More than 21.5 million current and former federal employees had their personal information hacked from the Office of Personnel Management, including the fingerprints of everyone who has applied for a security clearance. The director of OPM, Katherine Archuleta, has refused to resign, saying she is “committed” to repairing the historic data breach.
OPM director says she is "committed" to doing the work to repair breach. Says she's not resigning.
— Shane Harris (@shaneharris) July 9, 2015
But Archuleta has no background in tech or cyber-security. In the official White House press release on her first day, Archuleta was heralded as “the first Latina” to run the OPM and someone who “[w]ith her breadth of experience as an educator, public administrator, and community leader, Katherine Archuleta possesses an abundance of skills to bring talented people together with different ideas and fresh perspectives to strengthen our federal workforce.”
The release focused mainly on Archuleta’s history of political appointments, in the Clinton and Obama administrations, and diversity.
The White House highlighted:
Among her many accomplishments, Katherine served as the Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, worked as the director of professional services for a Denver law firm, and cofounded the Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action. During her tenure in the Clinton Administration, she served as a senior advisor to Secretary Federico Peña at the Department of Energy, and as his Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of Transportation.
Archuleta “also worked as the National Political Director for President Obama’s reelection campaign, where she traveled around the country listening to the many issues facing Americans,” according to the White House.
Her biography on OPM’s website lists nothing tech or cyber-security related:
Director Archuleta began her career in public service as a teacher in the Denver public school system. She left teaching to work as an aide to Denver Mayor Federico Peña. When Mayor Peña became Secretary of Transportation during the Clinton Administration, Archuleta continued her public service as his Chief of Staff. Later, Peña was appointed to head the Department of Energy and Archuleta served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Secretary.
The last line in her official OPM biography reads, “As the Director of OPM, Archuleta is committed to building an innovative and inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of America. As a long-time public servant, she is a champion of Federal employees.”