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Mr. Kristen Collins

Executive Director, Surface Combat Systems Center

Mr. Kristen Collins (KC) has enjoyed a diverse career, serving over 25 combined years of service to our country in the military, civil service, and contractor workforce.  For most of his career, he has worked in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Tactical Systems deployment.  In 2018, Mr. Collins was selected as the Executive Director for Surface Combat Systems Center (SCSC), Wallops Island, VA.  He leads and directs daily business operations for a command comprised of 400+ military, civilian and contractor personnel who provide highly technical engineering, operational, Test & Evaluation, and crew proficiency support to the Fleet.  His duties also include the development and execution of SCSC’s Strategic Plan, Vision, and Future State.

From 2011-2018, Mr. Collins served as the Activity Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for SCSC Wallops Island where he provided technical oversight and planning for land based distributed Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation activities.  He was responsible for managing the cybersecurity efforts for over 750 million dollars in tactical and networked information systems supporting AEGIS, SSDS, and DDG-1000 combat systems testing.  Mr. Collins has been recognized numerous times within the NAVSEA and PEO IWS communities for his pragmatic approaches to solving cybersecurity issues, some resulting in NAVSEA best practices.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Collins has served in various roles within the US Air Force (USAF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Information Technology Operations and Critical Incident Response Divisions.  While working with the FBI, Mr. Collins was awarded the Outstanding Performers Award for efforts in support of the Strategic Execution Team.  Mr. Collins co-led a team of IT professionals and FBI agents in the development of processes, procedures and systems that merged law enforcement and intelligence analyst’s mentalities, leading to a successful model for post 9-11 collaborative law enforcement/intelligence gathering activities.

Mr. Collins holds a Bachelors in Management Information Systems from National-Louis University, Masters in Information Systems from University of Phoenix and a Graduate certificate in Cybersecurity Technologies from the University of Maryland University College. 

Mr. Collins is a member of the Acquisition Professional community and holds a DAWIA Level III certification in Information Technology and Level II certification in Program Management.  Additionally, Mr. Collins is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

In his free time, Mr. Collins is a regular contributor to the community.  He volunteers as a youth mentor, with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs in the local schools, and with local SeaPerch program initiatives.