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NIEM Biometrics Domain Announces OBIM’s John Boyd As New Chair to its Executive Committee

The NIEM Biometrics Domain (NBD) is proud to announce John Boyd, Assistant Director, Futures Identity of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) as the new Chair of the NIEM Biometrics Domain. Assistant Director Boyd replaces former NBD Chair Diane Stephens, who served in an exemplary manner during the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 operating periods.

As Assistant Director for Futures Identity at OBIM, NBD Chair Boyd is charged with establishing the Futures Identity office, which will research, collaborate and analyze emerging technologies and develop and implement strategic direction for alignment to OBIM modernization and evolution. As NBD Chair, Boyd brings strong biometrics program management expertise and strategic alignment experience from his role at OBIM, as well as a tremendous degree of S&T program management experience from prior civilian, military and government roles.

As a Captain in the U.S. Navy, Boyd served on active duty as the Director, Naval Identity Management, on the Secretary of the Navy staff. He interacted and coordinated with numerous Government departments in advancing technologies, policies, and human factors to improve applications of digital identities. Captain Boyd drove development of a handheld biometric device supporting Navy, Marine Corps, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service operational needs. Previously, he commanded the Reserve Component unit of the Navy Headquarters Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Virginia Military Institute. He also earned master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School in operations analysis and the Naval War College in national security and strategic studies.

As the new NIEM Biometrics Domain Chair, Assistant Director Boyd has quickly laid out a vision for the Biometrics Domain in 2017 and beyond that mirrors strategic initiatives put forth by NIEM PMO and NBAC, including a focus on internationalization and continual protocol-to-NIEM schema alignment across the DoD-DoJ-DHS exchange environment. “The Biometrics Domain is a tremendous platform through which to act as catalyst for NIEM strategic initiatives in the coming years, noted NBD Chair Boyd. “The continual alignment to standards and evolving protocols from our key stakeholders ensure that we provide up-to-the-minute utility for our community of interest. With the NIEM 4.0 release, we continue to mature the data model with new modality updates and harmonization. As we work to expand the usage of NIEM internationally, our plans for engagement encompass wider areas and new partners. As Chair of the Domain, I will bring my focus on emerging technology, integrated standards, and increased interoperability within the community of interest.”

Please join us in welcoming Assistant Director Boyd to the NIEM Biometrics Domain and supporting community of interest. For more information on the NIEM Biometrics Domain, please visit the NBD community page. For information related to membership or training, please contact the Biometrics Domain facilitator team at NIEM-BD-Facilitator@cse-corp.com.