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April Castañeda, MITRE senior vice president and chief human resources officer, says she’s excited about all the things on her heaping plate: HR excellence, science and technology, enabling and empowering people ... plus superheroes, arts, roller derby, and more. Despite her numerous passions, two constants about April are her “West Coast casual” approach and her focus on prioritizing relationships with people to enable mission success. After joining MITRE, April went on a listening tour across the company to understand employees’ needs and concerns based on their experiences with HR. She’s since developed and launched a three-year People Strategy to continually improve HR operations. Her desired result is to align HR more closely with MITRE’s business side, reduce the administrative burden, and enhance the employee experience. “One of the biggest impacts we're going for is HR operational excellence. My philosophy is simplicity,” she says. “We're going to streamline our processes and make it so people know where to go for HR help and that they really feel heard.” This approach is important to April because “everything that HR does is personal. If we mess up, it's your benefits that get messed up. It's your kid who can't go to the doctor. Anything and everything we do is personal,” she explains.
Brian Abrahamson, senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO), brings nearly three decades of experience in driving a digitally enabled, mission-first approach to operational excellence in both the public sector and private industry. Abrahamson will lead efforts to position MITRE with best-in-class operational capabilities that support delivery of critical government missions. “Brian has achieved remarkable results in modernizing the operational practices of organizations like MITRE, and his leadership will be instrumental as we further sharpen our capabilities to drive efficiency and deliver on government missions,” said Mark Peters, president and CEO, MITRE. “His proven track record of simplifying complex operating environments and amplifying mission visibility makes him the ideal leader to strengthen MITRE’s commitment to Mission First, People Always.” As COO, Abrahamson will work across MITRE to champion a culture of continuous improvement and position MITRE as a benchmark for operational excellence, collaborating with cross-company teams to improve end-to-end operations to support MITRE’s federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). He also will lead functional areas including corporate strategy, enterprise technology, global security, corporate real estate, and enterprise communications.
“As quantum computing technology continues to advance, organizations cannot afford to delay preparing for these transformative changes and threats to their security,” said Wen Masters, vice president of cyber technologies, MITRE. "This roadmap empowers CIOs (chief information officers) and CISOs (chief information security officers) to act decisively, taking proactive steps to protect sensitive data now and in the future.”
The U.S. must act decisively to drive AI #innovation and remain competitive. In our response to the AI Action Plan RFI from White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, we highlight four key strategies to accelerate #AI development, including an urgent need to develop a talent pool of AI savvy experts to drive innovation.
At NVIDIA GTC, #TeamMITRE and NVIDIA showcased our work to advance #AI innovation for the U.S. government—helping agencies tackle mission-critical challenges like training large language models, leveraging #quantum research, and rethinking #telecommunications infrastructure. Together, we're demonstrating the power of cross-sector collaboration to drive #innovation, strengthen #NationalSecurity, and improve lives. #NVIDIAGTC #6G
At MITRE, we are committed to advancing technology that secures and strengthens our connected world. During MWC Barcelona, #TeamMITRE engaged in conversations on the security and independence of #telecommunications infrastructure as #5G adoption accelerates and the role Open Radio Access Networks (#ORAN) play in enhancing network flexibility and robustness. Our head of 5G/xG Andrew Thiessen joined fellow experts and NextNav to discuss the challenges, solutions, and future of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (#PNT) systems.
Welcome April Castañeda, our new SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, to #TeamMITRE. With April’s expertise and leadership, we are poised to continue building high-performing teams rooted in trust, transparency, and respect—empowered to expand innovative solutions for the nation.
Christina Liaghati, PhD, our department manager for trustworthy and secure AI, was named to the 2025 #Fed100 by Government Executive. At MITRE, Christina's team addresses the risks and benefits of integrating artificial intelligence into government systems. Christina is also a co-founder of MITRE ATLAS, a free knowledge base that helps detect and mitigate threats against #AI systems. Congratulations to Christina and all the Fed 100 honorees for your impact on #FederalIT!
Eliza Mace started working with artificial intelligence over a decade ago as a #TeamMITRE intern. Today, she's a machine learning expert who leads a team adapting #AI algorithms to support defense and intelligence missions.
Traci Scott is using her substantial communications credentials to help tell the story of our mission. "What I love most about working at MITRE is meeting brilliant people who share their talents to serve our sponsors." #TeamMITRE
