Karen S. Evans

Office of Management and Budget
Karen S. Evans
Administrator of the Office of E-Government and Information Technology,
Director of the Chief Information Officers Council

Karen S. Evans does not want to be known as President Bush's technology czar. As administrator of e-government and information technology at the Office of Management and Budget, she sees herself in the more genteel position of coordinator, not the absolute dictator of the government's computers and networks. "I do have oversight statutory responsibility, but we coordinate activities," she says.

Whether you call her coordinator, director, chief or czar, her responsibilities are extensive. Evans oversees a slew of information technology projects across dozens of agencies. A 20-year government veteran, she is the director of the Chief Information Officers Council and overseer of the e-government fund.

A large part of her job involves bringing agencies together to work on projects designed to streamline and consolidate routine government operations, such as payroll, grants and travel. Other responsibilities include resource planning, cybersecurity, privacy, and access to, distribution and preservation of government data.

Evans, who moved into the position after serving as the Energy Department's chief information officer, has struggled over e-government funding with congressional appropriators, who make it an annual practice to slash the amount far below what she requests. Working with Congress is another challenge of the job, she says, and she's learning that transparency can be critical in overseeing a successful program. "It's giving them as much information as they need to make them comfortable, so they know what's going on," says Evans.