The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced late last month that Kim Wyman, its top election security official, plans to step down from her post at the end of July after nearly two years with the agency.
Wyman joined CISA as the agency’s Senior Election Security Lead back in October 2021. Before that, she spent nearly nine years as Washington’s secretary of state, where she built a reputation as a leading voice on election security against both cyber and physical threats.
As Washington Secretary of State, Wyman was one of the few Republican officials that pushed back against false claims of mail-in ballot fraud. Washington state was an early adopter of automatic, universal mail-in voting.
“Kim has been an invaluable Senior Election Security Lead over the past year and a half, strengthening our partnerships across the election community and maturing our operations. I’m pleased that she will remain as an informal advisor and friend to Team CISA, as well as a critical partner in the broader election security community,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
With Wyman set to take on an unspecified private-sector role, Cait Conley, a senior adviser to Director Easterly, will take on the additional responsibilities of overseeing the agency’s election-security initiatives, including spearheading engagement and coordination efforts with state and local officials.
“It has been an honor to lead CISA’s election security efforts and to work side-by-side with so many talented and dedicated colleagues,” said Wyman. “I am proud of the team and what we’ve already been able to accomplish. I have worked with Cait for the past several years in this election security space and know that CISA is in good hands with Cait joining the effort going forward.”
Conley previously served as executive director of the bipartisan Defending Digital Democracy Project at Harvard University, where she led the development and implementation of strategies, tools, and recommendations for election administrators, infrastructure providers, campaign organizations, and leaders involved in the election process to better defend against cybersecurity threats.
“I’m thrilled to take on this responsibility and can’t wait to hit the ground running,” said Conley.
“We have an amazing elections team here at CISA which has been working year-round to support state and local election officials in ensuring the security and resilience of elections,” she said. “I am excited to return to the election security mission and build on the incredible progress CISA has made over the last several years.”
