Jonathan Benett

Mr. Benett is a business and information technology (IT) leader with nearly 20 years of experience in Leadership, IT Program and Project Management, Strategic Planning, Operations, and Corporate Business Development; specializing in the identification of federal business requirements, and the development of innovative technology solutions to meet the unique challenges of the federal government.   
 
He is currently the Chief Enterprise Architect for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). Prior to OCIO he served at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Office of the Administrator as the Director of Strategic Initiatives, as an IT Program Manager for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as the Acting CTO, and Acting Deputy Regional Administrator for FNS’ Northeast Regional Office in Boston, MA. Prior to serving at the USDA, Jonathan led the Project Management Office for the United States Patent and Trademark Office after nearly ten years of successful experience in private industry.   
 
In addition to his day job, Mr. Benett is very active in the Federal IT community.  He has held numerous executive board positions for ACT/IAC, AFCEA Bethesda, and AFFIRM; most recently as the government chair of the Young AFCEA Bethesda Government Advisory Council and co-founder/chair of the Federal Project Management Community of Practice.  In each of his multifaceted roles, Mr. Benett displays enthusiasm, character, and professional leadership qualities that benefit the greater Federal IT community as a whole. He was recently recognized by Federal Computer Week through the distinguished “Fed 100” award and previously through their “Rising Star Award”.  In addition, he was recognized in by AFCEA Bethesda through their “Emerging Leader of the Year Award” for his greater Federal IT community contributions.  Mr. Benett is a graduate of the University of Florida (Business Administration) and the University of North Florida (Master of Business Administration).  He has completed executive leadership coursework at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and completed the USDA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program at American University. 
 
Outside of work Mr. Benett enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends, coaching baseball, traveling, entertaining, and cooking.  He is an adventurer at heart and enjoys mountain biking, swimming, running, hiking, racing triathlons and camping with his family.  He is also an avid adventure sports junky and enjoys snowboarding, surfing, white water rafting, and longboard skateboarding whenever he can.