Ms. Belkis "Bel" Leong-Hong

CEO, Knowledge Advantage Inc.

Ms. Belkis Leong-Hong is the Founder, President, and CEO of Knowledge Advantage Inc., a woman-owned, 8(a)-certified company specializing in delivery of a wide array of expertise on Information Technology And Knowledge Management Solutions, Program Management And Analysis, Strategic Planning, Strategic Business Initiatives, Leadership Development, Training, Human Capital, and Workforce Initiatives. Her clients include Government agencies, Fortune-100 companies, systems integrators, product companies, and small IT services companies.

At KAI, she designed and developed an elite IT leadership program for the Army, the Army Knowledge Leaders, and a model interns-leaders development program for Army civilians, which is in its ninth year of implementation. She co-created the foundational course on Knowledge Management that has been taught to more than 2000 Army personnel. She was invited to create an Executive Leadership development program for a US Military command, and trained over 500 senior level US Military and civilian leaders in Europe. She is lead developer of a strategic workforce initiative, marrying human capital principles and practices with innovative knowledge management techniques to address the single most critical HC issue in this decade: the graying of the workforce, and the loss of corporate memory. She is guiding her company on a strategic growth path, increasing the company's focus on such areas as Program Management and support, Cybersecurity programs and technologies, and workforce development.

As a former General/Flag Officer-equivalent senior executive in DOD, with 30 years of public service, Ms. Leong-Hong has held a number of high-level positions that include serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) where she managed a multi-billion dollar portfolio in Command and Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) programs, congressional relations, information technology policies, and strategic planning; Principal Deputy Director and CIO at the Defense Security Service (DSS); Deputy Commander of the Joint Interoperability and Engineering Organization (JIEO) at Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) responsible for over 1500 computer scientists and engineers, and where she also served as Director for Center for Information Management and Director for Information Engineering. Her achievements include establishing and implementing the first DOD-wide Data Administration function for the Department of Defense; creating the first Center of Software Excellence in DISA; implementing the first DOD-wide Corporate Information Management initiative; establishing and managing eight DOD-wide BPR efforts; creating a process manual for business process improvement and being actively involved in enterprise architecture and standards development.

Ms Leong-Hong is a strategist and a change agent. Most recently, based on her knowledge and experience in the field of Cybersecurity, she developed the conceptual framework for a Cybersecurity Initiative, which became the foundation for the statewide Maryland Cybersecurity Initiative. She advocated for the establishment of a National Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity in Maryland. She is an acknowledged expert in database management, data administration, knowledge management, business transformation and strategies, and software engineering. She has published extensively in the areas of data administration, data dictionary systems, software engineering, and most recently, her chapter on "Critical Success Factors for Knowledge Management" was published by Management Concepts. She has also written extensively on leadership development and management issues and is a frequent keynote speaker on the above subjects.

Ms. Leong-Hong is active in her professional community and sits on corporate boards as well as several non-profit and appointed boards. She was appointed in 2010 to co-chair the GWIB Committee on Cybersecurity Workforce. She also serves on the National Defense University Board of Visitors; the State of Maryland's Federal Facility Advisory Board; the Governor's Workforce Investment Board; the State of Maryland's BRAC and Minority Business Advisory Board; the Univ. of MD Medical Systems Corporate Board; the APA Advisory Board to the Attorney General of Maryland; Senator Mikulski's Military Academy Admission Review Board; the Board of Visitors of the Clark School of Engineering at the Univ. of Maryland; the NBC4 Community Advisory Board; founding member of the Board of Directors of AAGEN; the board of directors of the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA International); past President of the NOVA Chapter of AFCEA, past President of the DC Chapter of OCA (OCA-DC), and past President of Women in Technology. Ms. Leong-Hong is a mathematician and computer scientist by training; she holds a BS degree from Hunter College and a MPA in Executive Management from American University; certificates from Harvard's Kennedy's School of Government and Syracuse University. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the very prestigious Presidential Rank Meritorious Service Award, the DOD Distinguished Service Medal, the DOD Meritorious Service Medals, Oak Leaf clusters, the GSA Excellence in Management and Administration, the Professional Woman of the Year Award from NAPAW, the Governor of Maryland's Citation for Outstanding Service, the AFCEA International Leadership Award, and AAGEN's Stan Suyat Leadership Award, and AAGEN Sustaining Corporate Leadership Award. In 2011, she was recognized as the "50 Women of Power and Influence" by MEA Magazine.