Advisor Program.

Barbara Smith, information security director, Pacific District, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Initiative: Department of VA ISO Two-Year Training Program.

Up-and-Coming Information Security Professional – Individual Category

William Belei, information systems security manager, Launch Test and Range System, Air Force Space Command. Initiative: Air Force Launch Test and Range Program, Cyber-modernization Program.

Michael Rocha, IT specialist, DHS. Initiative: DHS National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services (NCATS).

Community Awareness – Team Category

Team Lead: Hemant Baidwan, branch chief, Executive Business Management, DHS. Initiative: DHS Information Security Training Working Group (ISTWG).

Team Lead: Sean McCloskey, branch chief stakeholder risk assessment and mitigation, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, DHS. Initiative: DHS Cyber Security Advisor (CSA) Program.

Most Valuable Industry Partner (MVIP) – Team Category

Team leads: Parham Eftekhari and James Scott, co-founders and senior fellows, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. Initiative: Impact of First Cybersecurity Think Tank on Government.

Team Lead: Greg White, executive director, ISAO Standards Organization. Initiative: Information Sharing and Analysis Organization’s Standards Organization (ISAO SO).