Mr. Dovarius L. Peoples was selected for the Senior Executive Service in January of 2016.He assumed the position of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)/ G6 in April of 2019 with theUS Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). In this role, he serves as the principal advisor to theCommanding General on information technology issues. He is responsible for all aspects ofinformation resource management and information technology for USACE. Prior to his currentassignment, Mr. Peoples served as the Deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. ArmyNETCOM. In this capacity, Mr. Peoples provided senior technical leadership to ensure ArmyTheater level networks were integrated into the Army's portion of the Department of DefenseInformation Network (DoDIN) and enterprise constructs. The command employed over 14,000military, civilian and contractor personnel located in every theater in 20 countries around theworld and with an annual budget of in excess of $1.4 billion.
Previous Assignments include: September 2009 - April 2010: Information Systems SecurityEngineer, National Security Agency (NSA), Washington, D.C.; April 2010 - February 2013:Information Assurance Division Chief (IAM), USCYBERCOM J6, Fort Meade, Md.; February2013 – November 2013: Lead Architecture Engineer, Mobility PMO, Defense InformationSystems Agency (DISA), Fort Meade, Md.; November 2013 – August 2015: Deputy DirectorOperations, US Army Information Technology Agency (ITA), Pentagon, Washington, D.C.;August 2015 – January 2016: Deputy Director Cyber Solutions, Joint Service ProviderPentagon (JSP), Washington, D.C.; January 2016 – July 2018: Associate Chief InformationOfficer, Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C.; July 2018 - April 2019: Deputy tothe Commanding General, US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM).
Mr. Peoples’ education includes a Master of Science in Information Technology, with anemphasis in Information Assurance, from the University of Maryland, University College,College Park, Md., awarded in 2012. Mr. Peoples’ also has a Bachelor of Science inComputer Science, from Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Va., awarded in 2009.
Significant Training taken by Mr. Peoples includes the Advanced Program Manager Course,Defense Acquisition University. His certifications include: Program Management, AcquisitionProfessional Development Program; ITIL Foundations V.3.
Awards and Honors include the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
Mr. Peoples is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Association for ComputerMachinery (ACM).
Robert K. Ackerman has been the editor in chief of SIGNAL Magazine for more than 18 years. A seasoned technology journalist, Ackerman also has served as a war correspondent covering the Iraq War embedded with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.A journalist by training, Ackerman also minored in political science in university. His journalism career dates back more than four decades, beginning with stints as a radio reporter covering the Republican and Democratic parties’ political conventions during the 1976 elections. Following those conventions, he served as a media advisor or a press secretary for candidates in state and presidential campaigns.Most of his journalism work over the years has been in print journalism. His writings have covered a range of issues involving technology, politics and international security. His areas of coverage have spanned topics such as military information systems, foreign affairs, intelligence, laboratory research and development, space technologies, international security, terrorism, cybersecurity and information operations.Prior to becoming SIGNAL’s editor in chief, Ackerman served as the magazine’s senior editor. He has been with SIGNAL Magazine for more than three decades, during which he has written hundreds of feature articles and authored more than 400 columns and commentaries. He has been a panel moderator or keynote speaker at conferences in the United States, Germany and Russia, and he has appeared as a subject matter expert on television in the United States, France and Russia. Ackerman has won or shared in journalism awards from the Aviation Writers Association; the American Copy Editors Society; Apex; PRSA; the Society for Technical Communication; and the American Society of Association Executives.
John Simms is an information security leader and advisor with over 25 years of information technology and security experience. John currently supports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, primarily supporting the Trusted Internet Connection program and the agency’s cloud strategy.
Previously, John served as the Chief of Cybersecurity Assurance and as the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program Manager in the Federal Network Resilience Division at DHS.
Since 2016, John has focused on high value asset security architecture and engineering, and cloud modernization. Prior to joining the DHS, John served as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
