Adrian R. Gardner served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the agency\’s headquarters in Washington, DC. In this position, Mr. Gardner is responsible for the governance and operations of the agency\’s information systems, ensuring the system complies with regulatory requirements in support of FEMA\’s mission and objectives.

Prior to his appointment to this post, Mr. Gardner served as (CIO) and Director of the Information Technology and Communications Directorate at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration\’s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center. Prior to serving as CIO at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mr. Gardner served as CIO of the National Weather Service. Prior to his time at the Weather Service, he was with the Department of Energy as the Deputy CIO for Cyber Security from September 2005 to September 2006 and the Deputy CIO for IT Reform from October 2006 to January 2007. He chairs the Working Group for DATA.GOV and co-chairs the Information Sharing Subcommittee within the Federal CIO Council.

Mr. Gardner has served within the federal government for over 20 years, working to enable mission capability and readiness within the scientific and defense sectors. In 2005, he earned the Federal 100 Award, which honors individuals from government, industry and academia for ideas and accomplishments that achieved results for the government information technology community.

Mr. Gardner is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Southern California, School of Public Policy and Planning, where he holds a Masters degree in Public Administration. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Hood College and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree from that institution. Mr. Gardner earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science and Ecology from the Tuskegee Institute. Mr. Gardner serves on the Board of the District of Columbia Urban League.