The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 20, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 21.
Next is Jeffrey Kramer, vice president of the Department of Homeland Security portfolio at Karsun Solutions, and finalist in the DHS Executive of the Year, Private Company, category. Here, he talks about recent achievements, shares career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2024?
We are proud of our Grants Management Modernization work for FEMA. We are helping modernize that agency’s grants management platform. A key achievement was supporting that platform as it reached full operational capability.
We are growing with more opportunities to bring our grants and modernization expertise to the market. Through our work supporting DHS, we have seen the power of microservices based, cloud native architecture to incrementally onboard programs, add components and configure changes, while applications are still operational. We are excited about the opportunities to support new agencies in their mission.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
We want to continue to deliver value for the American public. We want to continue to improve the interaction and experience for all users of our public facing modernization efforts. We also want to continue to expand and share our competencies with other DHS components.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
First, always keep an open mind and never stop learning, sharing and collaborating. Second, acknowledge that you will make mistakes along the way, but always take that opportunity to learn from those mistakes and keep moving forward. Finally, as a leader, make sure to always look out for your team, and clear any obstacles that will detract from their success in their career trajectory.
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know?
I have a passion for knowing how things work. From learning to code as a 12 year old kid, to working on cars for the past 40 years, to all kinds of home construction projects, I like to learn and understand things by doing them hands on myself. In addition, I love adventure. I once rode my jet ski from Florida to the Bahamas and recently rode my motorcycle from Virginia to Deadhorse, Alaska for my 50th birthday!