Bernetta Reese

Bernetta Reese is an accomplished leader with a multidisciplinary background in strategic leadership, communications and public relations, emergency response, policy and governance, collaboration and partnerships, digital services, analytics, technology and innovation, public and community engagement, and program/knowledge/project management.

As President and CEO of B.Reese Enterprises, she partners with digital services companies supporting commercial and government organizations, and provides consultation and management services to businesses and communities.

With more than 20 years of public service across the federal government and alongside the military, Bernetta has worked with almost every U.S. Cabinet-level department, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, Agriculture, and Homeland Security, as well as the White House. 

While serving the United States Marine Corps, she led efforts to consolidate and facilitate the modernization of Military Justice systems. As the Acting Digital Director of OPM, Bernetta led OPM’s Federal Women Lead digital campaign with national and global engagement. As Chair of USDA's Digital Council, Bernetta directed a multi-faceted team through the redesign of usda.gov resulting in a historic rank among the Top 20 federal websites. Bernetta also led the design and development team that built America’s first-ever Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President.

Bernetta also served as Vice President of Undergraduate Affairs for the University System of Maryland Student Council—representing 180,000+ collegiate students and as the Executive Chair for the University of Maryland Global Campus Student Advisory Council from 2020–2021. She now serves on the Alumni Advisory Board.

Over her decades-long career, Bernetta has played a key role in several federal initiatives and earned numerous awards, including the USDA-FSA Administrator's Award for Service to Agriculture. She was also nominated for the Leadership Center for Excellence’s 40 Under 40 Awards and has been a guest speaker at public and private-industry events across the nation's capital.

Highly effective, strategic leader with proven track record leading organizations and diverse teams and over a decade of experience enabling agencies to achieve mission success, improve rankings, positively engage stakeholders, implement new programs, attain cost-savings, and deliver award-winning results.

Strategic Communications • Strategic Planning • Public Engagement • Digital Strategy • Technology • Innovation • Program and Project Management • Data-Driven Decision Making • Process Improvement

Major Achievements:

• Military Justice: Led the design and launch of a new Military Justice case management system with in-house solutions and approximately $16 million+ in cost savings. 
• @USAttorneys and Digital Modernization: Launched @USAttorneys official account on Twitter, modernized digital communications, doubled engagement, and increased followers across all USAO platforms. 
• Farmers.gov: Led strategic recommendations for the launch of Farmers.gov with award-winning results and model implementation of USDA’s strategic and IT modernization goals. 
• Redesign of USDA.gov: Directed a multi-faceted team through the redesign of usda.gov resulting in a historic rank among the Top 20 federal websites. 
• USDA’s Digital Analytics Program: Led a multi-year effort to implement the White House’s Digital Government Strategy and new digital analytics program across USDA with 100% buy-in. 
• Plain Language “A” Rating: Drove USDA’s high-scoring submission in the 2015 Plain Language Report Card—received an “A” score in every category and a letter of commendation from Congress. 
• Federal Women Lead: Spearheaded OPM’s 2016 #FedWomenLead public digital campaign leading to over 9.5 million impressions via Twitter with national and global engagement. 
• Leadership and Public Engagement: Competitively chosen by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to lead America’s first-ever Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit—with over 6 million impressions as a top U.S. trend during launch. 
• Digital Policy and Branding: Spearheaded FirstNet’s Section 508 accessibility and web and social media policies with unprecedented support agency-wide and launched FirstNet’s official YouTube channel.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

President and CEO, B.Reese Enterprises, June 2021 – Present

• Provide executive oversight, strategic management, and consultation on digital communications. 
• Oversee and direct multiple concurrent programs and projects, and implementations of technologies. 
• Manage contract and service requirements, deliverables, reporting, and staffing.

Knowledge Management and Project Director, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, December 2019 – June 2021 (Contractor)

• Directed staff and led joint military and government personnel and cross-functional teams through the design, development, and launch of a new military justice system for three military branches. 
• Conducted executive leadership briefings and facilitated communications across military branches. 
• Led the development of enterprise-wide roadmaps, strategies, recommendations, and launch plans, and provided oversight of project technology, information systems, application design and development, testing, releases, and help desk operations.

Digital Communications Manager, U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, April 2019 – October 2019

• Advised executive staff, senior officials, and 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide. 
• Led daily web and social media, content messaging, and graphic design. 
• Planned and directed strategies, analyzed issues and weaknesses, and recommended changes in digital programs and policies nationwide. 
• Conducted liaison with DOJ Public Affairs, federal law enforcement officials, U.S. Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Public Information Officers across the nation.

Digital Manager and Project Manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture, December 2010 – April 2019

• Led 30+ agencies and offices and department-wide coordination as Chair of USDA’s Digital Council. 
• Led daily web operations and staff workflow for USDA.gov and provided graphic design, photography, and social media support. 
• Engaged with USDA leadership and stakeholders throughout the Department and represented the Department to the news media and public stakeholders as USDA’s digital spokesperson. 
• Managed department-wide enterprise projects, new initiatives, contracts, and implementation of new technology and digital services.

Acting Digital Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, December 2015 to April 2016 (Detail)

• Directed OPM’s digital program and public-facing channels for the web and social media. 
• Advised OPM’s Director and senior leadership team on transition efforts and execution. 
• Led web projects and campaigns, messaging, and graphics for social media. 
• Developed communications plans and provided live digital coverage during events.

Open Innovation Team Lead and Project Manager, The White House, Executive Office of the President, March 2015 to September 2015 (Detail)

• Directed a team of writers, editors, web developers and designers, and accessibility specialists. 
• Conducted executive leadership and team briefings at the White House. 
• Established partnerships with federal agencies and leveraged resources—HHS’ Usability Lab, GSA’s DigitalGov and MobileGov teams, and DHS’ Trusted Tester Program. 
• Led the creation and development of personas, user stories, wire frames, prototypes and design mockups, graphic design, usability techniques, color schemes, site themes, plain language, and responsive design.

Web and New Media Manager, First Responder Network Authority, June 2014 to December 2014 (Detail)

• Served as FirstNet’s digital spokesperson and authority on web and new media. Represented the agency in high-level, public-facing initiatives, including the U.S. Public Participation Playbook. 
• Managed website and social media operations and developed digital policies. 
• Led briefings with senior leaders and represented the agency to the news media and public stakeholders. Effectively transitioned management of the FirstNet website into agency ownership in less than 6 months and implemented analytics tools and reporting measures.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT

Digital Media, NASA, U.S. Department of State, General Services Administration, and The White House, September 2013 to May 2015

• Selected to join the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's social media team and news media to provide live coverage for the 2013 Antares/Cygnus mission to the International Space Station. 
• Appointed as one of 10 social media guests to provide live coverage and amplification of the 2014 “Our Ocean” Conference with the Secretary of State and representatives from nearly 90 countries. 
• Appointed to serve on GSA’s 2015 DigitalGov Summit Board and as virtual livestream host and spokesperson—attracted 1,200+ registrants and trended nationwide across the U.S. on social media. 
• Selected as one of 60 guests to provide live social media coverage of the President’s 2014 and 2015 State of the Union event from the White House. 

EDUCATION 

• Master of Business Administration Candidate, University of Maryland Global Campus 
• Bachelor of Science, Digital Media & Web Technology, University of Maryland Global Campus Social Media Marketing Professional Certification, Hootsuite Academy 
• Webmaster Certification, Prince George’s Community College 
• Digital Analytics Certification, GSA Digital Analytics Program 
• Contracting Officer’s Representative Certification, Federal Acquisition Institute Emergency Management and Operations Continuity Training, FEMA Emergency Management Institute 
• Project Management Training, Management Concepts