Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly announced today that Cait Conley, Senior Advisor to the Director, will take on additional responsibilities supporting CISA’s election security efforts. Conley will spearhead CISA’s partnership engagement and coordination efforts with election officials across the nation as they continue to serve as the frontline defenders of election infrastructure.
“Our work to support election officials across the nation remains one of CISA’s highest priorities. Cait is a dedicated public servant and combat-tested U.S. Army veteran with extensive operational and leadership experience working top national security priorities, including cybersecurity and counterterrorism. This experience, combined with her work leading the bipartisan Defending Digital Democracy Project, make her ideally suited to help those state and local officials carrying out elections in every community in America. I’m thrilled to have her take on this responsibility,” said CISA Director Easterly. “I want to thank Kim Wyman, who will be departing CISA at the end of July for an opportunity in a private sector. Kim has been an invaluable Senior Election Security Lead over the past year and a half, strengthening our partnerships across the election community and maturing our operations. I’m pleased that she will remain as an informal advisor and friend to Team CISA, as well as a critical partner in the broader election security community.”
“It has been an honor to lead CISA’s election security efforts and to work side-by-side with so many talented and dedicated colleagues,” said Wyman. “I thank Director Easterly for the opportunity to support election officials in this role and to be part of this important mission. I am proud of the team and what we’ve already been able to accomplish. I have worked with Cait for the past several years in this election security space and know that CISA is in good hands with Cait joining the effort going forward.”
“I’m thrilled to take on this responsibility and can’t wait to hit the ground running,”said Conley. “We have an amazing elections team here at CISA which has been working year-round to support state and local election officials in ensuring the security and resilience of elections. I am excited to return to the election security mission and build on the incredible progress CISA has made over the last several years.”
Conley brings a wealth of experience in election security. She previously served as the Executive Director of the bipartisan Defending Digital Democracy Project, based out of Harvard University’s Belfer Center, where she led the development and implementation of strategies, tools and recommendations for election administrators, election infrastructure providers, campaign organizations, and leaders involved in democratic processes to better defend against cybersecurity threats. She is also an experienced combat veteran with demonstrated leadership in global special operations, cyber operations, and counterterrorism.
