Pursuing Information Security Opportunities at Fort Meade
Anne Palm Townsend
January 2010
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Anne Palm Townsend |
When MITRE's new Fort Meade facility opened up this past year, and the corporation was looking for employees to transfer there, Anne Townsend saw a chance to try something new. "I couldn't let such a good opportunity slide by," she says. "I had worked at both Hanscom Air Force Base and MITRE's Bedford [Mass.] campus, and I felt the expanding sponsor base at Fort Meade offered a lot of new and interesting opportunities."
MITRE first established a site at Fort Meade 15 years ago but an expanding work program and the recent addition of sponsors at the base has led to a need for more MITRE staff to be located there. As a result, MITRE has moved to a larger facility in nearby Annapolis Junction, Md. The new MITRE location opened its doors in August 2009. Townsend is one of 88 staff located there.
As a leader in critical infrastructure protection, MITRE has a long history of providing its customers with expertise in cybersecurity, information assurance, and information sharing. Townsend, who is an information security engineer, has supported a variety of customers in the Department of Defense and intelligence communities during her five years here. "My project work has been across the board. When I first started, I was working on a research project investigating the different capabilities of cross-domain solutions which focused on accessing and transferring data between different security domains.
"I then switched gears and worked on boundary security systems such as firewalls and other protective mechanisms for a few years, before switching gears again and moving to the Fort Meade site where I am supporting customers in the communications intelligence arena."
The ability to support a diverse set of information security projects is one of several reasons Townsend has chosen to stay at MITRE. "I appreciate the chance to work in so many different areas," she says. "I've been able to gain a broad knowledge base in information security and practical experience in areas such as public key infrastructures, cross-domain solutions, firewalls, networks, anti-virus, spam filters, and more. Also, since I often work face-to-face with our sponsors, I now have a much better understanding of several different areas of the government."
The MITRE Difference
For many MITRE staff, the corporation's commitment to providing solutions to its sponsors is a significant incentive, and Townsend is no exception. "With MITRE I've had the opportunity to support different communities within the government on some of their most challenging problems," she says. "At both of my previous jobs in the private sector, I learned a lot but I didn't feel like I made as much of an impact. Those projects never allowed me to interact with the customers and really understand their needs and expectations. Instead, the jobs were very task-driven rather than sponsor-focused. At MITRE, you're not working to just check boxes on a schedule. You're making sure you understand the problem and focusing on delivering the best solution for your sponsor."
MITRE's Fort Meade, Maryland, site
First established in 1994, MITRE's site at Fort Meade supports several DoD and intelligence community customers and is approximately 36 miles from MITRE's McLean, Va., campus. The site's customer base continues to expand as additional sponsors relocate to Fort Meade as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure legislation. |
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Townsend is also grateful for the opportunity she had to participate in MITRE's accelerated graduate degree program. "When I was living in Massachusetts, I completed my master's degree in computer science from Boston University," she says. "I think that in my five years at MITRE, I've really had the chance to grow as an engineer with multiple training opportunities and the corporation's continuing education benefits. I also appreciate the fact that some days I can work from home or easily take a few hours off in order to maintain balance in my personal life."
She continues, "So far it's been a great job. Through my work I have had a chance to travel some and see the world. I have been to some wonderful places, including Korea, Hawaii, Germany, and all over the continental U.S."
With her newly minted degree in hand, Townsend was willing to try someplace different and transferred to MITRE's Fort Meade site this past summer. "I saw it as a good opportunity to relocate to another part of the country and try supporting other types of information security projects," she says. "So far, moving has been a positive experience. I like the location because it's easy to get to Washington, D.C.—if you drive at the right times—or to Baltimore. There's always something going on."
—by Kay M. Upham
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