State Department CIO Kelly Fletcher Wins First Wash100 Award for Cybersecurity & Network Modernization Initiatives
Executive Mosaic is honored to welcome Kelly Fletcher, chief information officer of the U.S. Department of State, to the esteemed group of Wash100 Award winners. Fletcher received the 2025 Wash100 Award for her leadership in the department’s efforts to prioritize network modernization and enhance cybersecurity.
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The Wash100 Award honors the most distinguished men and women at the forefront of the federal government sector and government contracting industry. These 100 leaders are shaping the future of government contracting with their impact and vision.
“Kelly, the State Department’s CIO since 2022, has been a transformative force in federal technology,” said Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award.
“A lifelong civil servant with a distinguished career spanning the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy and Department of Homeland Security, Kelly has consistently driven innovation and efficiency. At State, she’s championed initiatives like Tech for Life, enhancing device management for the department’s globally mobile workforce. Kelly’s leadership not only modernizes the department’s IT infrastructure but also sets a forward-thinking agenda for federal technology both domestically and internationally,” Garrettson added.
Cybersecurity and Network Modernization Efforts
Fletcher is leading the State Department’s efforts against cyberthreats by implementing security measures such as multifactor authentication and widening data encryption. This was in response to the China-linked hacking of Microsoft’s corporate network, which compromised around 60,000 State Department emails.
“Four years ago, 5 percent of our systems had these sort of cybersecurity fundamentals. Today, it’s 95 percent,” said Fletcher.
The CIO also made it a priority to boost the department’s ability “to respond and recover from cyberincidents quickly.” She stressed the need to enhance user experience focused on enhanced operations, global connectivity and delivery of advanced capabilities. To achieve this, she advocated for adopting a zero trust posture.
This network modernization initiative also addresses the secret networks used by some U.S. embassies in foreign countries. These secret networks, intended to compensate for the low bandwidth in their locations, are major security risks.
“As we modernize our network to get to a more zero trust posture, we’re going to see improved user experience — there’s going to be less clicking and waiting — and increased security as we hoover all these random things into our enterprise network that is more performative,” said Fletcher during the Zscaler Public Sector Summit in April last year.
As part of its network modernization efforts, the State Department is accelerating artificial intelligence integration into its daily operations. The agency is prioritizing the incorporation of classified intel into AI tools. It has already programmed the Foreign Affairs Manual, a detailed overview of State Department business practices and procedures, into its internal chatbot to facilitate quick and secure access to essential information.
Last year, the State Department started implementing other programs, particularly AI-enhanced chatbots, to boost its domestic operations. StateChat, an internal AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT launched in August, is utilized by employees for email drafting, document translation and departmental policy brainstorming. It’s particularly useful for foreign service officers who come into a new assignment without the benefit of directly working with their predecessor for the onboarding process. In this case, the incoming officers use the tool to familiarize themselves with their new roles.
“What I think is really cool is we’re seeing diplomats use StateChat to do their core job and allow them more time to do value-added work that only humans can do,” said Fletcher.
The NorthStar tool is particularly useful to State personnel stationed outside the U.S. as it summarizes and analyzes news from foreign nations.
FAM Search enables quick access to information from the aforementioned Foreign Affairs Manual. The Civil Service Career Pathing Tool helps State employees with career advancement. The program has around 19,000 position descriptions that provide employees an idea of the requirements they need to advance their careers.
Another key initiative is the establishment of an AI marketplace aimed at accelerating AI adoption across the department. This marketplace, set to launch by 2025, allows state personnel to access the specialized AI capabilities. The planned multi-vendor marketplace will facilitate data and model access with built-in AI guardrails to protect users.
“Part of what’s happening is that technology is changing and we are leaning in to take advantage of it to improve our ability to drive diplomacy with technology,” said Fletcher.
The CIO is also recognized for spearheading the Tech for Life initiative, which allows department personnel to keep government-issued electronic devices after transferring to a different post or assignment. With around 13,000 personnel in 270 countries that relocate every two to three years, the Tech for Life program allows smoother transition and continuity when employees move overseas or to a new domestic station. The program aims to enhance the department’s mobile information technology service delivery, resulting in more efficient customer service. It keeps staff connected to the department during the transition process. The project started in 2023, and the State Department intends to equip all personnel participating in the program with laptops by the end of 2025.
“Tech for Life provides continuity; employees keep devices with which they are already familiar. That minimizes technology-related learning curves, enables immediate operational proficiency at new assignments, and reduces downtime and overhead associated with provisioning new equipment,” said Fletcher.
Kelly Fletcher’s Distinguished Career
Aside from her CIO role, Fletcher also serves as assistant secretary‐level head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology. Before joining the State Department, Fletcher was with the Department of Defense, serving as principal deputy CIO and principal director for resources and analysis.
Fletcher spent time at the Department of Homeland Security as deputy director of program analysis and evaluation and the Department of the Navy as the acting CIO and business system modernization lead.
Fletcher has not only performed her role as CIO of the State Department to the best of her abilities but has also championed initiatives to enhance cybersecurity, highlighted by her swift response to last year’s Microsoft hacking.
Executive Mosaic applauds Kelly Fletcher and the Department of State for the critical work they have done in the past year or so. This Wash100 recognition is a celebration of their hard work and dedication.
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