DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Accepts 2025 Wash100 Award

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Executive Mosaic CEO Garrettson.

Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson presented the 2025 Wash100 Award to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 12.

Noem, a first-time Wash100 winner, accepted the award before delivering her keynote address, in which she discussed ongoing investments at the Department of Homeland Security to upgrade existing infrastructure and modernize the U.S. Coast Guard.

She also called on industry to deliver innovative technologies to support agency goals.

“We’re cutting through a lot of the bureaucracy,” Noem said. “If you’ve had some kind of an idea or technology or service that you have not been able to deploy at the federal level…it’s a new day. I want you to come to the table and bring those ideas and those technologies to us because we need it.”

The Senate confirmed Noem as DHS secretary in January, with a vote of 59- 34. Before joining DHS, she served as the first female governor of South Dakota.

Who Should Be a Part of the Wash100 Award Class of 2026?

Noem’s Wash100 Award is the final one to be handed out for the 2025 cycle. Executive Mosaic is now seeking its next batch of 100 most influential visionaries in the government and government contracting sectors to join the Wash100 Award class of 2026.

Nominees should exemplify leadership, ingenuity and strategic foresight, with a record that signals remarkable accomplishments in the future.

Help us find the most impactful change-makers. Submit your critical nominations on Wash100.com by Jan. 9.