The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a significant leadership transition as Bridget Bean steps into the role of Executive Director in August. CISA Director Jen Easterly made the announcement, highlighting Bean’s extensive experience and leadership within the federal government.
“Bridget Bean will take over as Executive Director of CISA in August, transitioning from her current role as Assistant Director for Integrated Operations,” said Easterly. “With more than three decades of federal government service, Bridget brings extraordinary leadership and experience to the role, which will involve a dedicated focus on operationalizing a fully unified and cohesive team. We thank Brandon for all he has done for CISA and the Nation and thank Bridget for stepping into this critical role.”
Bridget Bean currently serves as the Assistant Director for the Integrated Operations Division (IOD) at CISA. In this capacity, she leads the agency’s efforts to coordinate, collaborate, and execute CISA’s operational activities, ensuring seamless support and expedited responses to critical needs. Under her leadership, the IOD has significantly enhanced mission effectiveness, information sharing, and situational awareness across the agency.
Bean’s work with the IOD involves unifying the conduct and reporting of operations to provide end-to-end operational visibility for physical, cyber, and communications activities. The division also delivers CISA-specific and incident-specific intelligence products to support all missions and conducts continuity planning and internal drills to improve overall operational readiness.
Before joining CISA, Bean was an independent consultant, assisting state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as small businesses and nonprofits, in solving complex problems. Her federal career includes senior executive roles at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), where she held extensive operational assignments in National Preparedness, Human Capital, and Economic Development.
At FEMA, Bean served as the Acting Deputy Administrator for Resilience, leading a team of 1,600 employees and managing an annual budget of $600 million. She also directed FEMA’s Grants Program Directorate, overseeing the strategic alignment of $20 billion in Homeland Security grants with emerging threats and managing the $600 million Grants Management Modernization effort.
During her tenure at the SBA, Bean held several key roles, including Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, and Washington Metropolitan District Director.
Bridget Bean is a graduate of George Mason University and an active member of her community. She serves on the board of the GovCon Leadership Advisory Council, is a member of Executive Women in Government, and volunteers with the Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
As Brandon Wales, the outgoing Executive Director, prepares to leave CISA after more than 19 years of service, Bean’s appointment ensures a seamless transition in leadership.