Adela J. Gresham
Odenton,MD
Summary
Professional with robust background in directing and managing large-scale operations, consistently driving success through strategic planning and execution. Adept at implementing innovative solutions that enhance productivity and operational effectiveness. Known for fostering teamwork and adapting to evolving business needs, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Experienced with strategic planning and project management. Utilizes leadership skills to drive team performance and operational excellence. Track record of delivering high-impact results through innovative problem-solving and effective communication.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Director, Service Planning and Improvement
Internal Revenue Service
03.2023 - Current
- Company Overview: Information Technology (IT), User & Network Services (UNS)
- Developed high-performing teams by providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Enhanced team collaboration through regular communication, goal setting, and performance evaluations.
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 200 information technology professionals, including contractors, a budget over $360M budget.
- Principal customer experience executive for a diverse portfolio to drive change and innovation through the delivery of long-range planning, data analytics, customer engagement/relationship management and communications, portfolio, program and project management.
- Provide executive oversight to ensure IRS Filing Season readiness via integrated master schedules, risk and issue registers, and enterprise life cycle planning for implementation of critical legislative and major tax year changes for annual filing season changes; and IRS-wide modernization efforts.
- Provide leadership for strategic planning and coordination of User & Network Service budget, contract and acquisition management, including establishing an enterprise contract vehicle valued at $312M.
- Provide executive oversight for improving the customer experience and support key modernization and innovation capabilities by further enhancing the taxpayer experience.
- Serve as executive advisor on the IRS Information Technology Training Advisory Board and coordinates all training and associated funding for User & Network Services requirements.
- Sets the direction for future planning and training towards a modernized ready workforce and the advancement of UNS competencies and skills, as the primary driver of learning and education.
Project Director, IT Operating Model
Internal Revenue Service
08.2022 - 03.2023
- Company Overview: Information Technology (IT) - IRS website
- Executive leadership and oversight of information technology professionals to develop a modernized IRS IT operating model by identifying both short-term incremental improvements and long-term transformations to accelerate the IRS IT modernization effort.
- Provided Executive leadership and strategic direction for the design a target future state operating model with intent to equip the workforce of the future with the tools and methods best suited to perform the future of work, to adopt new or redesigned processes that quickly decrease deployment time, increase operational insight, and drive proactive engagement with customers, and to leverage innovative delivery solutions and embrace new technologies to deliver capabilities in a more efficient and agile manner.
- Delivered an iterative implementation roadmap to continuously implement, learn, assess, and prioritize to make incremental, meaningful improvements towards the Target IT Operating Model future state, while enabling the delivery of Inflation Reduction Act provisions and capabilities.
- Achieved consistent on-time project completion by establishing clear goals and timelines for team members.
- Monitored project and program quality to meet audit expectations.
Director, Demand Management & Quality Assurance
Internal Revenue Service
01.2021 - 03.2023
- Company Overview: Information Technology (IT), Applications Development (AD)
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 300 information technology professionals, including contractors; and AD budget over $700M budget.
- Principal executive for Applications Development deliveries for all Filing Season development, release management and readiness activities to ensure successful implementation.
- Executive oversight of 441+ IRS tax systems by formulating strategic alignment across the Agency towards IRS strategic goals and objectives, that includes but not limited to, implementation of critical legislative and major tax year changes for annual filing season changes; and IRS-wide modernization efforts.
- In addition, ensured Filing Season readiness via the AD integrated master schedule, risk and issue register, and enterprise life cycle planning.
- Provided leadership for strategic planning and coordination of Applications Development budget, contract and acquisition management, including establishing an enterprise contract vehicle valued at $2.6B.
- Supported key IRS Integrated Modernization Business Plan capabilities by further enhancing the taxpayer experience, by continuing to evolve core tax system for more efficient tax filing services, by modernizing IRS operations for improved architecture and infrastructure, and by protecting systems and taxpayer data from security threats.
- Managed budgets effectively to ensure optimal use of resources while maintaining financial stability.
- Strengthened internal controls by reviewing existing policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
Director, Corporate Data Domain
Internal Revenue Service
04.2019 - 01.2021
- Company Overview: Information Technology (IT), Applications Development (AD) - IRS website
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 500 information technology professionals, including contractors, a budget over $100M budget.
- Principal software development executive for a diverse portfolio of applications that process tax and information returns, perform analytics, feed internal compliance systems and external web applications, and serves as the authoritative source for taxpayer data.
- Executive oversight of 90+ critical IRS tax systems by formulating strategic alignment across the Agency towards IRS strategic goals and objectives, that includes but not limited to, implementation of critical legislative and major tax year changes for the legislative Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA) tax reform initiative; annual filing season changes; and IRS-wide modernization efforts.
- In addition, served as the IT executive lead for COVID legislation, including Economic Impact Payments and Extension to File and Pay initiatives for Filing Season 2021.
- Provided executive leadership for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2) Individual Tax Processing Engine (ITPE) development activities.
- This effort enables appropriate analysis and preconversion activities to complete timely and with sustainable inventory to support legacy code conversion of 145,000 lines of Assembly Language Code (ALC) to modernized maintainable JAVA for core components of the Individual Master File (IMF).
- Provided leadership for strategic planning and coordination of key IRS Integrated Modernization Business Plan capabilities by further enhancing the taxpayer experience, by continuing to evolve core tax system for more efficient tax filing services, by modernizing IRS operations for improved architecture and infrastructure, and by protecting systems and taxpayer data from security threats.
Deputy Director, Corporate Data Domain
IRS
12.2018 - 04.2019
- Company Overview: Information Technology (IT), Applications Development (AD) - IRS website
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 500 information technology professionals, including contractors, with a budget over $100M.
- Provided executive leadership for improved integration across information return systems by implementing the information return integration plan and by standing up a technical integration review board to address integration challenges.
- Led continuity planning and management across AD during the 2018/2019 partial government shutdown by ensuring essential work was resourced, communicating daily updates, facilitating information sharing sessions with impacted staff and escalating/resolving employee benefits issues.
- Demonstrated a direct connection with employees to positively affect morale and productivity during government restart, resulting in a successful execution of filing season 2019, including tax reform legislation.
- Information Technology (IT), Applications Development (AD) - IRS website
Acting Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
12.2017 - 12.2018
- Company Overview: IT Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 100 information technology professionals, including contractors with a $50M budget; responsible for implementing FATCA legislatively mandated capabilities to force disclosure of foreign accounts held by U.S. taxpayers and integrate this information into current IRS compliance activities.
- Provided executive leadership and oversight for implementation of FATCA Registration legislative capabilities that enable the IRS to enter into agreements with Financial Institutions and Qualified Intermediaries to engage in withholding and reporting activities, including certification; specifically aligning to the IRS objective of meeting the challenges of international tax administration.
- Led the development of corporate vision/strategies for program closures, including the drafting of the IRS Program Closure Strategy, which provides an organized approach and series of repeatable activities to close a Program Management Office (PMO) and transition to Operations and Maintenance (O&M) at the IRS.
- Provided executive leadership and oversight for transition to normal operations for the FATCA Program by optimizing governance, documenting program risks, and securing organizational alignment on fiscal and human resources; a projected annual savings of $30M.
Chief, Release Integration and Product Delivery (RI&PD)
Internal Revenue Service
07.2017 - 12.2017
- Company Overview: IT EPMO Enterprise Case Management (ECM) - Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Provided leadership, management and oversight over 60 information technology professionals, including contractors, with a $48M budget; responsible for the development and execution of the ECM Product Assessment, foundational to IRS case management modernization.
- Led the development of the ECM Procurement Strategy for IT including sequencing and dependencies in support of product evaluation and selection.
- Provided leadership for the Information Exchanges with Federal and State bureaus, including the State of California, US Census Bureau, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Social Security Administration to learn from their experiences in implementing case management systems.
- Led IT design team to review EPMO financial management processes to identify efficiencies to optimize the processes and reporting.
- IT EPMO Enterprise Case Management (ECM) - IRS website
- Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility.
- Worked effectively in fast-paced environments.
Assistant Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
03.2017 - 07.2017
- Company Overview: IT Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)
- Executive leadership and oversight the FATCA Program Operating Model Assessment.
- Led a FATCA Program Operating Model Initiative by assessing the health of the organization and realigning organizational functions, while mitigating staff gaps via recruitment, while aligning to the IT Future State.
- Led design team to review FATCA PMO processes to identify efficiencies to optimize the processes and reporting, including release planning and execution.
- Implemented effective conflict resolution strategies for resolving issues among team members.
- Mentored new managers and employees through observation, feedback, and professional development opportunities.
Acting Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
12.2016 - 03.2017
- Company Overview: IT Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)
- Executive leadership and oversight of over 100 information technology professionals, including contractors with a $50M budget; responsible for implementing FATCA legislatively mandated capabilities to force disclosure of foreign accounts held by U.S. taxpayers and integrate this information into current IRS compliance activities.
- Provided executive leadership for implementation of FATCA Registration legislative capabilities that enable the IRS to enter into agreements with Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) and Qualified Intermediaries (QIs) to engage in withholding and reporting activities, including agreement renewals for over 200 FFIs/QIs; aligning to the IRS objective in support of international tax administration.
- Provided executive leadership for the implementation of FATCA International Compliance Management Model (ICMM) which receives and manages information on foreign accounts and other types of assets held by US persons to be provided by US taxpayers and Foreign Financial Institutions and in Non-Financial Foreign Entities, including reciprocal data exchange with foreign entities of account data held by foreign nationals from US financial institutions.
- Provided leadership for strategic planning, tactical execution, and technical coordination for allocating prioritized FATCA capabilities to future Program releases, including the development of a resource plan which informed the IRS Senior Executive Team on an identified a total need of $70M - $77M and 122 IT human capital, across fiscal year (FY) 2017 and 2018.
Senior Manager/ Executive Lead, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
03.2014 - 12.2016
- Company Overview: IT Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)
- Led organization of over 100 information technology professionals, including contractors, with a $50M budget; responsible the development of the FATCA multi-year Program Release Plan.
- Provided executive leadership for FATCA Strategic Planning and development of the FATCA multi-year Program Release Plan which set strategic direction for the Program and outlines the activities involved to support the elicitation, prioritization and allocation of Program Capabilities into FATCA Program releases.
- Directed a team of experts to forecast cost estimates based upon historical spend, existing contract commitments, and assumptions for future releases.
- The estimate aligned to the priorities as outlined in the Program Release plan and spanned FY17-FY20, with a range of $163M - $253M.
- Provided executive leadership for the development of the FATCA Program Business Strategic Roadmap, sequencing and dependencies in support of how the business capabilities will be implemented through existing FATCA system implementation and modernization programs.
- Reviewed employee concerns and new opportunities to drive business strategies.
- Mentored junior staff members for accelerated career growth, developing future leaders within the organization.
Chief, Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS) Program Management Office (PMO)
Internal Revenue Service
02.2010 - 03.2014
- Company Overview: IT EPMO Revenue Integrity and Compliance (RIC) - IRS website
- Led an organization of over 100 information technology professionals, including contractors, with a $20M budget; responsible for the delivery of filing season and legislative changes.
- Led annual filing season implementation for legislative mandates enabling pre-refund detection of potentially criminal fraudulent tax returns and civil fraud Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other Examination issues, including expanding analytics for identity theft and non-identity theft fraud capabilities; received 2012 IRS Commissioner’s Award for innovation and a 400% increase in revenue protected.
- Led automation of EFDS anomaly capability and interface with Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2) in support of migrating to daily processing and posting of individual taxpayer accounts; enabling faster refunds, more timely account updates and faster issuance of taxpayer notices.
- Led stabilization of EFDS anomaly capability and interface with Modernized e-File (MeF) in support of the Agency’s move from paper to more electronic tax processing.
Education
MBA - Information Technology
CTO Academy
London, England07-2024
Master’s Certification - Transformative Leadership in Disruptive Times
Seton Hall Univ
South Orange, NJ01.2022
Certified Change Practitioner - Organizational Change Management
PROSCI
Washington, DC01.2022
Senior Executive Service Certification - Executive Leadership
Office of Personnel Management
Washington, DC06-2020
Professional Leadership Coach Certification - Leadership And Management Coaching
World Coach Institute
Boca Raton, FL01.2016
Professional Business Certification - Business
George Washington University
Washington, DC01.2009
Master’s Certification in IT Project Managment - Project Management
George Washington University
Washington, DC01.2009
Bachelor of Science - Business in Information Systems
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA01.1990
Skills
- Leadership
- Portfolio Management
- Project Management
- Program Management
- Strategic Planning/Initiatives
- Change Management
- Innovation
- Organizational Development/Design
- Partnerships
- Service Delivery
- Business Process Improvement
- Agile Methodologies
- Software Development
- Financial Management
- Acquisitions Management
- Demand Management
- Quality Assurance
- Human Capital Management
- Learning/Training/Education
- Relationship building
- Strategic planning
- Verbal and written communication
- Decision-making
Leadership Development
Candidate Development Program, 2018-01-01, Senior Manager Readiness Program, 2007-01-01, Frontline Manager Readiness Program, 2003-01-01, Commissioner’s Award, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2015, 2012, CIO Award, 2024, 2007, 2005, CIO 100 Industry Award, 2021
Timeline
Director, Service Planning and Improvement
Internal Revenue Service
03.2023 - Current
Project Director, IT Operating Model
Internal Revenue Service
08.2022 - 03.2023
Director, Demand Management & Quality Assurance
Internal Revenue Service
01.2021 - 03.2023
Director, Corporate Data Domain
Internal Revenue Service
04.2019 - 01.2021
Deputy Director, Corporate Data Domain
IRS
12.2018 - 04.2019
Acting Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
12.2017 - 12.2018
Chief, Release Integration and Product Delivery (RI&PD)
Internal Revenue Service
07.2017 - 12.2017
Assistant Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
03.2017 - 07.2017
Acting Director, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
12.2016 - 03.2017
Senior Manager/ Executive Lead, FATCA PMO
Internal Revenue Service
03.2014 - 12.2016
Chief, Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS) Program Management Office (PMO)
Internal Revenue Service
02.2010 - 03.2014
MBA - Information Technology
CTO Academy
Master’s Certification - Transformative Leadership in Disruptive Times
Seton Hall Univ
Certified Change Practitioner - Organizational Change Management
PROSCI
Senior Executive Service Certification - Executive Leadership
Office of Personnel Management
Professional Leadership Coach Certification - Leadership And Management Coaching
World Coach Institute
Professional Business Certification - Business
George Washington University
Master’s Certification in IT Project Managment - Project Management
George Washington University
Bachelor of Science - Business in Information Systems
Virginia Commonwealth University
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