FCC CIO David Bray to leave government, won’t take NGA role

After recently announcing he was moving to a first-of-its-kind role in government, FCC CIO David Bray has decided to leave the government altogether.

FedScoop has learned that Bray will not assume the newly created role of chief ventures officer at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and will instead become the executive director the People-Centered Internet Initiative. The initiative, founded by internet pioneer Vint Cerf, proclaims to put “humanity – people and their needs and aspirations – at the center of the Internet.”

Bray announced in June he was leaving the FCC for NGA. However, in an email obtained by FedScoop, Bray explains that his growing family led him to consider other options.

“Vint Cerf and I were at the Data Summit in Dublin in June when my wife and I found out about a potential adoption,” Bray told FedScoop. “Since then my family life has changed in several good ways. While I had previously planned to start a different government role this summer, the opportunity to join the People-Centered Internet coalition as executive director represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the tremendous PCI board and team to advocate, share expertise and identify projects to demonstrate how the internet can be more people-centered.”

Cerf said in a statement that “Bray is an idea person with the capacity to turn ideas into action. Just what PCI needs at this point in its history.”

In his time at the FCC, Bray has worked to overhaul several systems, including moving a large portion of the agency’s IT systems to the cloud.

However, Bray has recently come under some scrutiny over supposed cyberattacks directed at the agency’s comment system in the fight over net neutrality. Earlier Thursday, Gizmodo reported that Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., asked the Government Accountability Office to thoroughly examine the FCC’s attack claims.

“The need for positive change agents working with divergent communities to build focused narratives and shared goals has never been higher,” Bray said. “Over the years I have tried my best as non-partisan senior executive to champion both digital and real-world improvements, and I look forward to next series of ventures ahead.”