As Acting CTO, Jennifer Franks helps shape the agency’s long-term technology roadmap, evaluates emerging technology capabilities, and fosters a culture of experimentation and rapid prototyping to advance GAO’s mission and future technology environment.

With more than 20 years of federal leadership experience, Jennifer has led multidisciplinary teams responsible for strengthening cybersecurity, modernizing technology environments, reducing enterprise risk, and advancing mission-focused technology strategies across the federal government. As Director of the Center for Enhanced Cybersecurity, she oversees reviews of emerging cybersecurity challenges and agencies’ ability to protect sensitive data and critical systems. She also provides executive leadership for GAO’s enterprise analytics and cloud-enabled analytical capabilities that support congressional oversight and decision-making.

Jennifer holds a Master of Science in Information Security Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Hampton University.