Digital Services: Customer Experience

Julia Elman is the UX Lead for login.gov. She leads design and development teams, and coaches people to help them reach their full potential and create amazing things. She is passionate about the streamlining process, and is an advocate for open-source development and user-centered design. She is based in Durham, NC.

Karen S. Howard is the Director of the Office of Online Services for the IRS (Internal Revenue Services).

Ms. Howard joined the IRS in August of 2020 with over 35 years of private sector retail, manufacturing and financial services consumer direct operations and marketing leadership experience.

In her public service role with the IRS, she and her team are charged with translating the taxpayer community’s voice and behavior, and internal stakeholder requirements, into an empowered user experience that enables easy access to tax-related information and simplified ways to fulfill tax obligations with digital tools and services.

Karen has a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Carolina University and several industry certifications in various project management methodologies and master data management.

Barbara C. Morton assumed her current duties in July 2016 when she joined the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) as Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer. In this role Barbara is responsible for building a lasting customer experience capability at VA and sharing best practices across sister Federal Agencies. She was a recipient for the Gears of Government President’s Award (2019) and the Service to the Citizen Award (2019) for her role in transforming VA’s capabilities to provide Veterans with an excellent customer experience.

Barbara joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2006 as a Staff Attorney at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board). She served the Board in a variety of other capacities, to include Special Counsel to the Appellate Group, Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman, Executive Assistant to the Chairman, and Executive Director for the Office of Management, Planning & Analysis. While at the Board, Barbara stood up and led the Board’s Appeals Modernization OIT efforts, which included securing industry technologists from United States Digital Service to develop and launch new appeals platforms.

A native of Rockport, Massachusetts, Barbara attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, earning a degree in psychology and philosophy. After receiving her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, Barbara completed two clerkships in the New England area and thereafter pursued an LL.M. in constitutional law at Georgetown Law. She has published a variety of law review articles, including two pieces relating to posttraumatic stress disorder. Barbara dabbles in the arts, to include painting, photography, ceramics, and stained glass, and she loves following professional tennis and basketball. She also enjoys volunteering for various Veteran-centered causes, to include events at Arlington National Cemetery and the annual Toys-for-Tots campaign.

Nico Papafil is the Director of 10x in the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) within GSA. In 2017, he co-founded the 10x program, an incremental investment program designed to fund, support, and develop ideas from federal employees about how technology can improve the public’s experience with the Government. In his role, he administers all TTS start-up technology investments by overseeing the financials, staffing, contracts and business operations. Since 2017, he has managed a portfolio of over $52M in technology investments.

Mitch Winans is Senior Advisor in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Enterprise Digitalization and Case Management Office.  In this role, he is responsible for building a new organization and leading modernization initiatives designed to enhance the taxpayer experience and IRS employee experience through innovative process improvements, agile technology solutions, and simplified digital environments.  Prior to this role, Mitch was Head of Customer Experience and Strategic Planning in the IRS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer and was responsible for enhancing the procurement experience for internal and external stakeholders, managing strategic planning for an organization with over 350 employees and a $2.6B annual procurement portfolio, and advising leadership on organizational development, technology and process improvements, and customer and employee engagement.  Before coming to the IRS, he was an Industry Liaison at the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) under the Department of Commerce and helped the newly formed agency establish its procurement organization and small business program.  Prior to joining FirstNet, Mitch served in various roles at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  As the Strategic Communications Liaison in the DHS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, he counseled leadership on effective communications strategies and managed the spread of procurement information to industry, Congress, the media, the DHS acquisition workforce, and other DHS components.  Mitch was also a Contract Specialist for multiple agencies at DHS and supported a wide range of emergency management, law enforcement, and research and development programs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Customs and Border Protection, and the DHS Science and Technology Directorate.  Before joining DHS, he worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Office of Congressional and Public Affairs.  Mitch received an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a BA from the University of California, Irvine.

V. David Zvenyach (“Dave Z”, he/him) is the Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and the Director of the Technology Transformation Services (TTS). The Technology Transformation Services applies modern methodologies and technologies to improve the public’s experience with government. TTS helps federal agencies build, buy and share technology to achieve their digital transformation and modernization goals.

Mr. Zvenyach was appointed as Director of TTS in January 2021. In his position, he oversees the Presidential Innovation Fellows, 18F, the Office of Solutions (which includes products such as cloud.gov, login.gov, FedRAMP, digital.gov, etc.), and the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence, along with other offices that provide support across TTS.

Dave is not new to GSA or TTS. He previously served as a Senior Technical Advisor and Assistant Commissioner to GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service’s Office of Systems Management; Executive Director of 18F and Deputy Commissioner of TTS; and Assistant Commissioner to TTS’ Office of Acquisition from 2016-2018.

Before rejoining TTS, Dave worked as an independent consultant, subject-matter expert and facilitator for the Digital IT Acquisition Professionals Program, and Director of Product at Hangar, where he helped build public-sector-facing startups. Dave also served as General Counsel to the DC Council, Chief of Staff to Councilmember, Mary Cheh, and judicial law clerk to United States District Judge, Yvette Kane.

Dave is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School and has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. He lives with his family in Fitchburg, WI.