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When you talk to Steven Hernandez, you feel like you’re catching up with an old friend. It’s an unexpected quality for the chief information security officer for the United States Department of Education to possess. One might expect someone tasked with protecting data and information at the highest levels of the federal government to be a stern taskmaster—a vigilant officer of few words and less humor. That’s not Hernandez at all.
As for who Hernandez is, he will tell you he’s an honorary professor at California State University, San Bernardino, a school well known for serving the area’s Latino community. He will tell you he’s a beneficiary of the Latino community he grew up in, a community he still holds close to his heart. He will tell you about his passion for rehabilitating dogs so that they can be permanently adopted. And he will tell you about the mentors from his Hispanic community who continue to inspire him.
How does a guy like Hernandez from a tiny agricultural town in Idaho—a guy who feels like that one teacher you loved talking to when you were in school—become a senior executive in the Beltway for the Department of Education? That story is interesting, but just as interesting is what Hernandez has accomplished since arriving.
When the CISO accepted his current role in 2017, his CIO pulled no punches.
“My boss told me he was going to be straight about it. There were some serious challenges here,” Hernandez recalls. “There were the traditional ones, like funding and resourcing, but also some ‘interesting cultural opportunities’ for team development and to try to align an organization under one mission.”
At the time, Hernandez’s new team had received a cybersecurity rating of F from Congress. A little over six years later, the CISO’s team just got its highest-ever score: an A.
Despite Hernandez’s eighteen different technological certifications, he says technology had little to do with the score reversal. He calls it a “people victory,” crediting the group’s willingness to engage and build a culture with a North Star.
“I think about my grandfather a lot,” the CISO says. “He always had a North Star, whether it was his family or his community. How are we going to rebuild a church that needs a full renovation after snow caved in the roof? He always had the vision, and we would rally around it. That’s what needed to be done here, and I’m thankful these people have engaged in those tough discussions and built something bigger than all of us.”
“Steven Hernandez is a leader who inspires teams to achieve mission outcomes no matter how great the challenge,” said Jylinda Johnson, GDIT vice president and general manager. “Steven has been at the forefront of implementing Zero Trust Architecture that protects the Department of Education and the many institutions it serves.”
One of Hernandez’s mantras, “one team, one fight,” underlines how much can be done when people get behind the greater good. Part of leading a mission, Hernandez says, is learning to bring the work people are doing into the light.
“The Hispanic community I grew up in was always so humble about the work they did,” the CISO explains. “They knew their community saw what they did, and that was enough for them. It’s a beautiful thing, but I wanted to make sure that folks outside our organization could see what these people were delivering. I want those people to get the credit they deserve.”
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It’s surprising that Hernandez, a self-starter who talked his way into his first technology job by helping a technologist rewire his entire school, loves working in a bureaucratic institution. Doesn’t it feel stifling because of all the red tape?
“I heard a great speech once that explains how the government works so well,” the CISO says. “This three-unit system, with checks and balances, is built to be inefficient. Our democracy isn’t a venture capital business that can afford to go broke as many times as it can get more funding. Our democracy can fail exactly one time. That frames the ‘red tape’ issue, which honestly has never been part of my biggest challenges in driving change.”
At present, Hernandez spends 80 to 90 percent of his day leading others, 5 to 10 percent on official bureaucratic duties, and the rest on technology. He acknowledges it might be hard to believe he spends so little time in the actual technological weeds. But that’s the cost—and the benefit—of leadership. He’s keeping his eye on the North Star and finding opportunities for his team to continue to grow.
Geoff Gregory, chief operating officer at Valiant Solutions, commends Hernandez’s transformative leadership: “Mr. Hernandez’s ability to unite people under a common mission while spearheading complex security initiatives has played a pivotal role in raising ED’s cyber ratings. Valiant is honored to partner with Mr. Hernandez and the Department, leading federal cybersecurity initiatives and earning a trusted reputation.”
The CISO’s tech skills are as sharp as ever, but he has become something more lasting: a mentor, an inspiration, and an empowering presence who can create massive cultural change.
Valiant Solutions, LLC is an industry-leading cybersecurity company focused on protecting critical assets and overcoming the complex security challenges of the federal government. Our risk-based management approach balances security and budgetary constraints, fortifying defenses while optimizing cybersecurity investments. Valiant’s core capabilities include Security Engineering and Operations, Strategic Risk Governance, Agile Application Development, Enterprise Architecture and Operations. We specialize in SecDevOps, Automation and Big Data integration both on-premises and in cloud. Valiant’s proven security experts develop, implement, and manage IT security solutions to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data, reducing the impact of threats on productivity for our customers.
