Posts By Nicole Blake Johnson

Why Congress Is More like ‘Game of Thrones,’ Not ‘House of Cards’

The Netflix series “House of Cards” is about one lawmaker trying to rise above and be more powerful than Congress, while HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is broadly about several different families trying to rule the Iron Throne. In Congress, there are 535 different people — men and women — trying to serve their constituents, their… Read more »

3 Ways to Bring an Entrepreneurial Mindset to Your Agency

LinkedIn. PayPal. YouTube. They’re household names for most — if not all of us. We use these nifty platforms to search and apply for jobs, send and receive payments and watch videos go viral. But behind these household names are bright minds that overcame failures and challenges to shepherd their creations from ideas, to concepts,Read… Read more »

OPM Director Katherine Archuleta’s Resignation Statement

“Today I informed the OPM workforce that I am stepping down as the leader of this remarkable agency and the remarkable people who work for it. This morning, I offered, and the President accepted, my resignation as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. I conveyed to the President that I believe it is… Read more »

Practical Lessons Employees Can Learn from the OPM Breaches

This story is the first in a new bi-weekly GovLoop series called “The Intersection”. The goal is to make technology relevant and easy to understand for all government employees. Consider this blog the bridge that connects you (the tech user) with the tech innovators and policy makers. The next post will be published on GovLoop.comRead… Read more »

Cloud Procurement Lessons from NASA and Arlington County

Trying to understand and explain the intricate details of cloud computing is hard — even for the government’s biggest techies. But even harder than that is navigating the cultural and technical challenges of buying cloud services. “Procurement was probably the hardest part of getting into the cloud,” said Roopangi Kadakia, NASA’s Web Services Executive. SpeakingRead… Read more »

5 Takeaways from the OPM Breach Hearing

It’s highly likely that sophisticated hackers stole sensitive data from Office of Personnel Management systems containing Social Security numbers and other personal records of current and former federal employees, government officials testified on Tuesday. Although OPM has not determined the full scope of not one, but two recent hacks against its IT systems, Director KatherineRead… Read more »