Management

GSA Names New Head of Technology Transformation Service

Kelly Olson will take on the role of acting director of the TTS, following the departure of Joann Collins Smee.

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Phil Goldstein is a former web editor of the CDW family of tech magazines and a veteran technology journalist. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their animals: a dog named Brenna, and two cats, Grady and Princess.

The General Services Administration has a new leader of its Technology Transformation Service.

On Aug. 22, the GSA confirmed that current TTS Chief of Staff Kelly Olson will take on the role of acting director of the TTS, following the departure of Joann Collins Smee, according to multiple reports. Olson will also take on the role of deputy commissioner of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, the agency confirmed to Nextgov. A GSA spokesperson told FCW that Olson’s first day in both the TTS and FAS jobs would be on Aug. 27.

Olson, who has been at the GSA since 2015, previously served as director of the agency’s innovation portfolio and strategic initiatives, managing several programs, such as Challenge.gov, Digital.gov and the Emerging Citizen Technology Office, among others, according to FedScoop.

Crucially, Olson will, for the time being, oversee the GSA’s Centers of Excellence IT modernization program, which Collins Smee had spearheaded.

Within the next few weeks, the GSA is expected to name the second agency that will participate in the CoE, Chris Liddell, the White House’s deputy chief of staff for policy coordination, said Aug. 21 at the FedTalks 2018 event in Washington, D.C.

Liddell also said that a search is well underway for a permanent replacement for Collins Smee. “We need to replace [her] with a new leader that’s going to take the Centers of Excellence to the next level,” he said. “We’re just recruiting people at the moment, and we're putting together a fabulous shortlist for that.”