CISA Announces New Chief of Staff Kiersten E. Todt

WASHINGTON – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced today Kiersten E. Todt as the Agency’s new Chief of Staff. In this role, Todt will spearhead the planning, allocation of resources, and development of long-range objectives in support of CISA’s goals and provide strategic vision and direction to enable and empower CISA’s workforce.

“I am thrilled to welcome Kiersten as our new Chief of Staff and my close partner in continuing the transformation of CISA as the nation’s cyber and infrastructure defense agency. Her experiences in the private sector and in government make her extraordinarily well-qualified for this critical role. I am particularly excited to be able to draw upon Kiersten’s leadership ability and her deep partnerships with industry, to include the small business community—a key element of our nation’s economy,” stated CISA Director Jen Easterly.

“I am honored to serve and to join Jen and the tremendous team at CISA to help protect our nation’s critical infrastructure. I look forward to shaping CISA’s long-term planning and working with industry, federal agencies, and state, local, tribal, and territorial government partners to chart the path forward for a more secure and resilient nation,” stated Todt.

Prior to her role at CISA, Todt served as the Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI), a non-profit initiative that convenes senior executives of global companies to develop free cybersecurity tools and resources for small businesses, worldwide. She was also the CEO of Liberty Group Ventures, LLC (LGV) and a member of the team supporting the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the development of the Voluntary Cybersecurity Framework called for in President Obama's 2013 Executive Order 13636 on cybersecurity.

Todt most recently served in the federal government in 2016 as the Executive Director of President Obama's independent, bipartisan Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.  In this role, she led the twelve commissioners, who were leaders from industry, government, academia, and law enforcement, to develop a consensus document of cybersecurity recommendations for the then-incoming Administration. Her federal government experience also includes serving as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. She worked for the Committee Chairman, Senator Joseph Lieberman, and was responsible for co-drafting the cybersecurity, infrastructure protection, emergency preparedness, bioterror, and science and technology portions of the legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security.

Read Kiersten Todt’s full bio.

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