Speakers

Arianne is the Director of the PMF Program at OPM's Center for Leadership Development, which includes managing the PMF Program. Arianne is a Class of 2011 PMF Graduate and comes to the team from the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget where she served as a Performance Manager leading a portfolio that included Federal hiring policy and other talent management initiatives. Arianne was also the co-founder and later the Deputy Director of the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program while serving as a Program Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and later at GSA.  Arianne holds both a Political Science degree and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh while also being a certified Project Management Professional. Arianne is incredibly excited to be working on the program that inspired her to public service. In her personal time Arianne loves to travel and spend quality time with her husband, Paul, and Sprocket, her miniature schnauzer.

Bob Leavitt serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Human Resources and Chief Human Capital Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Appointed in February 2022, Mr. Leavitt is responsible for the recruitment, development, and retention of the department’s talented workforce in advancing and maintaining the health and safety of the American people. Mr. Leavitt works in partnership with colleagues across HHS and in support of his immediate team in the Office of Human Resources (OHR).

Prior to HHS, Mr. Leavitt led USAID’s Human Resource Transformation from its inception in 2016 through 2021 and served four years as USAID’s Chief Human Capital Officer (2018-2021). The consistent and collaborative implementation of the multi-year strategy and action plan strengthened the Agency’s investment in its global workforce, including a twenty percent increase the Agency’s workforce levels and improved customer service.

Mr. Leavitt has 25 years of experience managing humanitarian and development assistance programs and national security policies. He served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (2014-2016) and as USAID’s Executive Secretary and the Administrator’s Senior Advisor for National Security Affairs (2012-2014), which followed his service at the National Security Council as Director of African Affairs (2009-2012). Mr. Leavitt worked a year and a half in Stuttgart, Germany, where he led USAID’s participation in the Department of Defense’s planning and establishment of U.S. Africa Command. He joined USAID in 2001 as a Conflict Resolution specialist and helped develop and implement U.S. Government policies, strategies, and programs in conflict-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Before he joined USAID, Mr. Leavitt lived in Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Liberia where he managed humanitarian and development programs for Catholic Relief Services (1994-2000).

Mr. Leavitt has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2014 and is a recipient of the 2019 Presidential Meritorious Rank Award. He holds a Master of Advanced Military Arts and Sciences degree from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth. He also has a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and English from the University of New Hampshire.

Steven Hernandez is an information assurance executive serving the past twenty years in a variety of contexts and missions. His rich background includes law enforcement, financial, education, healthcare, credentialing, heavy manufacturing, non-profits, and governments at the federal, state, and local levels.  Steven’s experience ranges from the board room to leading tactical, day-to-day security operations as well as guiding and leading broad security initiatives such as the US government's Zero Trust Architecture approach across large and complex organizations. Presently he is the Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Information Assurance Services at the U.S. Department of Education.  Steven also serves as the co-chair of the US Government Federal CISO Council and Government Chair of the ACT-IAC Cybersecurity Community of Interest. Prior to his position at Education, he held a variety of roles at the Office of Inspector General, US Department of Health and Human Services including CTO, CIO, CISO, Senior Official for Privacy and Chief Services Engineering Officer.  He is an inaugural member of the United States Scholarship of Service Hall of Fame and an ardent supporter of the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through his teaching work as an Honorary Professor, Affiliate Faculty and guest lecturer at over a dozen Institutions of higher education.