Jennifer Ganoung graduated from Connecticut College in 1995 with dual degrees in Environmental Science and Anthropology, and dreams of being the next Indiana Jones.  Unfortunately, life intruded and after a series of odd jobs and misadventures, she returned to academia, earning a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 1999. Armed with yet more knowledge, she somehow ended up working in information technology (IT)—a career that finally stuck.

Ms. Ganoung’s IT journey began with a stint managing IT projects for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, RI. In 2000, Ms. Ganoung transitioned from the Navy to the Coast Guard, and C4IT Service Center Operations Systems Center (OSC). Her very first job with Coast Guard was down at the deck plates, serving as a working level member of the technical team supporting the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) acquisition project. After cutting her teeth on MISLE, Ms. Ganoung quickly moved up the ranks, taking on managerial roles of increasing scope and responsibility. She provided ‘boots on the ground’ management for the Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation (MMLD) system and the Personal Digital Assistant-Job Performance Aid (PDA-JPA—the Coast Guard's first foray into mobile applications) and several other systems before being promoted to Assistant Branch Chief for the OSC Operations Systems Branch, then Branch Chief of the Financial Systems Branch. As Branch Chief, Ms. Ganoung planned and executed the Coast Guard Finance Center (FINCEN) and Pay and Personnel Center (PPC) Data Center Consolidation efforts in alignment with CIO direction for Data Center Consolidation. From Branch Chief, Ms. Ganoung earned a promotion to Division Chief, with oversight of all Financial, Human Resources and Enterprise Mission Support systems at OSC, and graduated to the position of OSC Technical Director, providing senior leadership to the unit until it was decommissioned as part of the C5ISC OMR. Post-OMR, Ms. Ganoung served as the Logistics Compliance Branch within ALD before moving over to take on her current role as Deputy within the Operations Information Systems Product Line (OISPL).

A Connecticut native, Ms. Ganoung currently lives in West Virginia with her husband, George (a retired Coast Guard Officer), their four cats, and whatever stray animals happen to show up. In addition to her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she is a DHS certified acquisition program manager, a Level III certified COR, a Certified Software Asset Manager, and a NAUI certified SCUBA diver. She’s also a recipient of the CDR John P. Dailey Award for Outstanding Leadership and Mentorship within the C4IT Community and the Commandant’s Superior Achievement Award. When not outdoors running, hiking, cycling or otherwise pestering nature, she can be found behind her computer writing speculative fiction under her pen name, J.B. Rockwell.