Title: Deputy Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer (Retired)
Company: National Technical Information Service
Location: Temple Hills, Maryland, United States
Royce L. Allen, retired deputy chief information officer and chief information security officer at the National Technical Information Service, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in information technology and cybersecurity.
Ms. Allen has dedicated decades of expertise to her professional life, beginning with military service. She enrolled in the United States Army Reserve in 1987 and was in active duty with the military from 1989 to 1995. After establishing herself, Ms. Allen joined the National Security Agency as chief compliance officer in 2009. Across nearly a decade with that governmental institution, she focused on scalable analytics, oversight, compliance and cybersecurity.
From 2017 to 2023, Ms. Allen stepped into the roles of director and chief enterprise security architect for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Information and Technology. She considers her time working with the VA as the highlight of her career to this point. As a veteran herself, Ms. Allen felt it was meaningful to increase protection of health care information and data at the VA. As part of these efforts, she introduced blockchain technology and automated identification processes to ensure privacy.
Ms. Allen briefly utilized her experience with the government as principal security architect at IBM. She was able to aid the company in pursuing government contracts, as well as developing an improved security architecture framework. In 2024, Ms. Allen became deputy chief information officer and chief information security officer for the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). As part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTIS is tasked with collecting and organizing scientific and technical data from government-sponsored research so that it is widely accessible by both other government agencies and private organizations. During her time with NTIS, Ms. Allen managed a security engineering and analytics development team. She also had the opportunity to provide mentorship to high school and college students, which has become a major priority for her.
Since retiring from government work in 2025, Ms. Allen has operated her own independent company. Through this organization, she offers presentations, technical talks and consulting on issues such as cybersecurity, data protection, data processing and machine learning.
Before venturing onto her vocational path, Ms. Allen set a strong foundation in her education. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in information technology from Strayer University in 2001. Subsequently, Ms. Allen earned a master’s degree in security and organizational management from Webster University in 2004. As part of her commitment to teaching others, she has contributed as an adjunct professor at Bowie State University.
Ms. Allen has distinguished herself throughout the field in a number of capacities, including as an adviser to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s cybersecurity board. She maintains membership in Women in Cybersecurity, Minorities in Cybersecurity and the Black Speakers Network. Ms. Allen’s accomplishments have been honored through a number of accolades. She has received the Rising Star Engineering Award, the IT Award in Technology and Innovation, and the IT Women in Leadership Impact Award.
Outside of her career, Ms. Allen is a loving mother to two and grandmother to two. She enjoys spending her time exercising and biking, as well as mentoring young people. Looking to the future, Ms. Allen aspires to utilize the expertise she has built up in her many years working for the government with a private organization. She hopes to become the chief information security officer at a company that can benefit from her guidance. Additionally, Ms. Allen wants to continue to emphasize mentoring younger people and helping uplift them. In particular, she envisions creating a safe space for women veterans to discuss the unique challenges they face and help each other grow.
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