 |
Amy Pierce |
Enterprise Integration Expert
Amy Pierce
November 2008
Amy Pierce has always been good at pulling things together. The information systems engineer in MITRE's Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) developed this skill as a child growing up in Taiwan. Under the tutelage of her father, a university president and economic advisor to President Chiang Kai-Shek, she learned the value of life-long learning and the art of combining multiple disciplines into new areas of expertise. "All my siblings studied classical music when we were growing up. We learned early the macro—music must flow smoothly like oil—and micro—know every single note including rests—views for everything we do."
Not surprisingly, she designed her own career path in college—blending the fields she was most interested in. "I drew a Venn diagram that labeled information technology [IT], finance, and business and targeted the shaded area to become an enterprise integrator." After completing a doctorate in business administration and management, Pierce gained a wealth of domestic and international experience at several large for-profit companies and at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Transforming Enterprise Systems
Pierce's technical areas of interest coincide nicely with many of the CEM's work programs. Most of the enterprise modernization efforts at MITRE are complex, ongoing evolutionary processes that involve the integrated transformation of strategies, policies, organizational and governance structures, business processes and systems, and underlying technologies. The programs often cover a broad range of activities and require a wide array of skills and experiences, as these programs affect everything from computers to culture.
Since coming to MITRE in 2004, Pierce has worked on projects for a wide variety of government customers, including the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury. "Generally speaking, much of my work at MITRE has focused on providing support in strategic planning, enterprise planning, program management and oversight, enterprise systems modernization, IT governance, portfolio management, and financial management."
In one of her first projects, Pierce assisted the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) reengineering efforts. "We were working to improve the IRS business modernization program's planning, programming, budgeting and execution process, and achieve greater effectiveness in program funding management," she explains. "Since then, my work has varied quite a bit and has included projects in areas such as IT governance, capital planning, and investment control development for Treasury, enterprise transition planning for the Bank Secrecy Act administration, and information sharing for Treasury's Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network, to name a few." Her expertise and skills have also been used in other parts of the corporation.
Her efforts over the past few years have given Pierce a strong sense of appreciation for MITRE's dedication to working as a trusted partner in the public interest. "I believe it takes both time and tenacity to help sponsors gain the knowledge and skills needed to achieve their strategic objectives and to plan for the long-term rather than the short-term," she says. "I also think it takes courage and commitment to ensure their success and I am proud to be part of the solution."
Blending the Technical with the Creative
Outside of MITRE, Pierce devotes much of her free time to music, travel, and writing. "I'm an avid music collector and make it a priority to listen to my collections daily," she says. "In addition, my husband and I love to travel. Over the past two decades, we've visited 26 countries in four continents. I've also been to 41 states and hope to visit the remaining nine."
She continues to challenge herself in other areas as well. "I'm writing a book about my paternal grandfather and the history surrounding his death," she explains. "He was one of the 72 revolutionary martyrs of the 1911 Canton Uprising—a failed attempt to end the corrupt Manchu court and the last imperial government of the Ching Dynasty. My grandfather was a graduate student in Tokyo when he met Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in Japan. He [Pierce's grandfather] was 22 when he died in battle, but the revolution was successful later in the same year, allowing Dr. Sun to establish the Republic of China as a first step towards democracy." She hopes to have the book published in time for the 100th anniversary of the revolutionary battle in 2011.
—by Kay M. Upham
Related Information
Articles and News
Technical Papers and Presentations
Websites
|
