Taylor Higley
Technology Executive
Technology executive with 20+ years leading IT, cybersecurity, cloud, and AI strategy across union, nonprofit, and commercial organizations. I own multi-million-dollar budgets, build teams that stay, and make board-level strategy actually work: security programs, cloud migrations, AI adoption, and platforms that scale to tens of millions in revenue.
About Me
Technically deep. Operationally proven. Business-minded.
I lead technology organizations through inflection points: legacy modernization, new platform launches, security overhauls, AI rollouts. My career started in hands-on engineering and grew into director-level ownership of teams, budgets, and org-wide strategy.
What sets me apart is range. I've built security programs to NIST 800-53, led cloud migrations on AWS, deployed AI-powered automation, advised dozens of organizations as a fractional CTO, and built a membership payment platform that grew to $70M+ ARR. I'm as comfortable presenting to a board as I am whiteboarding with engineers. Fluent in Spanish with extensive experience working across U.S. and Latin American teams.
Core Competencies
Professional Experience
20+ years of building and running technology organizations
Director, Information Services
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Washington, D.C.
Largest U.S. federal employee union, representing 700K+ members globally. Promoted through three roles to Director over a 20-year tenure.
- Strategic Technology Leadership: Run the full technology function: $4M annual budget, 15-person team (median tenure: 11 years), 350+ internal users across 12 nationwide sites, and digital platforms supporting 300K+ members globally.
- Product Strategy & Revenue Growth: Created and launched AFGE E-Dues, a scalable membership payment platform using Stripe Billing. Grew it from $0 to $70M+ ARR, improving dunning recovery rates from 50% to 70.6% over two years through experimentation and targeted communications.
- Cloud Architecture & Infrastructure: Led cloud migration to AWS, modernized the software development lifecycle, and rebuilt data management practices to improve speed, reliability, and the organization's ability to scale.
- Cybersecurity & Compliance: Built a cybersecurity program aligned to NIST 800-53: MFA, IAM, Zero Trust architecture, SOC/SIEM monitoring, and ongoing risk management. Program covers the full stack from endpoint to policy.
- Platform Reliability & User Experience: Maintained 99.98% uptime (24/7/365, no maintenance windows) and a 99.8% user satisfaction rating for internal technical support.
- AI Strategy & Adoption: Built the organization's AI policy framework from scratch. Deployed AI-powered customer support automation that cut Tier I payment inquiry turnaround times, and piloted AI productivity tools across multiple departments to test real-world fit before broader rollout.
- Stakeholder & Board Engagement: Present strategic roadmaps, initiative updates, and risk assessments to the IT Governance & Security Subcommittee and executive leadership. Keep technical execution tied to what the organization actually needs.
Fractional CTO
Empowerment Through Technology and Education (ETTE)
Washington, D.C.
Technology consultancy providing managed IT services and strategic advisory to small and mid-sized organizations.
- Team Growth & Client Satisfaction: Scaled operations from 3 to 20 technical staff across two continents, consistently achieving 97.9% Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and an 88 Net Promoter Score (NPS).
- Cross-Industry Technology Leadership: Delivered cloud, security, and growth roadmaps to dozens of clients in construction, legal, social-justice nonprofits, government contracting, and insurance, adapting to each sector's regulatory and operational realities.
- Virtual CIO/CISO Leadership: Advised clients on technology strategy, cybersecurity posture, and governance, keeping compliance and security aligned with what the business actually needs.
- AI Readiness & Advisory: Helped clients develop AI strategies, write policies, and plan adoption. Worked hands-on with organizations to evaluate tools, run pilots, and integrate AI where it actually fits.
Education
MBA, MS, and BS from University of Maryland Global Campus
MBA
University of Maryland Global CampusMS, Technology Management
University of Maryland Global CampusBS, Information Systems Management
University of Maryland Global CampusProfessional Certifications
Industry-recognized credentials in security, cloud architecture, and systems management
Get In Touch
Phone
Location
Washington, DC USA